RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books What's yer comic shop like?

New comic shop, Virginia Collectables, opened up in June. Three doors down from the site of my first comic shop.

Well lit, friendly (if not evil) people, and damn good deals.

For example, First day the place was open, I got Starman #0 for 50 cents.

on Wedensday, I got Detective Comics #327 (First new-look Batman) for Two dollars. All story pages and cover still intact, just a couple coupons cut out.

And, all Archives are 35 bucks. Not to mention the 10% subscriber discount.

I like my comic shop.

My comic-shop is run & owned by my dear friend Nicole. It's a place where me and mah crew hang. Plus, I live right upstairs! Home, sweet home!

I used to work at my comic shop. With the exception of dealing with sports nuts and gamers, I enjoyed it, and I made some good friends in the owner and store manager. I get a decent discount, anywhere from 10-20%, depending on their mood, and they always give me free comics for christmas or my birthday.

If it weren't for the new employees they've taken on since I left, or the huge amount of complete and total beyond help geeks that are always there, it would be great.

My local is called Quality Comics, which was the centre of some controversy when a comic shipment was stopped by Customs for containing offensive material.

Its well lit, with friendly helpful staff. My only problem with it is that it has a limited range.

A friend and I are planning on buying it one day, as its the only one in the entire city.

There's the old lady with the cane (not THAT old, but uses a cane) who was in the paper and refused to give her name, and the dude with the Superman shirt from the kick-ass Pink Floyd cover band. I started saying "Hi" to them about a year and a half ago.

They're three I usually go to. My local one, Comics Conspiracy, is the smallest of the three, but is wall-to-wall-to-ceiling comics. They have nearly everything, and if they don't, it takes about a week to get. You get an automatic 10% discount, plus another 5% if you're military. Bags and Boards are free with purchase.

My home away from home is A-1 Comics in Sacramento. Same variety as Comics Conspiracy, yet maybe more indy stuff. No automatic 10%, but I still get the 10% military. Bags and Boards are a nickel a piece. TPBs are 10-20% off all the time.

The one I occassionally go to is Comic City, down in San Diego. Medium-Sized store with same variety, and a big, big back issue storage. Signing up for pull boxes is free and you get 10% off, and a 15% military discount. Bags and Boards are a dime each, though. You might see some local talent in there, mostly Wildstorm staff; that's how I met Jim Lee when I was 12.

The Toys Time Forgot. Nice big place, tons of old toys and comics. I've known the owner for years, he sometimes asks me if I'd like to work for him and I'd love to but I can't afford to take a cut in pay. He doesn't really have his website finished so you can't buy anything off him yet.

The sole comic shop in Southend is called: 'Into The Void.' It's on the top level of a windswept 1960s style shopping plaza called Victoria Circus. In fact the shop is on the bridge that crosses over a very busy dual carriageway called Queensway.

'Into the Void' has had a number of owners. When I first started buying comics the shop was located in the basement level of Victoria circus. The old lady, who sometimes worked there, used to play incredibly complex games of patience ( a solo card game) on the counter.

When I last visited the shop (yesterday) there was a cardboard sign on the door announcing that the store was under new management. I can't say that I noticed the difference. I seldom talk to the guys behind the counter. I just buy my stuff and get out of there. Sometimes there will be a few people hanging around talking about Buffy or Farscape.

A few years ago I caught the end of an hilarious argument - two middle aged men almost came to blows over whether the Starship Enterprise would be able to beat an Imperial Star Destroyer in combat. One of the men claimed he had played out the encounter using 'Star Fleet battles' (a tedious starship combat table-top game) and that the Enterprise had won.

Like a lot of small comic shops, 'Into the void' carries a lot of back issues (unsold stock) but they simply can't afford to carry the same range of graphic novels as the big comic shops in London.

They generally put the new stuff out on Friday, and as they only carry a few of each title, you have to get there very quickly to pick up a popular comic such as 'Planetary' or 'LOEG'. When I went there yesterday they'd already sold out of 100 Bullets which pissed me off some.

Also they often don't stock poorly selling titles, obviously because they can't shift them. I had trouble buying American Century there towards the end of its run.

A couple of years ago 'Into the Void' expanded into the adjacent property, which is run as a seperate shop and sells actions figures and other comic book and movie related merchandise.

I'm sorry to say that for the sake of convenience I often buy my comics in London. There's a great little shop opposite the British Museum, whose name escapes me. It's a super place though - really cramped but the people who work there are friendly and there's a good atmosphere. The weird thing about that place is that they've obviously bought a free-standing metal spiral staricase from somewhere and then stuck it at the back of the shop so that you can get down to the basement.

I used to go to A-1 comics also. I went to their Roseville every wednesday during my lunch break and their Sacramento store about twice a month for tpb's and other stuff.

Noice! I sometimes go to the Roseville one, if I'm ever on my way to Tahoe.

