What’s next for Monarch Comics? South Toledo store overcomes adversity with help [Video]

Ed Katschke believes he owes a debt to the community he can never repay, other than by reopening Monarch Comics. At a former barbershop, he’s about to do just that.

TOLEDO, Ohio — It was sometime after 3 a.m. on Dec. 9 when Ed Katschke and co-worker Brian McMillin got calls from the security company.

There was a break-in at Monarch Comics.

Katschke lives in Sylvania Township and McMillin in Whitehouse. Both have about a 20-minute drive to the shop.

“So we started racing here with our baseball bats like, ‘oh my God, oh my God, somebody’s breaking into the store right before Christmas,'” Katschke said.

When they pulled into the parking lot at Colonial Village shopping plaza in south Toledo, the building had already been on fire for an hour.

“The burglary alarm was the fire department breaking our door out because they had to go in and check what was going on,” Katschke said.

The fire never actually reached Monarch Comics, Katschke said. At …