goldust40

I did comic shows for 18 years, man and boy. Hardest job in the world..... Seriously, most customers are generally fine. Rather a few do ask for a considerable discount on books that are already listed at half guide, but there you go. There's the odd one or two who do make life difficult, certainly. And then there's the odd nightmare, which thankfully is not too frequent. I have tales of thievery & death threats. I think it's time to hear a few stories.

It was worth the effort.

Well it could.

It could happen.

You're 12 years short of retirement. (Watched the Ultimate Fast Show box set a few weeks ago. Great stuff.) Will be picking up that box set asap. Bend your knees properly.

You're 12 years short of retirement. (Watched the Ultimate Fast Show box set a few weeks ago. Great stuff.) Will be picking up that box set asap.

Pretty book. The art on this particular book might be the worst in the BA, though. It's complete and utter hell on the eyes A book that has had virtually no fan interest ever is suddenly a must-have item. I love this hobby.

I did comic shows for 18 years, man and boy. Hardest job in the world..... Seriously, most customers are generally fine. Rather a few do ask for a considerable discount on books that are already listed at half guide, but there you go. There's the odd one or two who do make life difficult, certainly. And then there's the odd nightmare, which thankfully is not too frequent. I have tales of thievery & death threats. I have a feeling running a store is different to doing a five hour monthly show. I used to get the odd serial petty pilferer, but with only 16 boxes (these days less) and two sets of eyes it's hard to distract me. I look forward to these tales from the comic crypt....

I did comic shows for 18 years, man and boy. Hardest job in the world..... Seriously, most customers are generally fine. Rather a few do ask for a considerable discount on books that are already listed at half guide, but there you go. There's the odd one or two who do make life difficult, certainly. And then there's the odd nightmare, which thankfully is not too frequent.

It's one for you nineteen for me...

seems my troubles were so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay She came in through the bathroom window... and I saw her standing there it's all too much I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping as my guitar gently weeps number nine

I always appreciate it when someone gives me a lead on comic books but, unfortunately, I steer clear of Paramount Book Exchange because of the following experience. In the 90s they held occasional sales where huge stacks of comic books would be put out at the front of the shop, all priced 25p. Most of it was drek / mid grade, but you could find the odd BA book, stuff like Astonishing Tales, Fear - Deathlok, Morbius appearances. I went in very early one morning when a sale was on, the shop was empty, and the younger of the two brothers was there 'managing'. I knew I'd been identified on previous visits as a collector, and I recall him rushing up to me predatorily, in a bit of a frenzy, demanding... 'Although these are all marked 25p, I'm charging you 50 each!' Thought it was a bit infantile and desperate, felt quite sorry for him and I just replied.. 'Well, that was suicidal, wasn't it?' Turned my back and walked out. Yes, seventeen years ago, never been there since. Only in such comic shops would you ever get that sort of absurdly unprofessional behaviour, although that really is beyond the pale. Good move on leaving that place and not letting temptation draw you back.

seems my troubles were so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay She came in through the bathroom window... and I saw her standing there it's all too much

They Walk Among Us sounds familiar, didn't they used to be one of the main mail order dealers? I also remember names like; Dangerous Visions and Dark They Were and something Eyed?? Dark They Were And Golden Eyed was the first proper comic shop in London, situated in St. Anne's Court in Soho (ironically the same building where Ross and Gambaccini's Top Ten Comics was, in the early 90s). It was the mecca / hangout for what was then a pretty small geek community. It shut its doors in the late 70s, with most of its staff, including a pre-Comic Showcase Paul Hudson, relocating to Forbidden Planet in Denmark Street. They Walk Among Us was in Richmond - it had back issues but was mainly focused on merchandise and imports. After at least 15 years of trading it got taken over by Biff Averre of Ace Comics and is still very much open for business. Worth checking out if you're in Richmond...it's near the high street. 30th Century Comics is also still going - located on the Lower Richmond Road near Putney Bridge / High Street, it's definitely worth a look as they have a decent back issue selection.

