Is your local comic book shop still around?

[Mace Dolex]

I figured putting it here seeing as more people would read the thread in the community forum.

Well living in Bakersfield I would go to either Waldenbooks and an actual comic book store in the early 90's both of which are not around anymore.

Then moving to Los Angeles in '93 I had two stores of which are closed plus places like Ralph's and Rite Aid were still selling comics.

There is also a place on Melrose called Golden Apple Comics which has been around since the early 80's that I would go at least once a week, they've since moved a few blocks and gotten smaller but now I rarely go there except for the occasional supplies like comic bags and boards.

Now I'm mostly hitting conventions digging through bargain longboxes.

 

[TheAQU4M4N]

Unfortunately mine is still open, their prices are astronomical which is one of the reasons why I don't go there anymore.

 

[Figs]

My local comic shop is still open and surprisingly doing well. I don't really collect comics anymore and the last number of years I did collect them I would just buy tpb's from Amazon.

I really only go in there to see if they have any new Batman Black and White statues.

 

[ThDWgeek]

My local one's still open. I've no idea how good it's doing, but it must be doing ok seeing as it's been there since I was a kid, and I've seen others in the area spring up and die away.

 

[Galactus123]

We never had a shop just for comics as far as I know here where I live. I have to buy my comics from supermarkets or from internet.

 

[Calavera]

no. it closed down. im afraid its owner passed on too. the new owners told me he had sold it due to illness.

its a barber shop now

 

[CGHulk]

Nope, Neo-nazi's burned it down because the owner was Jewish.

 

[Drizzle]

The only really successful one around me is still open, mainly due to the popularity of Magic the Gathering.

 

[Batman jr.]

I don't think we ever had one

 

[Cagefighterkip]

Yep, and thriving. It does a weekly free-Walking Dead screening at a local theater, rented out theaters for group screenings of Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man and Dark Knight Rises over the summer. Place is always crawling with people, too. They're a great business.

 

[POWdER-man]

Yeah, the same one that has been around since I was a kid and is still doing well to my knowledge. I haven't stepped foot in it for at least 4-5 years though.

 

[Kable24]

Mine is still open and recently celebrated his 25th year. He opened another store a couple of years ago in another town and has a small section in a local mall that I suspect is testing the waters for a mall store.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Nope, Neo-nazi's burned it down because the owner was Jewish.

Is that for real? That's messed up, what happened exactly?

 

[RockSP]

Yeah, there are currently 3 shops in my area. One has been around for about 30 years or so. The one I mainly go to just celebrated his 6th year in business, and is probably doing the best out of the 3. The last one I rarely go to because it is filled with cigarette smoke from the owner and is very disorganized (it's not only a comic shop, but a coin & stamp collector place and also a post office. The comics are the least profitable/important thing to him).

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Nope, Neo-nazi's burned it down because the owner was Jewish.

Was this the East Coast, West Coast, South or Mid West?

I'm just curious.

 

[jonathancrane]

There are two shops: one sells old comics (it has a bargain box which is always stuffed with gems,) and the Book Store has expanded its comic section to another shelf that used to house magazines.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Mine has remained open for the past 20 years (maybe longer) and still going strong.

The only thing is I think they got bought out by a corporate comic book chain so it no longer has the nerdy basement feel.

 

[PemLam]

I'm fortunate to have the largest comic shop in America (Bookery Fantasy in Fairborn, Ohio) about 5 miles from my home. I've been going there for nearly 20 years and have seen it grow from a small hole in the wall shop to having four stores.

I've met some good people there and developed a couple great friendships along the way.

 

[SuperFerret]

I'm guessing this is more for the small town Hypesters then, right?

 

[Duke]

There have been a couple that have been opened for a few years, then just close up because of poor sales. The newest comic shop that's opened up recently is nice enough, however the owner is not the nicest around & has a tendency to buy cheap (from collector's wanting to sell or trade stuff) & sell expensive. He's essentially an unscrupulous man.

 

[THUNDERSTRIKE]

when I first started collecting comics, it would be from a local drug store on Archer Avenue and Natchez Avenue, but then they stopped selling comics in the early 70's... they're still there, but have had numerous owners...

for a couple of years, I got my comics thru a mail-order place called Styx Comics, that mailed the books in a burlap bag... I gave up on that...

then it was picking comics up at a newspaper stand in the Loop for a few years before I heard about a store specifically selling comics back in the late 70's... Frank Kraft's over on Clark Street in Downtown Chicago... he eventually folded... Frank and his buddy that ran the store were both a-holes...

then I frequented a comic shop close to my house, off Archer and Pulaski called Chaos in Print, run by George Macas, during the 80's which folded after about 12 years... the thievery that went on there on the part of customers AND employees was mind-boggling... how they survived that long is amazing to me...

then I frequented Comic Asylum over on Cicero Avenue, run by Mark Wendt, from the mid 90's till about 2000... decent store, nice guy running it, but the place was a disaster area... he folded eventually...

from then it was to my first comic store chain, Graham Crackers, off Michigan Avenue in the Loop, which was run by Pat Brower at the time... excellent store, lots of stuff and very expansive, but overly expensive in some of their merch... I stopped my comic collecting with them... they're part of a 7 store chain, I believe, and they're all still around...

and back in the late 60's and early 70's, I would pick up all my back issues at Acme Book Store on Clark Street, which was run by Sam LaChapelle, who referred to herself as a comicologist... she ran the place with her big Husky and some super-old dude named Noah, who I referred to as Beetle-brain... the place is LONG gone, but one customer that frequented it before he ever became famous was Roger Ebert...

wow, talk about going down memory lane this morning... good memories...

 

[TheAQU4M4N]

Has anyone been to the secret stash ( the comic book men's store owned by Kevin Smith)?

 

[Mee]

There's one left, used to be three.


The one that's left doubles as a movie rental store, which probably helps.

 

[terry78]

Yeah, there's one near my place in Indiana, and there's another one downtown Chicago where I work. They're like few and far between though.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Over the years, I've gone to 4 different stores in my area. One is still in business.