Dave,
Did Torpedo go out of business?
I have not purchased from them in about 6 months. What I found strange was the two books I purchased from them (as a gift for someone) about 6 months ago are still listed for sale (by them) on eBay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-23-CGC-9-8-HIGHEST-GRADED-/122150902639?hash=item1c70c2db6f:g:5r8AAOSwI-BWOpRJ
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEIRD-WESTERN-TALES-25-CGC-9-8-ONLY-2-GRADED-AT-9-8-/122150902606?hash=item1c70c2db4e:g:WegAAOSwwbdWOpRQ
I knew John was going through some reorganization of his shop. That was the only big store in Vegas I could think of.
I'm in Vegas and I can tell you I went to Torpedo Comics within the last few weeks for the first time and they do not appear to be going out of business.
It was a cool experience going there. I met Jim Lee in person and had him sign a few comics and talked to him for a bit. I heard the owner mention they would never sell any of that magic card game . I thought that was cool. A strictly comic book store. I also liked the way they had all their older and more valuable comics sectioned off from the main floor in a smaller room with see through glass walls.
I had never been to Torpedo Comics before but to me this seemed like it was a new location for them. It was kind of a weird location to be honest. It was off in this complex with a bunch of small subdivided warehouses. Not like in a typical retail center where most comic shops are. However, I understand the small warehouse thing they had going on which seemed cool as it was certainly bigger than your average sized comic shop and would be good if you are trying to run a larger sized internet mail order operation.
Torpedo is owned by John Dolmayan the drummer of System of a Down.
In the back of the store, in the warehouse part he had a drum set with custom artwork all over it. Super cool. Will have to check if I have a picture of it on my phone.
John and crew just opened that LV retail location a few months ago, if memory serves me...