LONGTIME MERCHANT SAYS HE WILL MISS RELATIONSHIP WITH CUSTOMERS

the details of which Gilbert won't disclose, he would have stuck around until Fourth Dimension's 25th anniversary.

"The choice was do I go into debt or not make an income for a year to get to 25?" he said.

"My regret is that, given that one more year, I would have done this with a little more planning and grace and dignity than just becoming a clearance sale huckster."

Gilbert has spoken with other Main Street merchants who feel they're being pushed out "due to what may be realistically described as obscene rent increase demands," he said.

Wandering into Fourth Dimension to chat with Gilbert, Mikaleena D'agrosa, whose family members have been Main Street merchants for years, is upset to see retailers who have "bled and sweat and cried and starved and suffered" building their businesses leave Canadian downtowns as they transform into trendier neighbourhoods.

"It's the gentrification of downtown areas. There used to be space for extreme diversity, and now those who enjoy it are of a higher income bracket that have no interest in tolerating real diversity," she said.

D'agrosa feels politicians aren't doing enough to support longtime Main

Street business owners facing "jacked up" rents from landlords leasing to swankier retailers.

The town has a number of programs supporting businesses on Main Street and across Newmarket, Mayor John Taylor said. Those include: • Pandemic-support programs including Business Assistance Concierge, business forums and an expansion of the patio program

• Random Acts of Downtown Shopping, part of an investment of $50,000 in revenue from the filming of the "Handmaid's Tale" to benefit downtown businesses

• The townwide Choose Local campaign

• The small business water rebate program

• Additional downtown parking coming when the Keith Davis Tennis Centre moves to the new Shining Hill neighbourhood

• Enhanced events drawing visitors downtown such as York Region Pride, the TD Music Series, Busk Till Dusk and Frozen Fridays

Stressing he isn't dwelling on negativity as he winds down his business, Gilbert is all smiles reflecting on his years in the comic book world, dating back to when he was a kid and counted Bugs Bunny as his favourite character.

"I loved his take-no-prisoners attitude," he laughed.

As a boy, Gilbert used tip money from his newspaper route to buy comic books at Main Street's nowdefunct Comic Wizard store, where he later worked for 13 years before opening Fourth Dimension.

The lifelong Newmarket resident's self-published comics have won Canada's two highest cartooning awards for comics — the Joe Shuster Award, named in honour of the co-creator of Superman, and the Doug Wright Award.

He created "The Journal of the Main Street Secret Lodge" series, a both dark and lighthearted historical fictionalization of Main Street that he jokes "slanders the good names of all the founding fathers of the town."

Comic books aren't meant to be collectors' items, he said.

"If you've read it and enjoyed it, you've unlocked the full value of what that comic is. Comics are made by an individual hunched over a table for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours, crafting these images by hand," he said, adding his favourite comic is "Ed the Happy Clown."

Gilbert will most miss his relationships with customers.

Customer Beatrise Garoza, who enjoys the "Walking Dead" series, is sad to see Fourth Dimension close.

"It's kind of sad because it's the only comic store around here."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When reporter Lisa Queen went in to Fourth Dimension to interview owner Steven Gilbert on his upcoming closing, the discussion turned to rent increases faced by Main Street retailers.