My comic store is going out of business

[Sir Tim Drake]

I've been going to the same comic book store throughout my four years of college. It's a surprise that the store stayed in business that long, since it was never profitable and very few people even realized it existed. (It was located on the second floor of a building, with only a barely noticeable sign to indicate where it was.) Last Wednesday I learned that the owner had finally given in to the inevitable and decided to close the store.

Even though I expected it would happen someday, I'll still miss Dave, Paul and the Two Million Year Picnic. For my two remaining months in Providence, I'll have to get my comics from the corporate, impersonal Newbury Comics, which, despite its name, is primarily a record store.

Who else has experienced the demise of a cherished comic book store? What did you do about it?

And on a related note, what's the best comics mailorder service? Next year I'll be in a place where there seems to be no comic book store at all.

[StoneGold]

I remember when the West LA Golden Apple closed down. Hell, part of the reason I probably got into comics was it was close enough to my house for me to walk to whenever I wanted. Course, when it did close, I was on Marvel's comp list, as I was working for Malibu at the time. And I live in LA, so it's not like there weren't other shops to go to. Still, it made me sad.

[Maniacle Mike]

Reality Bytes.

It wasn't a comic book store. Yet it was a close cousin. They sold table-top game merchandise. Dice RPG's. Warhammer, Battletech, magic, pokemon, etc.

They also had some computers in a LAN and nice graphics/sound equipment + games. You could buy time to play a multiplayer game with some friends. This seemed to be the most unique, and central theme. The decor was very fantasyeque and cool.

Mainly, it was the big hangout for playing Magic, D&D, Battletech and the like. Just didn't make nearly enough money.

When it closed, wasn't much I could do but stop playing as much games and find other places for when I did.

[Buried Alien]

Who else has experienced the demise of a cherished comic book store? What did you do about it?

In August, 2003, Gary's Corner Bookstore and Comics on San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel, California closed its doors forever (the site of the old store now sells glass window panes). The store first opened in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and I had been a customer since 1982.

In the 1980s, my friends and I would often visit Comic Heaven on Main Street in Alhambra, California. It was right around the corner from our high school. Although they still have a location in Texas (I think), the Alhambra Comic Heaven closed in 1997.

In my local community of Diamond Bar, we had a store called Comics 'N Stuff that I frequented from when I first moved into town in 1992 until it closed in 1998. The location first became an arts and crafts shop, and is now a health foods store.



Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[K'Nort]

Games People Play in Juneau AK. Second floor of a retail building, tucked in the back. We moved to town right before my freshman year of high school and meeting like-minded students there really helped with the transition. It was great to always see the regulars, and do gaming sessions, but you never really saw strangers. After he closed, it was mail order and not much of it until I left for college.

[Nate C.]

Tim,

as for stores going out of buisness, I have a long list. Stores in Mississippi have a hard time making a go of it.

as for mail order- Lonestar Comics, Gary Dolgoff Comics, and Mile High all have good sites and deals. I buy from them in the order listed.

[Lone Ranger]

Who else has experienced the demise of a cherished comic book store? What did you do about it?


My childhood comic book shop (Queen's Comics in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto) closed its doors at a time when I wasn't really reading comics (age 14-16) and I almost feel personally responsible for its demise.

I remember it so well - the 10 cent rack out on the sidewalk, copies of Amazing Spidey #1 and Avengers #1 under the glass counter, the new comics were on the back wall, back issues on to the left and an island in the middle containing magazines (that's where I discovered Tales of the Zombie!).

I no longer live in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and there is not a comic book store within walking distance of my house (there are a few near my office, though).

I would love to move back to my old 'hood (house prices have skyrocketed, though), but I think I would always feel a little sad that Queen's Comics wasn't there.

[Andy S.]

When I was in high school, a store called Legends opened up in my hometown. This was the best comic book store I had ever seen. They had a nice setup with new comics bagged in racks, all back issues in boards-the works. Until that point, my only access to comics were newstands and a baseball card store owned by an obnoxious jerk.

One of the best things about this store was the guy who owned it. He was friendly, and helpful - actually knew how to run a business, unlike some stores I've been to. It was great to have a store like that at that time in my life when everybody seemed to be the same, and enjoy exactly the same things. Hint: not comics!

