Your first LCS and your hobby roots

[Lockjaw]

Continental Comics in Northridge, CA is the first comic store I ever set foot in (around 1983, when Uncanny X-Men 188 was on the racks), and the first comics I ever purchased were quarter box Man Thing issues (from the Man Thing series that ran for 11 issues). Over the years I have done business with a few other stores, but as far as back as I can remember---the majority of my weekly visits on new comic day involve Continental Comics (I have had a pull-box with the store for many, many years).

 

If my older brother (I am 32, he is 35) had not thought it might be neat to check out a real comic book store while we were out for a drive with the parents (I vaguely remember that day), then I probably would be 70-80 percent less interested in comics today. As it turns out, my brothers interest in comics quickly went away, and my younger sister's (29 years old) interest only lasted for a few years...but I became a huge comics fan, and my pocket-book, and parents have been rueing the day I ever set foot in a comic store

 

Regards

Christopher H

[MikeS]

First LCS was the local Stop N Go - nothing too exciting about that.

 

After a few months (we are talking around 1975 or 1976) my friends and I discovered that magical place - the Book Sail which was located in Orange. Back issues galore! The comic room was located way in the back, and you had to cut through this old, musty book store area to get to it. The bookstore area was kind of dark (you know with the leather books and dark brown shelving) , and you would walk throught this door into the comic book back room - and POW! four color glory.

 

I remember when I turned 10, my great aunt gave me $50 to spend on comics - picked up an Avengers 3 and 4 (kind of beat up, but still loved them - definitely didn't care about grades that much back then). I guess they are to blame for getting my collecting obsession started. I remember they had a locked cabinet for all of their expensive stuff - it was kind of the holy shrine, and you would always hope to someday have enough cash to buy something from there.

 

They had a bunch of old comics on the wall - way out of reach for a 10 year old. I distinctly remember that Reform School Girls comic and some early Uncle Scrooge comics. I remember my Mom sitting on a chair as my friends and I would dig through the comics and commenting to the sales clerk how she used to have all of these old issues - first Uncle Scrooge, first Superman, etc. and how they got thrown away. Not sure if she was telling the truth or not, but later considering she was born in 1945, and would have missed the golden age buy a few years, I kind of doubt it.....

 

Ahhhh, the memories of a time long gone can still bring a smile to my face

[Shadow]

Back in the late 70's, Toledo seemed to have one comic shop, aptly titled "The Comic Shop". A couple times a year, I'd convince my mom to drive me over. It was like Christmas morning. I'd take the $10 I scrounged up and dive into the back issues. I'd gaze into his expensive case where FF1, ASM 1, X-Men 1, etc. were stored. (Knowing I didn't have a snowball's chance in you know where to own those at the time.)

I bought some of the Byrne X-Men in the 120's for an expensive $1.50 each. (I started with #138, though knew of the comic since #107. ) Got Capt. America #100 for $2! (In VG, but what the heck...) Plenty of old Justice Leagues, etc. It was always hard to narrow down what to buy.

By the time I could drive on my own, he had sold the shop. The contents went to JC's Comic Stop, which didn't have the same aura. The name went to a real winner who had owned a crummy used book store. Actually, before it was sold, I believe it was broken into and all the "great" books in the case were stolen.

Toledo had others, but "The Comic Shop" was the one that held that 1st "magic".

[ninanina]

My first shop was Doug Sulipa's Comic World in downtown Winnipeg. That's when I found out people actually collected comics. Think it was in and around 1978. That's when I started collecting and now....it's about 18,000 comics later.

 

Doug....it's all your fault.

[Wally's Comics]

What's up Flame?

 

Weeelll, my first LCS experience wasn't a real store...

I started really collecting when there was an awesome Comic booth at the NC Flea Market

at the Fair Grounds in Raleigh. This was in the late 70's and this booth was stocked with

some of the best HG silver/bronze age issues I can remember.

 

WoooHooo!

[rabidwolf]

WOW Timely and Locjaw, Continental was one of my first too . Remember, Outer Limits which later became Forbidden Planet or Superhero Universe which later became 1000000 comics(both on Ventura) or Comics and Fun. Sorry, I was bombarded with nostalgic flashbacks - Its a Valley thing.

[Timely]

I was in that one a few times, as well as Pee Wee Comics and Comic Heaven.

Continental Comics is 100 yards down the road from me!

 

Timely

[rabidwolf]

Hi Timely,

Pee-wees no longer in the Valley. Never heard of Comic Heaven. Where's that?

[dudesim]

Let see my first LCS was in Bellevue Nebraska"Ground Zero" met the owner when he first Started the Store got some great deals there..Great times

 

My love of comic's started in a small store in Denair Calif. in the Mid to late 50's.

The lady that run the store..Let me borrow the comic's over nite to read.

[thanos_oftitan]

For me it was Eide's, this was back when they were in Etna Pa. about 4 miles from my house. I got to go there for my birthday every year as a kid.

[r100comics]

Were you also awestruck by their absurdly high back issue prices? I was buying Marvel Silver Age in the early '80s, but don't recall ever buying a back issue from FP. In those days, my only real source for S.A. was FP's solitary competition - Paul Hudson at Comic Showcase.

