electricprune

Nostalgia Ink- Jackson, MI. Home of the Titans and Jackson State Prison. I have been to this store once before. It’s nice. The owners usually set up at Motor City Comic Con and usually have great stuff to look through. i picked up some decent books here, including the book of the trip so far. It wasn’t priced, so I was worried he might come back with $50. He checked out something online and said, “$10.” Nice! Nice selection of Silver through Modern and even had some Gold. They do have some slabs as well. They have a ton of Modern and Independent boxes to look through, but I stuck to the Silver, Bronze, and Copper area. Definitely visit this store if you’re in the area. Do not pick up hitch hikers. Aside: when I walked in, the two guys were JAMMING metal! I guess that probably pumps you up to buy more books. Some of it was Neu-Metal, but that’s ok. I was happy with what I found.

Secret Crisis Comics- Chelsea, MI. Home of the Bulldogs. I had never been to this store before. It’s not far off I-94 for people heading to or from Detroit. It’s in a nice strip mall. Quite a few people were in and out while I was there, so that’s a good sign. Store was neat and presented very well. The store has may different items in stock, new comics, some older comics, TPBs, toys, etc. It has nice selection of newer collectibles. They have several short boxes of back issues, and I believe I looked through all of them. Mostly modern books with a splash of Silver, Bronze, and Cooper. A small splash really. Owner was nice and let me go through the boxes without asking if he could help me find anything. I’m looking for impulse buys, so not much help to be had. I picked up two books. He does have a wall with some decent issue and slabs, but Silver, Bronze, and Copper were sparse. I would suggest checking this store out for modern stuff or pull lists if you happen to be in the area. I may check it out once a year myself. Asides: Although Chelsea is a bit far out from Detroit, it has two very well known restaurants just down the street from the shop. The Common Grille and Smokehouse 52. Common Grille would be steaks and American fare. Smokehouse 52 is obviously BBQ. I did it eat at 52 with a native Texan and her husband who grew up there. They both liked it. Check one of these out if you go to the shop.

This and Fear 17. Take

Take

Take

No, just the soda pop version. Only one I saw.

Comic Showcase- Wixom, MI Although it is growing, Wixom still doesn’t have its own High School. Ford used to have the Wixom Plant there, but it was torn down. I’ve never been to this store before today. It’s on the end of a small strip mall. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much. On the inside, it’s one of the nicest looking comic shops I’ve ever been in. Check out the nice wood floors! They have many long boxes to look through. They are organized by price, and in no order after that. You can see the pricing on the front of the boxes. They were all 50% off today! They have a nice selection of books. Most are ‘90- present but there are Bronze and Copper in the boxes. The owner also has many wall books including some keys. He also carries sports cards, paper money, coins and autographed items. I would definitely check this store out if you’re in the area. Owner seemed like he’d shell and deal if you wanted to. Seemed like a very nice guy. He had supplies and some new books, but this didn’t look like a store you would go to for new monthly books. I am not the best judge of that though. I did notice several Batman, Superman, Punisher and X-Men books in the long boxes. He had 4 other Kong’s with books as marked and not 50% off. Then another box with Mad and sports mags, all bagged and boarded. My haul was all half off except the ASM book.

This is BS. How am I supposed to buy all the books except mine, and send them to him??? This makes it very difficult to cheat.

Is that a real Jokerfish copy?

Do we even know what number each of us have?

I don’t know if this counts as part of my collection. It’s also not new. I did just have it framed though. Signatures from: Olan Soule- Batman Casey Kasem- Robin Michael Bell- Zan/Gleek Shannon Farnon- Wonder Woman. Norman Alden- Aquaman Ted Knight- Narrator Bill Calloway- Aquaman Jack Angel- Samurai Buster Jones- Black Vulcan (He spelled his name incorrectly on the card as “Buster Jone.” Danny Dark, who voiced Superman, died in 2004, well before I got this. I bought this in a charity thread on the boards and did nothing with it until recently. I wish I could remember who I bought it from. I remember he lived in Westland, MI though.

Wow, you worked there full time for that long? We would have likely crossed paths at some point then. What happened towards the end? I remember the large Livonia store closed, but I believe another smaller shop opened in the same strip mall under the same name. I think I only went there once, and it was focused more on new books and didn't have much as far as back issues went. I honestly didn't think the large location lasted much passed '93 or '94.

Doubt there were many better in the US for a comic collecting kid in the 70s and 80s.

Oh, yes. I’ll do as many of those as I can. I probably have only been to half of the Metro Detroit shops. So there should be several.

I believe they do. I think I have been there once, but didn't buy anything. I'll hit them again eventually. I don't think Lansing has a really good location for back issues. Somewhat surprising with MSU being so close.

Take this too.

Take this too.

I was actually joking that there even was a C, but glad there is.

Is Copy B even nicer? What about C?

