Brave New World Comics in Newhall has continued to evolve amid the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing a weekly Facebook Live “Claim Show” where the store owner and his friend work to entertain viewers while selling comic books.

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact businesses in the Santa Clarita Valley and across the country, Brave New World Comics owner Andy Liegl knew that his business had to adapt.

“It would definitely be a challenge to remain open today if we hadn’t evolved,” he said. “Now, in a world where we can’t really host signings or our Pokemon GO events (…) a major facet of our business, live events, are just gone.”

While Liegl had been wanting to try something new “for a while” before COVID-19, the pandemic expedited his timeline. He teamed up with his good friend Ivan Pecel, a renown juggler and entertainer who has performed at the Magic Castle and on “The Late Show” with David Letterman, and together they created what has now become known as the “Brave New World Comics Live Claim Show.”

“We wanted it to be more than just selling comics,” Liegl said. “We love performing, and we love entertaining. We want to entertain.”

The concept of the show is simple enough: every Wednesday, Liegl and Pecel show off different comic books, graphic novels and other pop culture merchandise, a viewer claims it in the comment section of the video, and everyone’s totals are added up and sent out at the end of the sale.

“It’s gotten a lot of good word-of-mouth,” Liegl said. “It’s even allowed us to reach beyond Santa Clarita and Los Angeles. We’ve shipped to places like Puerto Rico, Canada and New York.”

The show itself has evolved since its inception in April, transforming from a straight-forward Facebook Live sale to a weekly variety show-esque night of entertainment, complete with a spin wheel of different prizes, special guests and, of course, comic books.

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“We are just used to taking something and evolving it as it goes,” Liegl said. “Customers are responding in a positive way.”

From watching Liegl sing a page of a comic book to the tune of a Disney song, to watching Pecel juggle eight bowling pins and catching them on his head, Liegl believes that the show brings the community together in a way that is safe in a COVID era.

This community is evident every Thursday after the sale, when Liegl sees people coming in to pick up what they claimed and joking with other viewers about the previous night’s show.

“We all share one thing in comics: we love comics,” Liegl said. “That’s why we’re all there. In a really real way, comics are bringing people together.”

Brave New World Comics has been open in various locations in the Santa Clarita Valley since 1992, and while Liegl has only owned the store since August of 2017, he wants to continue to “be something that the community wants, and to add value to the community.”

“I really do want to thank the community for responding that they definitely want Brave New World here,” he said. “Thank you for trusting me at the helm.”

The Brave New Comics Live Claim Show is live on Facebook and Instagram every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to midnight. For more information, or to watch future shows, click here.

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