But, it was too good of a store to last in a small town where you're out of luck if you like anything outside of country music and nascar. :mad:

I miss Legends.

[artemisboy]

My comic book store is closing too. My friend owned it and now it's closing it's doors. Fantastic Family Comics in Sunland, CA.

- Peter

[Dr. Hfuhruhurr]

When I lived out of state, I always used Westfield Comics mail order and had a good experience with it.

[ghostrider666]

The Drawing Board in NJ got me back into comcis in the early 90's. It was about 4 min from my house at teh time. They closed up, but had another store about 25 min away. I shopped there until I moved to Pa, they closed shortly after.

[C.O. Jones]

I think there's one of those MYP stores in Cambridge MA. I try to make it out there whenever I visit my girlfriend in Boston. They had a lot of nice stuff there the last time I went and the guys working the counter were really helpful (Ian & Tony?). Are they one and the same and are they all shutting down or is just the one near you? I plan to make it out there the first week in July, btw.

[howyadoin]

I've never really had to deal with this, because I moved so many times between 88 and 97. And since I got to Vancouver, I found a good store right off the bat and they're still going strong.

[bones mccoy]

My childhood comic book shop (Queen's Comics in the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto) closed its doors at a time when I wasn't really reading comics (age 14-16) and I almost feel personally responsible for its demise.

I remember it so well - the 10 cent rack out on the sidewalk, copies of Amazing Spidey #1 and Avengers #1 under the glass counter, the new comics were on the back wall, back issues on to the left and an island in the middle containing magazines (that's where I discovered Tales of the Zombie!).

I no longer live in the neighbourhood where I grew up, and there is not a comic book store within walking distance of my house (there are a few near my office, though).

I would love to move back to my old 'hood (house prices have skyrocketed, though), but I think I would always feel a little sad that Queen's Comics wasn't there.

amen brother.. felt the same way about silver snail in hamilton closing down.

[sehthan]

Capt. Spiffy's Superhero Emporium (http://www.captspiffy.com/spiffy.htm) in Tucson. Shopped there in college, circa '94 to whenever it closed ('98?). Fun shop, great people. I went to the store on one of their very last days of business to pay my respects, and pick through what was left. Waked up to the counter with a longbox full of comics (literally), and they sold it to me for $10. I felt bad for paying so little; they thanked me for helping them clear out their inventory. Did I mention they were great people?

Last I knew my old store from Phoenix, Stalking Moon, is still in business, but it migrates futher north year-by-year.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I think there's one of those MYP stores in Cambridge MA. I try to make it out there whenever I visit my girlfriend in Boston. They had a lot of nice stuff there the last time I went and the guys working the counter were really helpful (Ian & Tony?). Are they one and the same and are they all shutting down or is just the one near you? I plan to make it out there the first week in July, btw.

My store is under the same ownership as the Cambridge Million Year Picnic. That store is doing fine, as far as I know. I've been there a couple times and it's an excellent store.

[Yes its me]

Mega Cards and Comics :( . The BEST comic shop the world will ever know! And Sir Tim Drake I recommend mycomicshop.com .

[Sir Tim Drake]

Looks like I'm going to have to start mailordering sooner than I expected.

I'd been going to Newbury Comics, which isn't actually a comic book store; it's a record store that apparently used to be a comic book store, but still sells comics because it's stuck with the word "comics" in its name. I asked them to reserve a copy of Legion of Super-Heroes #8 for me, since I would be out of town on that Wednesday, and they wouldn't do it. They told me to call them on the day it came out and ask them to hold a copy for me. I stupidly forgot to call the store on that day (although I don't think I should have had to do so in the first place), and the next time I went to the store, they were sold out of it. They told me today that they weren't going to get any more copies, and I told them I was going to get my comics somewhere else in the future.

Now, perhaps it was my fault for forgetting to call them, but they made absolutely no effort to help me get this comic book. They didn't seem to care about my business. I don't want to shop there again even though it's the only comic book store within walking distance.

*sigh* Time to check out mycomicshop.com, I guess.

[Deathstroke]

That sucks about your store going down the tubes.

It's too bad you don't live in Massachusetts. The store I shop at is Gateway Comics Etc. (http://www.gatewaycomicsetc.com) The guy will order anything you want and he even does mail order shipping.

