Tell us about that old comic book shop you remember...

[Kawfeadikt]

I started getting into comics at college and there was a local store, Graphitti located on Gayley Ave in Westwood. It was a small space in a strip mall, the walls were covered with the new issues and the middle was packed with back issues (which I ignored). I remember the owner, a thin man with sharp features and glasses, but never talked to him. The first visit was to get wall adornment for the dorm: Marlene Dietrich and Maralyn Monroe posters (because, you know, nothing says you're a hepcat like old film stars). Soon, X-Men (Silvestri run), Batman (Dark Knight, Year Two), Ducks and a lot of black and white drek followed.

 

I heard it closed in the early 90's and became a hair salon. Sad.

 

There was also Golden Apple Comics where I got my silver cert Cyber Force and I visited Hi-De-Ho Books(?)/Comics(?) in West LA.

[Junkdrawer]

newbury comics, i'm talkin the original little hole in the wall on newbury st in boston, they had back issues and a punk rock themed atmosphere. back in that time the comic book conventions were right around the corner at the hines convention center. i remember my buddy getting a x-men 94 for $75, i thought that was some big bucks back them to drop on a book.

[Dick Pontoon]

Yup. That was when the comics took up the bulk of the floorspace and records were a sideline.

 

Still, they were THE place to go for punk and import records.

[toro]

There weren't any comic stores when I was growing up. The stores I went to most was Roland's Grocery, where I waited every Tuesday and Friday for the new batch of comics. I would tick off the people there by pulling out the new books from the wire bundles. No one cared back then about condition, you just wanted to read the latest adventure of Sgt. Rock or see who this Kingpin guy was in Spider-man. It was great to have been around as the Marvel Universe came into being. (of course that makes me old as dirt) I also went to a magazine store across from Roland's called Carnys. They hated kids looking st the comics, but they owners got to like me because I bought almost everyone, from the Avengers to Sad Sack, Dennis the Menace, etc...

 

Later in the early 80s I went to school one city over in Fall River, MA (A+J I think was the original name) and saw for the first time a store that was just for comics. It was amazing walking in there for the first time and seeing all of the crazy prices that people were paying for comics. Conan #1 for $45 (heck I had one in my basement that was hardly touched because it wasn't the usual Marvel stuff) Batman #3 on the wall for $300, wow that seemed so much back then. I was back again with my old friend the comic.

[JmC]

Im not even sure of the name, It was located off whittier blvd on Grealeaf in La Habra California, I used to work for the gardner next store and spend all my money there. Lots of good back issues! plus new, bought my first price guide brand new in 1979. Loved that place!

[Hey Kids, Comics!]

When I was in middle school in the mid 80s, my LCS was Shelton's Heroes Aren't Hard To Find in Greenville, SC. I really dont have a lot of memories from there as I never had a lot of money back then and Shelton has never been the best place to pick up cheap books.

When I moved to Wilmington, NC in 87, my LCS was Henry Gibbs' Memory Lane Comics (Lane was his middle name though 90% of the customers didn't know that so the name wasn't as cool to them). I started working for Henry in 88 as a 15 year old and was in absolute heaven. I got paid in store credit and was thrilled to do so! I remember the Bat craze was absolutely nuts and when Death in the Family Bats 428 was so hot, I could drive around to all the convienince stores and pick up 50 or so of each issue and sell them to Henry for $9. He'd pay $5 for all the other parts so I made a heck of a lot of money for a 15 year old, just taking a little time to drive around (which I liked doing anyway since it was so new). Later on he started doing all the collectible shows that go the malls around the South and I'd accompany on those trips for months at a time during the summer, getting back to the store 2-3 times a month to check in and pick up some more stock for the road. Great times that I wouldnt trade for anything!

[FlyingDonut]

Moondog's Comics on Busse Avenue in Mt. Prospect. I was probably one of the first customers, and would go there every week - first at the Busse Avenue location and then across the street at the larger location. Went all through high school.

 

I would take the 3:16 train from Barrington to Mt. Prospect, get off, walk the three blocks, go to the comic store (and marvel at the books), gab with Moondog, and buy books. For a while there was a pinball arcade on the corner of the street across from the train station, and I'd go there, play pinball, and listen to AC/DC, and then take the 5:30 train back. I did this at 14 and 15. I have a 15 year old son now. I can't imagine what my parents were thinking.