Take

Stadium Cards and Comics- Ypsilanti, MI (Yes, that's a real city name) Home of Eastern Michigan University. This is a store that I visit from time to time. The owner and staff are very friendly. You will also find sports cards, non sports cards, and gaming here. They do have tables set up for gaming, and I think they have scheduled games. I do not know of what though. However, if you want some sweet unopened 1989 Fleer Wax, this is your place. The exterior makes it look like the store might be tiny, but it's really not. Comics- They probably have close to 40 longs to look through. They are kept well organized, although Marvel, DC, and other publishers are usually kept separate. You will find Silver to Modern here. You won't find (m)any keys in the longs though. You can sometimes find some nice Bronze though. At one time, they had a long box of some VERY nice Silver and Bronze Western books. They have some mags, and usually a decent supply of bags and boards. If you go here, make sure to check the wall in the back right corner. Behind the back register, you may find some keys on the wall. They do sub some books to CGC. You might find some nice books there. I know they had some early Hulk issues back there in the past (1-6, not post TTA). This place is definitely worth a look. I picked up just a few books, some backer boards, and some penny sleeves and top loaders. I forgot to take an interior picture, so I stole one from the web. Back issues are not 40% off. The boxes are full, and there are more of them now.

Rad Raptor Comics- Adrian, MI- Somehow, I had never been to Adrian before. It's another small town not too far from the Ohio border. It has a small Division III school there, Adrian College. I pulled up a few minutes before it opened. A couple minutes later, some younger kids got out and ran in, so it was open. It's in a unit of another building but is on the Main Street side. It's a clean shop with nice colors. L shaped and not vey big. They have a wall of comics with some random Bronze to Modern, but nothing too special. I walk to the back and there are 20+ long boxes. I see some $2 boxes, so I start there. Mostly moderns, but I did find some books. I did mention drektacular earlier! I looked through the other boxes that were individually priced, and found a couple more. These were also all moderns, so I didn't have much to pick from. There were just a couple Silver books in the showcase, but nothing I wanted to get. It looked like there were some decent Copper books that were being processed too. They also had a smaller bag and board section. Bought a few books chatted with the owner, who was very nice and headed out. Of all things, Adrian has a nice cigar store. It was right around the corner, but it didn't open until later in the day. I headed out to my next appointment.

St. Johns Book Exchange- St. Johns, Michigan. St. Johns is a small town close to being in the middle of the lower peninsula. It's small town America, but has a little modern aspect to it on the outskirts... very little. I have had to be here frequently over the past several months due to a new dairy processing facility project I'm involved with. I had never visited this store. It really is more of a used book store. It looks like it is owned and run by a husband and wife, and maybe their daughter that rang me up. When I walked in, Amazing Grace was playing. The store was carpeted and the books were kept orderly. I made my way back to the middle of the stores and saw 10-12 long boxes, and I dove in. The first few flips made me think I was looking through the worst part of my collection as a kid. American comics, Epic, and few more of the publishers that gave a run at it in the early 80s. The lady came around the corner and said hello. Then someone started playing the piano to Amazing Grace. Interesting. I flipped quickly through the books and worked from box to box. Most of the books were in yellowing bags, probably from the early 80s. I went around the corner to another 10-12 long boxes and 5-6 shorts. I had pulled a few nice looking books, but I was running out of time. The lady said some nicer books were in some boxes behind the counter. They had some decent bronze and early copper titles, nut mostly mid grade. I was pushing my time to leave, but did find a few books.They did have a few decent X-Men books in mid-grade. Very few "keys", not high grade though This one would be hit or miss. The lady said they had purchased some stock from comics stores that closed, so I don't know how often they get new stock. My guess is not often. They have a very small amount of Silver, some bronze, and mostly 80s stuff. They did have some toys and sports cards as well. I don't know anything about the toys, and didn't have time to look at the sports cards. When I left the store, i did have a little melancholy moment when I left the store. The front windows that were so popular in the early to even later 1900s were completely empty. I can see why they don't want to put books in there, but it seemed like there should be something in there. I guess that's how the small town life is going now.

I am on the road for work frequently. I cover a fairly large area that includes 3 states. For whatever reason, I haven't gone out of my way to look for local shops when I'm on the road. With shows coming to an almost complete halt, I'm going to make sure I look for some locals to check out. I promise, I will be getting some drektacular books during these travels.It might be worth it to check out the thread just to see what I get. I promise, some of it will be amusing, possibly insulting. I'll give a little info on the store, maybe some feedback, hopefully some pictures, and who knows what else. So come along and enjoy the ride. Who knows when you might be in the neighborhood of any particular store, and it might seem like a place you'd want to check out! My goal is to make a purchase in each store. I know many of them are struggling now, and hopefully every purchase will help them. Hopefully most are comics, but I will also look at supplies if I don't find any books that I find interesting. Also, if you know of any hidden gems or places that could use every sale they can get, let me know. I may show up anywhere, but I am mostly in Michigan, Indiana, and northern Ohio.

Romance or Bromance?