Black_Adam

I had no idea they were closing. I know they have been having a "sale" for the last six months or so where they had been blowing out old inventory and when I was last there a month ago (on a Saturday) the store was relatively busy. But nothing like the old days. Like others here, I discovered the Comicshop in its heyday (1980) and never looked back. Prior to that I had been forced to scour used bookstores in North Vancouver for old comics and rarely found anything better than good condition. Walking up those stairs on 4th avenue and seeing the treasure trove of comics (my friend still remembers being blown away by the FF #1 in NM condition they had on display with a price tag of $500 - the idea that anyone would ever spend that much money on one comic...) blew my 12-year-old mind and turned me from a comic fan into a true comic collector. Finally a place where I could not only find seemingly any back issues I wanted, often in near mint condition (many early X-Men issues found in the bins would later grade 9.4 when sent to CGC), comic supplies, etc, but also a place where I was surrounded by like-minded collectors, many of them adults, which reassured me my hobby wasn't kid stuff.

I was lucky enough that my dad's house (25th and Arbutus) was only a short bike ride away and I spent countless Saturdays in that store bin-diving and always left with unburied treasure safely stored away in that iconic yellow bag (I think they were paper back then).

I've posted this picture before and I believe this was taken (I didn't take it) at the first of three locations of the Comicshop, but the two hippies in the foreground were the owners when I went there and were always helpful and respectful of a 12-year-old kid who just loved comics and will forever be associated with any and all memories I have of the place. RIP Comicshop.