 

[piper]

I used to live in Windsor, Ontario, which is about a 15 minute drive to Detroit. Every once and a while, my parents would take me to a comic shop in Livonia, Michigan called Classic Movie and Comic Center. They had a huge selection of SA books. I would save up my paper route money and buy as many books as I could get for $150. At the time, it was all about quantiity....

 

I think what made the experience so surreal was that up to then the only back issues I could obtain locally were late 70's and early 80's drek. The guide may have had listings for Ditko ASMs, but you could never find them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[decepticon]

I first started in the early 80s off of spinner racks in local 7-11s then found out about a comic shop in New Carrollton Mall in Maryland. I forgot the name of the store, but it was a mid-size shop with some fairly decent back issues. I still have one of their comic bags (I'll try to scan it later). I'm not even sure the store exists anymore since it's been a long time. Later on, I found another local store in Georgetown, DC. I believe the name was Another Universe. That's where I got most of my back issues. I miss those days.. My dad used to give me a $10 spending limit per 2 weeks to buy books. During that time, I was able to collect about 1000+ books, but then stopped for a good 30 years. I just got back into comics a little over a year ago.. and my collection has grown out of control ever since.

[rjrjr]

 

There were several comic shops in Phoenix. The first was All About Books & Comics which was located on Camelback (but has since moved to Central Ave.) My dad would drive my brother and I down there every couple of weeks to get our comics. They just celebrated their 29th anniversary a few weeks ago which means we were some of their early customers. The next comic shop that I frequented was Stalking Moon Bookstore in Glendale. I assume we started going there as kids because it was closer to where we lived. That shop no longer exists. When I went off to college in Flagstaff, the LCS was Images Illustrated just off campus, but there was also a really good bookstore called McGaughs which carried comics. Neither of these establishments exist any more. After college, I moved my comic box to a store at Scottsdale Rd. and Shea, but I cannot remember the stores name. It not only had comics, but also dealt in toys, manga, etc. Finally, I moved my comic box to Atomic Comics near Paradise Valley Mall until they moved into a darker, smaller location. Since they moved location, I started buying my new comics from DCBS due to the discount which Atomic Comics never offered.

[ciorac]

There were several comic shops in Phoenix. The first was All About Books & Comics which was located on Camelback (but has since moved to Central Ave.) My dad would drive my brother and I down there every couple of weeks to get our comics. They just celebrated their 29th anniversary a few weeks ago which means we were some of their early customers. The next comic shop that I frequented was Stalking Moon Bookstore in Glendale. I assume we started going there as kids because it was closer to where we lived. That shop no longer exists. When I went off to college in Flagstaff, the LCS was Images Illustrated just off campus, but there was also a really good bookstore called McGaughs which carried comics. Neither of these establishments exist any more. After college, I moved my comic box to a store at Scottsdale Rd. and Shea, but I cannot remember the stores name. It not only had comics, but also dealt in toys, manga, etc. Finally, I moved my comic box to Atomic Comics near Paradise Valley Mall until they moved into a darker, smaller location. Since they moved location, I started buying my new comics from DCBS due to the discount which Atomic Comics never offered.

 

Did you ever go to The One Book Shop right by the ASU campus? I shopped there in the 70s and he often had some sweet silver age stuff, including keys. I made a bi-weekly trip there with my brother to spend our allowance for seven year stretch from '73 - '80

 

I know they closed up in the 90s, but have fond memories of that store

[rjrjr]

There were several comic shops in Phoenix. The first was All About Books & Comics which was located on Camelback (but has since moved to Central Ave.) My dad would drive my brother and I down there every couple of weeks to get our comics. They just celebrated their 29th anniversary a few weeks ago which means we were some of their early customers. The next comic shop that I frequented was Stalking Moon Bookstore in Glendale. I assume we started going there as kids because it was closer to where we lived. That shop no longer exists. When I went off to college in Flagstaff, the LCS was Images Illustrated just off campus, but there was also a really good bookstore called McGaughs which carried comics. Neither of these establishments exist any more. After college, I moved my comic box to a store at Scottsdale Rd. and Shea, but I cannot remember the stores name. It not only had comics, but also dealt in toys, manga, etc. Finally, I moved my comic box to Atomic Comics near Paradise Valley Mall until they moved into a darker, smaller location. Since they moved location, I started buying my new comics from DCBS due to the discount which Atomic Comics never offered.