This girl who's an X-Fan moved from Mass to Indiana and she still has him send out her comics...

I've been a customer pretty much since I was 12 years old.

[west3man]

Looks like I'm going to have to start mailordering sooner than I expected.

I'd been going to Newbury Comics, which isn't actually a comic book store; it's a record store that apparently used to be a comic book store, but still sells comics because it's stuck with the word "comics" in its name. I asked them to reserve a copy of Legion of Super-Heroes #8 for me, since I would be out of town on that Wednesday, and they wouldn't do it. They told me to call them on the day it came out and ask them to hold a copy for me. I stupidly forgot to call the store on that day (although I don't think I should have had to do so in the first place), and the next time I went to the store, they were sold out of it. They told me today that they weren't going to get any more copies, and I told them I was going to get my comics somewhere else in the future.

Now, perhaps it was my fault for forgetting to call them, but they made absolutely no effort to help me get this comic book. They didn't seem to care about my business. I don't want to shop there again even though it's the only comic book store within walking distance.

*sigh* Time to check out mycomicshop.com, I guess.
That definitely sucks. I agree with you about that record store, though. They didn't try, at all, to accomodate you, so why reward them? Of course, I wouldn't suggest putting yourself into a terribly uncomfortable situation just to get back at them, but I'd definitely look for alternatives.

A comic shop within walking distance is a beautiful thing.

[west3man]

That sucks about your store going down the tubes.

It's too bad you don't live in Massachusetts. The store I shop at is Gateway Comics Etc. (http://www.gatewaycomicsetc.com) The guy will order anything you want and he even does mail order shipping.

This girl who's an X-Fan moved from Mass to Indiana and she still has him send out her comics...

I've been a customer pretty much since I was 12 years old.
Very cool. The place I've frequented the most (locally) has been pretty weak in some ways (Free Comic Book Day stuff comes to mind), but they've been very accomodating to their customers in other ways. One that comes to-mind is the fact that, whenever I was planning to leave town for 3-8 months for an internship, they were willing to save or even ship comics to me.

Considering the mild panic I used to experience whenever I was going somewhere and had no clue if there'd be ANY comic shops around (let along GOOD ones), that was quite a nice fall-back option. I usually made do (due?), but I liked that they were willing to work with me.

[Jared_Humpherys]

When I was a kid, my grandmother and I went on a 4-year crusade to find an Iceman figure. Well, during the Reign of Superman, I went in 1 Million Comics to get the special editition of the end of that storyline while my grandmother waited in the car. Well, it just so happens that I glanced over to the toy section, and lo and behold, there it was. I practically ran out screaming to my grandma. It was then that 1 Million comics became my favorite store. My really attractive next-door neighbor even worked there for a while, too. Sadly, the owner had a gambling addiction, and last year, they sold it to a dude who owns 2 other stores over in Missouri, changing its name to B-Bop. There's still some good people who work there, but I don't get along with the owner very well. Now I frequent Elite comics, one I found when I moved into an apartment. I still go there, even though the house I now share with Sarah is closer to B-Bop. I also still drop by B-Bop if Elite doesn't have the back-issues I'm looking for.

[Deathstroke]

Very cool. The place I've frequented the most (locally) has been pretty weak in some ways (Free Comic Book Day stuff comes to mind), but they've been very accomodating to their customers in other ways. One that comes to-mind is the fact that, whenever I was planning to leave town for 3-8 months for an internship, they were willing to save or even ship comics to me.

Considering the mild panic I used to experience whenever I was going somewhere and had no clue if there'd be ANY comic shops around (let along GOOD ones), that was quite a nice fall-back option. I usually made do (due?), but I liked that they were willing to work with me.

The shop owner Eric is great to deal with. Heck I volunteer and help out at Free Comic Book Day, I wouldn't do that if he was a jerk.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I feel for you. Where I live we once had 3 to 4 Comic book stores. But they all In the span of 5 years went down. The last one made me cry because the guy honestly cared. I mean jesus...he honestly made sure we got our comics. If I was runnin late for a few weeks he'd put my comics In a special spot to hold em.


Then there was Home Town Comics. That store as my older buddy told me ( he was 5 years older and was a bigger fan than me) had been around since he was a baby. That Home Town had existed In the same spot In Town since the early 1980's.


