Rhonda Oldham always imagined owning her own bookstore, but she never thought it would focus on stories with animated cartoons. Now her LGBTQ+ and woman-owned business, O-Dog Comics, is one of the only comic book stores on the south side of Indianapolis.
Oldham began working at the Franklin Township comic store, formerly known as DeePuppy Comics, in 2020 when it was owned by Frederick Hugus. It was a small store on the second level of a mixed-use building that had an ice cream shop on the first floor. Hugus sold his roughly 30-year-old business to Oldham earlier this year.
In May 2025, Oldham unveiled her comic book store on the ground floor of the same building. She renamed it O-Dog Comics, inspired by the previous business name and her dog, Otis.
Oldham could face an uphill battle as she tries to sell comics during an economic uncertainty. But she said the recent opening of O-Dog Comics has been exciting as she welcomes residents who never knew that the location existed.
Oldham recently sat down with Mirror Indy for an interview. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Something for everybody
How do you feel when you read comic books compared to engaging with other forms of storytelling?
I mean this in a good way — it’s overwhelming. When I read books, it’s just the words on the page. There’s nothing else. That’s all I have to focus on.
But with comic books, there’s so much more that goes into it. The artwork especially. I find myself skipping over text boxes because I’m just so focused on looking at the pictures more than anything. The stories are always interesting, but I find myself definitely drawn in more towards the art.
Do you sell comics that don’t focus on superheros or zombies?
We’ve got all ages — stuff for kids, stuff for adults, stuff for teens. Anybody and everybody should be able to come in here and find something they want to read.
We’ve got, obviously, your big stuff — Marvel, DC. And then there’s a bunch of independent publishers which always have the stuff that I like, because it’s stories that you usually wouldn’t see published by Marvel or DC. Stuff like the “Star Trek” series, “Witcher.” I’ve learned working here, everything is a comic book. So like “The Walking Dead,” “Stranger Things” — everything is a comic.
Anything that’s based off of a show is usually either turned into a comic or the source material is a comic. There’s so many different titles and I wish I had enough time to read every single one of them because they look so interesting. There’s just not enough time in the day.
The future of comics
President Donald Trump’s global trade war is touching all facets of life. How could tariff hikes and a potential recession impact the store?
A lot of our comics are even printed in Canada so if those tariffs hit, they’re gonna skyrocket and I’m sure our distributor is gonna pass that cost on to us.
Even in the time I’ve been working here, I’ve noticed the rising prices already. Comics used to be $3.99 and now, on average, they’re $4.99 or more. It’s one dollar, but still on something like that, I even notice it.
There’s plastic bags and (card)board that people can store their comics in as they collect them. Those supplies also, I believe, come from Canada. And (distributors) sent an email out not too long ago being like, “There’s a possibility things might happen,” but it keeps getting pushed back. So hopefully it never happens.
I try not to worry about it too much because I already know starting out, it’s gonna be rough. But I’m hoping that I can stick it out long enough to see it go somewhere.
Why is it important to acknowledge that this is a LGBTQ+, woman-owned comic book store?
I wrote my whole undergrad college thesis on Harley Quinn as a bisexual icon, which doesn’t sound like it would go with a history degree in the slightest, but it worked.
I feel like it’s an important part of comics. When you think of a comic book reader, you think of a nerdy guy. So just trying to switch it up a little bit.
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Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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