 

Did you ever go to The One Book Shop right by the ASU campus? I shopped there in the 70s and he often had some sweet silver age stuff, including keys. I made a bi-weekly trip there with my brother to spend our allowance for seven year stretch from '73 - '80

 

I know they closed up in the 90s, but have fond memories of that store

 

I do not remember the One Book Shop, but that was probably because I was too young to drive. About 8-10 years ago, there were 2 comic shops located near ASU, none of which were called One Book Shop. One carried mainstream comics and toys and over ordered on Crossgen comics. They had a decent back issue selection. Another shop carried mostly independent titles. I loved that second shop because you were able to browse titles that you just didn't see in most shops. The owner also sold the variant covers for a very reasonable price. I'm not sure if either shop exists anymore.

 

There was also Tom Kalb's place out in Tempe. That was a dream shop for back issues. The shop was always a mess, but if you took the time to dig, you always came up with something. And he was willing to negotiate on the prices. I bought lots and lots of Star Wars (Marvel) issues from that store.

 

Now that I'm thinking about it, there was also a very small shop in downtown Scottsdale, the 5th avenue shop area. I never understood how that place could afford to stay in business, since I imagine the rent had to be high. It didn't last very long.

[jerome34]

When I first started collecting comics (at age 8 in 1942) my only source was the local

drug store which was OK since I had so little money that I could not get more than

one book at a time.

 

A few years later, I learned of a store that dealt in back issues. It was run by John

Kiester who was a veteran who had been been gassed in WW I (which, eventually,

turned into cancer which killed him in 1960). I got to go to his store about 4 - 6

times a year and he became my best (and only) friend. For a while in high school,

I helped him. We would go to a Waldorf paper plant where they would recycle paper

and go through the magazines and comics and pull out the stuff that he could sell. By

the time I was 11 I was a book finder for most of the bookstores in the Twin Cities

talking wholesale, retail, what they wanted and what I could get at the Salvation Army

bookstore and trade for what I wanted.

 

Towards the end of high school, I switched from comics to Science Fiction and got a

lot of SF from him. I went to college in Boston so I did not see him often after that.

About 1957 I bought his personal collection of "Weird Tales" (pulp magazine). Every

time any Weird tales came into his store, ho took them home to blend into his

collection. When I got it, it was complete for 1927, nothing for 1928, and complete

from Jan 1929 to the end in 1954. I paid $160 for the lot (he named the price and I

grabbed it). In 1965, I sold it to the MIT Science Fiction Society for $500 (knowing it

was worth about $1500 at the time).

 

I took a short break from comics from about 1950 - 1983 so missed the Silver Age

and had to start over from scratch. I had sold most of my comics in about 1950

and the rest (Action 6 and All Star 6 - 55<?>) were stolen by my younger brother to

buy booze and cigarettes.

 

Interesting times.

[DWL]

I still remember as a young kid going to Doug Sulipa's Comic World. He was located on the second or third floor of an old house in downtown Winnipeg.

 

The place was amazing. You walked up these squeaky old stairs, entered the doorway and were just overwhelmed with comics. It seemed like he had every square inch of wall space covered with books. With that, I was hooked.

[kdoginohio]

Northcoast Nostalgia in Parma, Ohio. A good chunk of my collection came from there. Walked in while they were still moving in. Didn't realize they weren't open for business yet.

[Jayman]

Escargot Books in Brielle, NJ. It was a used bookstore that had a lot of then-recent back issues in boxes on the floor. None bagged or boarded and the price was always written in pencil on the top right corner of the first page. It was a little distance from where I lived, but IIRC, I found it in the phone book and every now and then my mom or dad would take me there with $20 or so and I'd pick out a massive stack of 70s DC.

 

There was also a guy at Englishtown Auction (huge flea market in Monmouth County NJ) who had - as I remember it from 30 years ago - bookshelves absolutely full of comics. For some reason I remember getting a batch of Superman's in the 330s there, along with many many others.

 

I've picked Escargot Books clean (of anything good) a couple of times in the past. I remember them having a fairly full early run of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos that I passed on for some reason. I went back the next week and they were gone!

 

Been to Englishtown a couple of times too but always had a decent place at the Collingswood Auction to rummage through. I forget the dealers name but I would spend hours digging through his Bronze age horror titles. Also picked up a bunch of Warren Mags there too. I got a sweet Giant Sixe X-Men #1 there too!