So one day I go Into Home Town ( 1997 I believe) and the owner delivered the sad news. Him and his brother owned the store and thier arguements over the business had caused them to quit. One brother wanted to knock the wall down to a closed shop next door and expand the business. Back Issues were buildin up and he wanted to carry more titles. His brother argued not to and they just couldn't get along.


They had a huge sale and I snagged Green Lantern 1# ( Vol.2) for 2 bucks awhile later from them.


But I feel the pain. I now shop where I work In VA and I get good deals on comics and the guys there care. ;)

[Cochise]

When I was a kid, my grandmother and I went on a 4-year crusade to find an Iceman figure. Well, during the Reign of Superman, I went in 1 Million Comics to get the special editition of the end of that storyline while my grandmother waited in the car. Well, it just so happens that I glanced over to the toy section, and lo and behold, there it was. I practically ran out screaming to my grandma. It was then that 1 Million comics became my favorite store. My really attractive next-door neighbor even worked there for a while, too. Sadly, the owner had a gambling addiction, and last year, they sold it to a dude who owns 2 other stores over in Missouri, changing its name to B-Bop. There's still some good people who work there, but I don't get along with the owner very well. Now I frequent Elite comics, one I found when I moved into an apartment. I still go there, even though the house I now share with Sarah is closer to B-Bop. I also still drop by B-Bop if Elite doesn't have the back-issues I'm looking for.

Where is B-Bop? I'm in Liberty. Never heard of it though.

The only one I know north of the river is Friendly Frank's Comics Cavern, so I've been going there.

[Paradox]

Sir Tim Drake wants the memories:

Who else has experienced the demise of a cherished comic book store?

Well, I don't know about "cherished", but the place I used for over a decade (Scott's Comics & Cards) in the '80s & '90s went belly up...sort of. They were making far more money on cards and jewelry, so they just gave up on the comics. They were a good place, not a great one, but I stuck with them because they gave 20% off all new books. And I made out like a bandit when they decided to liquidate the back-issue stock. Got most of the Legion V.4 Giffen/Bierbaum/et al run for a buck a piece.

What did you do about it?

Luckily, we had TWO good stores here in town, so I just returned to Fanfare Sports & Entertainment, which was the store I was using before Scott's opened. And, in the 10-15 years since I'd shopped there, Fanfare had MUCH improved. They even had a discount like the other place (well, you had to pay $5 a year, but big deal). Had I known, I'd have probably switched over to Fanfare before Scott's even went out of the comic business.

[Jared_Humpherys]

Where is B-Bop? I'm in Liberty. Never heard of it though.

The only one I know north of the river is Friendly Frank's Comics Cavern, so I've been going there.


B-Bop is owned by Friendly Frank's. There are two B-bop locations: Westport across from Clint's and at 95th and Nall in Overland Park(which is where 1 Million used to be). Elite is on Quivira and 119th, right next to Thai place(mmmm...Thai...)

Feel free to pm me if you ever feel like meeting and chatting at Frank's some time(although it's kinda hard for me to get there with 635 being closed for construction...).

[Grant]

There was one store near my first college that wasn't very good and they closed. So I basically picked up comics when I visited my parents once a month (I lived a block away from a shop when I was a teenager). I love the plethora of comic shops in New York. Every job and nearly every apartment I ever had was in reasonably close distance to a comic shop. And barely anything I wanted was sold out.

[Sir Tim Drake]

By the way, the name of the store I'm no longer visiting is Newbury Comics, just so everyone else will know to avoid it.

[Adem]

There was a comic book store in a small town a fair distance away from where I live now. When I first moved to my house I was 7 and every month my mom would take me there. One day when I was 11 I went there and the store was a Hallmarks I was pretty sad.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

There was a comic book store in a small town a fair distance away from where I live now. When I first moved to my house I was 7 and every month my mom would take me there. One day when I was 11 I went there and the store was a Hallmarks I was pretty sad.


Did they leave a card at least ?

[Jessie]

Artifex, here in San Diego. It didn't go out of business, but supposedly "moved", though I couldn't find it years ago.

