WEST VALLEY CITY — A good story can take us somewhere we’ve never been.
For Greg Jonas, those journeys began in the pages of comic books.
Jonas, 56, who grew up in West Valley City, died while scuba diving at Bear Lake in June. He was working toward his master diving certification and had been planning to dive in Aruba once he finished.
Now, his family hopes his collection of 18,000 comics will take them deeper into his world — and bring together the community he loved.
His family is inviting people to The Nerd Store at Valley Fair Mall Saturday, Oct. 17 to explore his comic book collection, share memories and help support his family. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For his son, Connor Jonas, looking through the collection offers a glimpse into the stories his father loved.
“These were my dad’s favorites, the older comics like Spider-Man and X-Men from the ’70s,” Connor said. “His favorite thing was just the stories and the way you could lose yourself in a different world."
Greg was a familiar face in the local gaming and comic book community, including at The Nerd Store.
“The day we heard Greg had passed was really hard,” said Roger Prows, the store’s co-founder. “He was so present, so well known and so well loved that it was a really hard week for everyone on staff,” Prows said.
Proceeds from Saturday’s comic book sale will help support Greg’s family. The gathering also gives them a chance to hear from people who knew him and discover more about the collection he left behind.
As Connor looked through the comics, he found one he recognized.
“This is one of the comics that was in that book that I had,” he said. “I didn’t know my dad had this.”