Cincy Comic stores?

[Corrina]

I've been so busy re-arranging things here for my trip to a writers conference with a bunch of cherries in Cincy starting on Wednesday that I just realized....

What's good to do in Cincy? Any good comic shops?

[shrike]

Cincinnati?

[Corrina]

Cincinatti. Yes.

[shrike]

LOL sorry I'm a little frazzled this week.

OK here we are:

http://www.upupandawaycomics.com/Welcome.html

... and look. A COSTUME CONTEST! OMG. :P

I don't really head to Cinci much, when's your trip from... wed to...?

[Corrina]

I'm pretty much booked until Sunday, when my flight out of Covington is in the evening.

Are you local? I didn't realize! How far a drive is it for you?

[shrike]

I'm pretty much booked until Sunday, when my flight out of Covington is in the evening.

Are you local? I didn't realize! How far a drive is it for you?

Well its like a hour and a half... not exactly local... :P

[Jack Zodiac]

Where ya' stayin' at in Cincinnati, Corrina? I could give you the closest one to your hotel. Odds are it'll either be Up, Up, And Away or Queen City Comics. Unless you're not staying in the city itself.

[Jack Zodiac]

As for stuff to do, not a whole lot. There's the zoo, the museum center, the conservatory on Eden Park Drive, but nothing you can't get anywhere else. Except for Gold Star. How sad is it when the most unique thing about a town is its chili? Let me rephrase that. How fucking awesome is it when the most unique thing about a town is its chili!? Pretty fuckin' awesome!

[Corrina]

Gold Star chili. Got it. Thanks, Jack!

Yeah, an hour and a half isn't exactly local, shrike. <g> I'm also not sure if I'll be available, though, so I'm reluctant to arrange a meeting and have to cancel.

Off to the aiport.

[LewisH]

info whenever I'm traveling. You can get a list and addresses and then use Mapquest to see how far it is from where you are staying. Another great source of information as to fun places to go and eat is the hotel concierge (if you are staying at a hotel of course).

[Jack Zodiac]

Some of the stores around here aren't listed, though. The ones that're probably closest to wherever Corrina's staying might be, though. And yeah, hotel and travel sites are good for finding more interesting things to do when you travel, but it helps if there are interesting things to do in the city in the first place. :p Trust me, all we've got to lord over the rest of the country is our chili.

[LewisH]

Aren't you the gnat capital of the world as well (or is that Cleveland)?

[Jack Zodiac]

Gnat capital? Maybe. Us or Newport, or any city along the disgusting Ohio River.

[Tommy]

The Newport aquarium is awesome.

[Jack Zodiac]

Yeah, and all the good bars and some of the better restaurants are along that strip. There ya' go, Corrina. Fuck Cincinnati, go hang out in Newport all week.

Oh, there is one more place Cincinnati has that no one else in the country has. It's called Jungle Jim's. It's this giant supermarket, like two Wal-Marts smashed together, but it's a sole proprietorship. God only knows what kind of drug money went into building the place, but it's got everything. And their liquor section is bigger than some grocery stores. I cried, literally cried, when I saw it. Oh, and they officially have the neatest fucking bathrooms on Earth. I had to fight a bunch of stone minotaurs and solve a riddle to use the urinal.

[Tad Sivana]

I'd recommend the new Underground Railroad Museum....great building, interesting collection and awesome installation of a real Slave Shed found in Kentucky and rebuilt in the main museum hall.
It will creep you out.
Be sure to have some LaRosa's pizza! It's the best!

[Jack Zodiac]

Not a big fan of their pizza (except for their Montgomery Inn barbecue chicken pizza), but they serve all of their sammiches with these great baked, seasoned chips. I'll buy just a bag of those chips every once in a while.

[Corrina]

I am back.

I did not make it to Jungle Jim's but I read the description out loud to my fellow writers and they were very intrigued and amused. And I saw the Underground Railroad museum from the little tour that the TANK shuttle takes through Cincinatti.

I did go to Newport on the Levee and I did have a hot fudge Sunday at Graeters, which was very, very, very good.

[Jack Zodiac]

Yeah, Graeter's makes some great ice cream.

Did you make it to a Gold Star? Or at least a Skyline?

[Corrina]

We were right near a Gold Star but since I don't eat Chili.......

But the place was confusing. People were much too nice.

My friend Chris tells it better:

http://doublecheese.livejournal.com/

As she says, I cannot believe there is a clean and well-kept bathroom in a parking garage, with an ATM nearby. Chris & I were looking for the security cameras that should be around the ATM and only saw the one in the camera.

We were a bit concerned about that. In NYC or Boston, you might as well just draw a sign to potential muggers: VICTIMS HERE.

There, apparently it is quite safe.

[Jack Zodiac]

No! You didn't have Cincinnati chili? Aw, c'mon! That's practically the only thing this craphole has goin' on for it! And it isn't like real chili, it's Greek chili, served over noodles with some shredded cheddar on top. Or on hot dogs with some mustard and onions and cheese. Or fries... with cheese. Fuck me, I eat a lot of cheese.

And yeah, depending on what part of town you're in, the place is pretty safe. Really, the only part of town I wouldn't stick around in after seven is Over the Rhine. But downtown's nice, and Clifton and Northside are always busy with college kids, so they're safe after dark. Boston and New York are huge, makes sense for there to be more precautions all over the place; Cincinnati's barely a city.