That must have been the most expensive comic shop in the world I remember the heyday of Stateside, with John S. at the helm. At one point they had concessions in the Virgin Megastores in Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road, and also the top floor of Hamleys. And of course they still had their East Barnet headquarters, as well as shops in other cities. Eventually (as you no doubt know) they morphed into Comicana and settled into premises on Shaftesbury Avenue. Hard to believe there used to be comic shops on Oxford Street. I miss the staff of the Tottenham Court Road downstairs concession. Fun bunch of lads.... Comicana was cool. Alex was great fun. Anyone visit Skinny Melinks in Lewisham? It was always good to see the perennially upbeat Alex Alexander. Still see him at shows. I did go to Skinny Melinks a couple of times, although as it was on the other side of London I had to have been going in that direction in the first place. Quite a small dark place as I remember..it did have some decent back issues, but I can't recall buying anything. They closed down some time ago... Avalon Comics in Clapham is still going strong, although I haven't been there in over a decade. When it first opened I went there and they had a tremendous back issue selection - I suspect it was the owner's private collection, as on subsequent visits none of the Golden Age stuff was there. I must check them out at some point....

seems my troubles were so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay She came in through the bathroom window...

That must have been the most expensive comic shop in the world I remember the heyday of Stateside, with John S. at the helm. At one point they had concessions in the Virgin Megastores in Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road, and also the top floor of Hamleys. And of course they still had their East Barnet headquarters, as well as shops in other cities. Eventually (as you no doubt know) they morphed into Comicana and settled into premises on Shaftesbury Avenue. Hard to believe there used to be comic shops on Oxford Street. I miss the staff of the Tottenham Court Road downstairs concession. Fun bunch of lads....

That line just triggered my memory for a shop in the 1970s, It was in the arcade in Newcastle called Kard bar, it was a hippy hangout selling posters, records, patches and other stuff under the counter. They always had a couple of boxes of comics at very cheap prices. There was loads of hippys smoking drugs and chilling out listing to the music from the shop. When I read that line, I swear I could smell patchouli. Smell is the most powerful memory trigger. My other great memory of that era (the late 70s / early 80s) was going to record shops in Camden and Notting Hill. The two best shops then were Rock On Records in Camden, which had the offices of Stiff Records upstairs, and Rough Trade in Notting Hill, which was run by former hardline leftie activists who had little time for schoolkids like me rifling through their stock. Record shop staff were far ruder than comic shop staff, and both shops (and others like them) stank of smoke and were a mess. But their attitude didn't put me off going, and the music on the tannoy was always good. And most of these shops did well with badges, patches etc. which fitted in with the indie DIY culture of the time. And of course the music then was way better than now.

I remember Dark They Were, just. I went there a handful of times before they shut up shop and morphed into FP. FP had some decent back issues when they opened their premises in Denmark Street...hard to believe I know. There was also a filthy old-school little hellhole called Reedmore Books, near Finchley Road overground (the building has since been demolished). Went there in the early to mid 70s. The staff were lank-haired, misshapen and surly. There was a cordoned off bit, separated by what looked like a shower curtain, where they had all the porn mags. All the comics were piled up high in various nooks and crannies, covered in a thin film of soot, with the prices pencilled on the back. Great days. There was also a stall in Camden Market that I went to in 73/74. Owner was friendly and prices reasonable. Didn't last long. Still remember the stench of incense and patchouli oil emanating from neighbouring stalls. And then there was Comic Showcase, which opened just before the direct market changed everything. When I first went there in 79 / 80 it was a tiny little place round the corner from the Lyceum. Cool place to hang out in.. From 79 - 87, Showcase and FP were all there was in central London, apart from a place called Paradise Alley (round the corner from FP) which was so small you could barely get three customers in at once. Again run by a surly bloke who insisted on taking your bag for fear you might half-inch his precious stock. Can't recall ever buying anything there. That building too is long gone. Never got to New Cross to see Dez's shop.

Does that make us young or old by the standards of the boards...? Hard to tell. 30 is young here. Especially in the GA section.

I think David Alexander has a shedload of those on ebay.

Don't mind me, I'm only sleeping.