The place mostly sold card games, or sports cards ad the like. Next, I suppose they sold more shirts and posters than they did comics. People searching for comics were usually left on their own until you dragged the owner or one of his lackeys over for a little help, but they let you read the comics quite a bit. It was a stereotypical nerdy place, with tables set up for what I swear was more than weekly games of Magic: The Gathering, and tabletop roleplaying. If you wandered in during those nights, god help you if you decided to purchase anything and needed to be rung up. Oh, I hated it. It was, unfortunately, the only place that sold comics within walking distance 10 years ago.

[Prelude]

Who else has experienced the demise of a cherished comic book store? What did you do about it?I've had comic shops that I would infrequently visit just disappear. I can't say I was sad about their closing, there are plenty of other decent comic shops in the Chicago area.

I would be a little hurt if the shop (Apocalypse on Chicago's Northside) that I regularly attend now doesn't survive. I could always find another comic shop that delivers the same product, but the owner is such a cool guy.

[Sir Tim Drake]

There was a comic book store in a small town a fair distance away from where I live now. When I first moved to my house I was 7 and every month my mom would take me there. One day when I was 11 I went there and the store was a Hallmarks I was pretty sad.

That reminds me of another cherished comic store that closed. It was never my regular store, which is why I didn't mention it when I started this thread.

There used to be a store called Dave's Comics in Royal Oak, Michigan. I go to Michigan every winter to visit my grandparents, and I went there a couple times over a period of two or three years. It was well-organized and had an excellent back issue selection. One year, I went back to Royal Oak and was looking forward eagerly to returning to Dave's, but I was badly disappointed to discover that it had been replaced by another store. *sigh*

(As a footnote to this story, I later learned that Dave was a friend of koop's.)

[Sir Tim Drake]

Artifex, here in San Diego. It didn't go out of business, but supposedly "moved", though I couldn't find it years ago.

You live in San Diego? I envy you. :)

[Jessie]

If it makes you feel better, I never go to the comic con.

[i_mmmchocolate]

I'm sorry, Tim.

I've never experienced this personally though- how close is the nearest comic shop from your relocating (graduate school I presume)?

[The Grey Man]

And on a related note, what's the best comics mailorder service? Next year I'll be in a place where there seems to be no comic book store at all.

I use this cool one

http://www.mycomicshop.com

they are based in USA but they post to me in the UK, sometimes cheaper than inland stores do. u get free posting if u order enough.


i have a similar thread on here somewhere about best & worst comic shop experiences.. check it out and add to it please.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I'm sorry, Tim.

I've never experienced this personally though- how close is the nearest comic shop from your relocating (graduate school I presume)?

I don't know. It's kind of odd that there's no comic store in town, because the School of Cartoon Studies is right nearby, and there's a professor at Dartmouth (who will probably be my advisor) who actually studies comics. But Professor Merino told me that she gets her comics through the mail.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I use this cool one

http://www.mycomicshop.com

they are based in USA but they post to me in the UK, sometimes cheaper than inland stores do. u get free posting if u order enough.

I think this is the one I'm going to use.

[Deathstroke]

My comic shop is shutting down.

Thankfully it's a temporary thing.

The store is moving to a location that is closer to me.

This is all happening soon and he'll be open as of Oct. 1 if things go according to plan.

[Headhunter]

Must be terrible to lose a store you cherish. I've only frequented 2 stores; my current one, and a store that I keep hoping will shut down. It's stores like my old one that give comics a bad name; yelling at kids and belittling customers and outsiders alike while running a lousy business is not helping anyone.

Aside from all that, I've also heard good things about Mile High.

[Destroyerwod]

Personally if i could just have a comic store in the closest big town , i would be happy, i must admit i never really check, but well i never heard of one being in this city for lot of year. Does anybody know if there a comic store in sherbrooke , quebec? lol

[Headhunter]

Does anybody know if there a comic store in sherbrooke , quebec? lol
http://the-master-list.com/Canada/Quebec/index.shtml#Sherbrooke

There are also a few listed on Sherbrooke street; at least one should be good to go.

[Destroyerwod]

Thx man, at least it seem there are one in sherbrooke, i would have a look on that. But sherbrooke street is actually in montreal, and me its sherbrooke the town. But like i say there one, so i will have a look, even if the info are from 2001...lol hope they are still in business. In montreal there planty of them...but its like 1 hour 30 min of car from my home and i don`t drive anyway...so im better ordering them on internet at this point lol.