Now I go to a store in here in Eugene. I forgot the name but really helpful staff and have a lot of comics.

The Enterprise would kick ass on a Star Destroyer. Do Destroyers even HAVE any torpedoes? What a stupid argument...

Lets keep that arguement on another thread.

Here in Bourbonnais, there is one comic shop: The Comic Outlet. It's a small store, smaller than what I'm used to, anyway. However, the owners are a father and son who genuinely love comics, which is always a plus. The walls are adorned with autographed comics, like Captain America #1 signed by both John Ney-Rieber and John Cassaday. There's also a large section of back issues in the center of the shop with newer comics placed in bins around the room. While the owners don't really talk a lot with the customers, once you visit enough, they are actually quite friendly. When 1602 #2 came out, I went in the next day to pick it up, but they'd already sold out. When I talked to the owners, one of them (the father) pulled his own copy off the shelf behind the counter and gave it to me. That made a believer out of me! :)

For the harder-to-find comics and TPBs, my buddies and I make about a bi-monthly trek to Frankfort, Illinois to visit Amazing Fantasy. I don't really talk to the staff much, but this place is loaded with everything from comics to RPGs to videos and DVDs. We took a little trip up there for Free Comic Book Day this year and got a bag of proverbial goodies, including some books that they just were looking to get rid of, like Harley Quinn #2, as well as some lesser-known titles, like some pretty decent Moonstone books. A friend of mine has taken to their indy section pretty well, finding a place in his heart for the generic Comic Book, of which he has (I believe) the first four issues. It's also a good place to pick up older comics that a lot of other stores have sold out of. I went and bought Batman #614 around the time that Batman #618 was getting ready to come out. They also have a large selection of TPBs, toys, and RPG books/miniatures. This place has just about everything to keep a fanboy happy. A really good place.

Back home, I used to go to a place called Consignment Comics and Collectibles. The owner was a really nice guy who kept AWESOME hours (often staying open for hours after he was scheduled to close) and sold all of his back issues for a dollar. He mainly catered to gamers, though, and eventually went out of business, sadly. However, a new gaming place just opened up there, so I dunno if he opened that himself or if someone else did. But as I'm not much of a gamer, I doubt I'll be heading over there.

Now I head to a pretty average comic shop, called Comic Carnival, which has three locations in Indy. The location I go to is known for their collection of a lot of non-comic related things. They have toys, posters, T-shirts, bootleg movies, manga and anime up the wahzoo, soundtracks from the old Supergirl movie, etc. I went in once to see them handing out free buttons for the Indiana Jones DVD release. The staff is pretty cool, but are pretty damn nerdy. They play Magic over the counter (like Walt and Steve-Dave in the deleted opening scene in Chasing Amy), argue frivolous continuity points, and talking about which creators they like/don't like. Plus, the staff draws little charicatures of certain authors and put them up by displays of books by said author (the Alan Moore one was friggin' hilarious!).

Those are my four 'main' comic shops, though I'd assume it'd only be three now. At any rate, I haven't found the perfect comic shop yet (though the place with the free bags and boards sounds pretty damn close, TK). I've always wanted to visit Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash out in Redbank, NJ, just 'cuz I'm a big Kevin Smith fan. I've also wanted to visit the "comic shop of the stars" that I read about in Wizard a few years back, frequented by people like Samuel L. Jackson and others of his ilk. (Can't for the life of me, remember the name of it now, though...)

The Golden Apple. There's two of 'em, but you wanna go to the Hollywood one, I think. Two stories of comics, my friend. It's a nice one. Secret Stash is fuckin' expensive. And it's like a Planet Hollywood for Smith movies. Want a Buddy Christ car statue? Seven bucks! A Mooby Hat? 14 smackers! Get my drift?

Dark Star Comics in Yellow Springs, Ohio...

Located in a small hippy infested college town about 25 minutes from my house. Nice looking, earthy, artsy chicks all around....so I ain't complaining.

it´s great, it´s really really great, besides from the fact that I have to go to the other side of the country to visit it
That REALLY sucks!
But other than that, thank you God for the Internet!

My favorite place for comics:
Comicopia Located in Kenmore Square, just a short walk from Fenway Park. It's in the basement of an apartment complex, but it's not the dark hole you'd expect. They carry a full stock of big-name comics, indies, anime, and merchandise. They're probably the best place to go for trade paperbacks.
Sadly, James, who knew everyone's name and made recommendations based on what you bought, is no longer there, but I still like the place.
I also get some stuff at Newbury Comics, but they don't always get all the new issues, or they sell out quickly, because sometimes I can't find stuff there. I've ranted in the past about how they ought to change their name to "Newbury CD/DVD/Collectibles" or something, to better reflect what they're selling now, but if I can't get into Boston, I'll walk up the street (there's a NC five minutes from where I work), pick up what they have, and put what I can't find on my list for next week.
For back issues, I order from Mile High Comics. I've never had any problems with them.