[namisgr]

As a teenager in the early seventies my comic buddy and I would take the high speed line from South Jersey into Philly and hit Fat Jacks. It's old location on Sansom between 20th and 21st was memorable, as it was right next to a duplex store with a head shop on top and a sex shop (The Pleasure Chest) down below. Naturally, only The Pleasure Chest is still there over 35 years later making a go of it.

 

The mix of old comics and vintage posters at Fat Jack's was heady stuff for suburban kids who'd never seen anything like it before. I doubt much if any of the stock was high grade, but collecting back then was finding runs of back issues to read, and condition hardly mattered.

 

I think I may still have a pipe purchased from the head shop many, many moons ago...

[Larryw7]

I discovered Fat Jack's in 1981. They didn't have quite as many golden age books as the store in NE Philly, but they had near complete runs of SA Marvel's. I remember scoring low grade copies of Spidey 11 and 14 for 20 bucks for both. Besides the dirty book store, there was also a place called Record Rendezvous on the same street that sold old vinyl albums and also had comic books. The place was a real dive, but I got a low grade GA Flash 94 in there for 15 bucks.

[dupont2005]

The first comic shop I ever visited, and the one where most of my childhood collection came from, was a coin and comic shop in downtown Rialto, Ca. Right near my grandparents (maternal and paternal, they live just a few blocks away from eachother) house. My grandfather was a coin collector and he would buy me a proof set every year for my birthday, starting the year I was born. I don't know why my mom and I went in the coin shop that day way back in 1984/1985 but when we did I went insane when I saw the comics. My mom ended up buying me a dollars worth of quarter bin comics. It became a habit for her to buy me adollars worth of bargain binn comics about every week for the next several years, until the death of Robin when I had to have a new comic

 

The other comic shop I loved was within walking distance of my house in Cathedral City, Ca. Right by the dollar theater. I loved going down there and spending the day watching a movie, plinking quarters into the arcade games, and buying a handful of bargain bin comics. This is where my Copper Age love was born, as the 50 cent bin was full of copper black and white indies and Bronze Archies and Caspers and so on. I bought mostly Copper indies at that time. Funny thing, if it was in the bargain bin I could have it, no matter the content. But if it was new and in the mature section I couldn't. I was collecting Grips from Silverwolf but not allowed to buy Love And Rockets

 

Anyway, I loved that place. The wner was a really nice guy. The store had a great select not old and new, mainstream and alternative. There were store signings, the bargain bins were packed with great classics, not just that didn't sell off the rack. The owner was an Elfquest fan too and one day when I went in and bought all his Epic floppies he pulled from the back room a reprint of WaRP #1 (first editions were impossible to find back then if you didn't frequent cons and bring plenty of money) and gave it to me for free. That was awesome. At the time I thought it was the only WaRP mag I would ever own.

 

Now the one in Rialto seems to be having problems. I was staying downtown to get my commercial license and I went to visit the comic store. It was closed down. Then i drove past after visiting grandpa one day and it was back open, but I didn't have time to stop. Now I can't tell f it's open or not. I have to try again one day.

 

The one in Cathedral City moved to Palm Desert. Then the owner left it to his son. Then it went downhill big time. The son was a jerk and wanted the shop to be a hangout for him and his Magic card friends. They made me feel very unwelcome on the rare occasion I stopped in. Thea new couple bought it, they were nice enough but most of the floorspace was dominated with a playpen for the newborn rolling around on the floor crying. They didn't actually know much about comics except for current Marvels either, and all the Copper Age bargain bin comics disappeared, as did the excellent selectioof currents. They sold it off when the baby got too big to be left in the playpen all day. They said they will opeone again whethe child starts school, according to them it remained profitable up until they closed it. But it still wasn't the great old store I loved...

[WEBHEAD]

For me I started collecting in the '60s so there was no LCS. I shopped for years at "Frank's Sweet Shop" in Ossining NY. I got on my bike and rode it over to the store. Spinning the rack for my favorite books.

 

LCS did not show up for a long time but I remember in the early '70s buying a ASM #5 for 15cents in an Antique shop, and finding a store in Ithaca NY where I got a FF #25.

 

 

current photo long since closed, but still looks the same from the outside.

 

WEBHEAD