 

The cause of my amazement was more the fact that I had never seen comic books from the 1960's before. Agreed about the original Comic Showcase though, that was a fantastic shop. I remember seeing a stash of original Jack Kirby artwork up on the wall one time.

 

One memory that will live with me forever was when I was 11 or 12 my mum bought me 3 early J.I.M.s Comic Showcase had on the wall. It was an #88, a #96 and a #100, I think they came to about £12 in total. That gesture meant a lot to me as it wasn't my b'day or anything, but she could see how happy it made me. That's part of the reason I collect these books in High Grade now.

[OldSchoolTerry]

For me, it was a store called Discount Books in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. It was this dumpy little place that had tons of old paperbacks everywhere, and also sold comic related stuff. It was a few stops from my house by subway, or a few miles to walk. I remember walking home from there many times, because I had spent every cent on old comics, and didn't leave money for train fare. I remember buying so many old SA and BA books there. I didn't really even care about the condition of them at the time. I bought a really crappy Strange Tales 117 for like a buck in the mid 80's. It looked like s**t, but it was so old, I was just glad to hold that piece of history in my hands! I bought so many of my back issues at that place! So, as a result I have crappy copies of a bunch of SA books, like a few Tales of Suspense, X-Men, Avengers, and ASM issues that no one will probably ever want to buy from me, but who cares? They meant the world to me back then!

As for new books, I'd always buy those at one of the candy/stationery stores in my neighborhood. I was buying single books, and also buying those 3 packs in the plastic bags. Those were the days!

[bobpfef]

When I was 11 I spent a week with Minneapolis with my auto and uncle, and they told me about a comic store that was about 15 blocks from there house. I was amazed that there was place that just sold comics so close. This was in 1980 and there really weren't that many comic stores. One day I got on my bike and got there riding down a lot of street in a town I didn't know. It was called Comic City and is still there, though it is now called the College of Comic Book Knowledge. Anyway, it was amazing. All these books. The walls were all boxes of back issues. I saw a X-Men #1 under that glass case for $100 in beat condition. Man, I wish I had that kind of money. But I didn't and I ended up getting Human Fly #1 because it was a #1 and a Marvel book.

[egambart-migration]

Whoops - This is going to show my age, but when I was a student in Toronto there were no comic shops - Or at least none that I knew of - There was a used bookstore on Dundas Street (can't remember the name), and the guy who ran it would order you comics if you paid cover price and shipping in advance. I was following the Spider-Man title and in 1966 ordered two copies each of 39 & 40 (cost 48 cents & shipping) - I had heard that monumental events were about to transpire in the two issues. I didn't actually receive the books until the 40 came out, to save on shipping - One copy of each I read and can't really remember what happened to them, the other two copies I had until 2001 when they were graded and sold on Ebay. My nostagia took a backseat to their value.

[tomcott]

Two LCS's for me: Bill and Bob's comic store on 95th and 4th in Bay Ridge Brooklyn.....and

Pinochio Discounts on Avenue P and McDonald in Bensonhurst, if I felt like taking a bus ride.

Pinochio was a classic comic store of the 1970's, where you had to work on the guy just to get him

to sell you anything. Also cut my teeth on the Phil Seuling monthly shows in Manhattan in the early

1980's and the Creation Cons.

 

Bill and Bob's in Bay Ridge was my first LCS too. I used to take the RR out there.

Bill used to be my Little League baseball coach. He later opened a store on 7th Avenue in Park Slope.

 

Thanks for the memories.

[shiverbones]

my first comics were a pile my older brother had, he was born in '68 so i had some cool older issues like spidey #128, 129 & 138 (all were coverless so all of my nostalgia lies in the stories on those) and some aquamans with black manta, prob. adventure comics issues. the 1st pile i got myself included HOM #261 (coverless again!) and that certainly sent me down a path i never really veered from! I Started buying my own comics at 7-11 and usually bought star wars or amazing spidey.

 

Strangely the 1st comic shop i went to i never really looked at the comics! I used to walk a mile to go to a shop called tem dee just to buy empire strikes back cards. That was the only shop that had the elusive third series! I kept buying books at 7-11 until 1984. I traded with kids at school and managed to get a few more house of mystery and some X-men like #129 & 150. I even got a hulk #161 & 162 from a kid down the street!

 

In 1984 i got my 1st overstreet for christmas along with the sears comic collecting kit which had bags & boards and a bunch of lousy comics like richard dragon, ms. mystic, claw, captain victory (UGH!), but also i found in the back of the overstreet a listing for a shop near us, so my mom took me & that was it, i was a junkie! The shop was Rainbow comics on the black horse pike in Blackwood, NJ. It was UNBELIEVABLE to me! The box for asm started with #3! The three for a dollar boxes were full of house of mystery & ghost rider, it was heaven. I went back as often as i could saving lawn mowing money to buy my first big purchas a VG spidey #6 for $20. I followed with asm #9, 40, 44, 45 & 101 all for $4 each or so. I remember looking in the 1985 overstreet thinking, these early spidey's are way too cheap! the #40 guided for $9 or something. if only i listened to myself....

 

Since then i have never been able to stop buying comics! I guess its my 20th anniversary!

[Timely]

Hi Timely,

Pee-wees no longer in the Valley. Never heard of Comic Heaven. Where's that?

 

It was in Alhambra, they moved years ago.

 

Timely