Our story

My name is Tom Barker and in 2001 I sold my childhood comic collection to buy my wife Erin’s wedding ring to whom I am today still happily married with two children.  More than a decade after selling my collection I got back into reading and collecting comics.  In 2016, after stumbling upon a rather large comic collection that I purchased, I set up at a local comic con and Middle School Geek was born, named after being a middle school social studies teacher.

We first started off only setting up at small comic cons within Eastern Kansas.  Within the preceding years we started attending cons throughout much of the Midwest including Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Since the Covid pandemic we have increased our online presence selling on eBay, Short Boxed, instagram, ComicLink, Heritage Auctions, and a variety of other online venues. 

Since we are a family-centered company my wife, Erin, was able to incorporate her love of doing crafts by making string art that encompassed a variety of fandoms.  Our oldest son, Grayson, also sells Squishables at our comic con booth as well.

In May of 2023, we were able to celebrate the birth of our second son, Noah.  He does not travel as far as Grayson and I do, but Noah does make special guest appearances at comic cons close to home.

At Middle School Geek, we strive to help people acquire comics they wish to include as part of their collection and have been lucky enough to get to know collectors all over the U.S.