TOLEDO, Ohio — The Monarch Comics book store in south Toledo faced a villainous challenge of its own when a fire damaged it and several other businesses at a strip mall last December.

The fire at the Colonial Village shopping plaza came right up to the doorstep of the store.

Owner Ed Katschke said the fire never engulfed the business, but efforts to extinguish smoldering debris next door caused serious damage to the front of the building.

“Unfortunately, it cracked our roof and that’s what really destroyed the unit. All the water that came cascading in after that,” Katschke said.

The results were devastating. He estimates 70% of the store’s inventory was destroyed by water.

“It’s very difficult to describe the sensation of walking into a store that’s been your life’s work and seeing

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