I Went To Nearly Every Comic Store Around Chicago So You Wouldn't Have To!

[No Quarter]

Nice write up. I was thinking about doing this after the trip my family is on, we are moving cross country and Im dragging my wife to a comic shop in pretty much every city we stop at.

 

Not sure if we will go through Chicago, but if we do I'll be going by your assessments.

[grunter]

 

Variety Comic Book Store

4602 N Western Ave

Chicago, IL 60625

(773) 334-2550

 

Nice mural on the outside; comic shop from the 80s on the inside. Dark, cluttered, grumpy owner… it’s not really my cup of tea. I didn’t want to bother the owner with any questions, so I quickly left. It’s probably the oldest shop in Chicago, but that doesn’t mean it’s very good.

 

What did I buy? Nothing

 

Grade: 4.5

 

The current owner of the shop has only 2 interests: barely legal teens and wrestling VHS tapes. The only way to break through his crabbiness is to show up with the former on your arm, and/or to talk endlessly about the latter. His back issues bins have been laughable since the late 90's.

[grunter]

Dark Tower Comics

4835 N. Western Ave.

Chicago, IL 60625

(773) 654-1490

www.darktowercomics.net

 

While not perfect, I think the guy who runs this knows what he’s doing. He has a decent back-issue selection, but he has an especially nice $1 book section where he just turns mess over all the time. To me, this is the way to go. If you have a few copies of Jonah Hex from last year, sell it for $1 and make some of your money back. The biggest problem with the shop is that is just seems not nice enough. The fixtures seem old and even though there’s a lot of space, the back issues aren’t easy to get at. They just recently expanded their store, so I’m hoping it gets nicer.

 

He also did something smart. He had a My Greatest Adventure #1 in GD/VG for $150. Not a terrible price. I offered him $100 — and I’d pay cash. And he accepted. I’m sure it was sitting around for a while, and it was a nice little sale for him.

 

What did I buy? A lot. A ton of BPRDs for $1, a slew of other $1 comics, a couple of Manifest Destiny comics, and the My Greatest Adventure #1.

 

Grade: 7.5

 

A.) That isssue of My Greatest Adventure #1 had probably been on the shop wall for 7 years.

 

B.) Never mention "CGC" to the shop owner. He nearly bit my head off one afternoon when I stopped by gingerly to inquire if he assisted with submissions.

 

C.) Back issues in storage drawers always suffer condition-wise. This guy just hauls his storage drawers with him to local shows. I've seen far too many books get crushed as the drawers slide in and out with so many hands at a 3-day con like C2E2 or Wizard World.

[AnhDepTrai]

Would be nice if we have something like this (reviews) Pin for every City, contributed by our members. I used comic shops locator but still missing lot of shops that not in database plus their reviews/pictures suck. Yelp is no help either, reviews in yelp is mostly none comic books related and not in depth like I want it to be, what selection they have, slabs, prices, back issues, modern, bargain bins, location, Parking, etc... I found that many shops advertised as comic shops but when I walk in, it is filled with card games, video games, tournament that they are running and so many stuff that not related to comics so wasted my trip. I also see once in a while, board members asking what shops should they stop by in some city that they happen to visit for a few days all the time so a comprehensive list of shops would be nice.

[RCheli]

Would be nice if we have something like this (reviews) Pin for every City, contributed by our members. I used comic shops locator but still missing lot of shops that not in database plus their reviews/pictures suck. Yelp is no help either, reviews in yelp is mostly none comic books related and not in depth like I want it to be, what selection they have, slabs, prices, back issues, modern, bargain bins, location, Parking, etc... I found that many shops advertised as comic shops but when I walk in, it is filled with card games, video games, tournament that they are running and so many stuff that not related to comics so wasted my trip. I also see once in a while, board members asking what shops should they stop by in some city that they happen to visit for a few days all the time so a comprehensive list of shops would be nice.

 

There must be people in Boston, New York, LA, Dallas, etc., who have a couple of weeks to do nothing but drive around to local shops! If you want, I can call up some bosses and tell them to start lay-offs. It's for the good of the comic collecting community.

[darkstar]

I would be inclined to think that quite a few people here wouldn't want to divulge information regarding which stores are worth going to, especially when it comes to back issues.

[RCheli]

I would be inclined to think that quite a few people here wouldn't want to divulge information regarding which stores are worth going to, especially when it comes to back issues.

 

I don't think there are many secrets, especially in big cities. I mean, every shop that I wrote up was likely visited by dozens of people who post here. And there are dozens more collectors who scour the shops looking for bargains. These are not small, out-of-the-way shops in the middle of nowhere.

 

Also, I don't think many shop owners care that people are there looking for bargains. If I found a Lois Lane #70 for $5, that likely just meant that the shop owner didn't really care that much about it and wanted the $5 more than the $50 it could've gotten... eventually... as it sat on the wall display.

[kapzilla]

Awesome list, nice work!!! Keith at Keith's Komix is a really good guy, Dreamland in Schaumburg has a decent selection, but they're overpriced like pretty much every other store, especially their variants. Jim at Graham Crackers Downers Grove is like the nicest guy in the world and very helpful, that's where I consistently go.

 

Alas, I stay underwhelmed by the shops in and around Chicago, you can find all sorts of good stuff at great prices at the cons though.

[kav]

Best shop I know of is A1 comics in Sac. Lost of SA and GA stuff-store was once a bank so keeps all the valuable stuff in the vault.

[RCheli]

Vigilante Press

1931 W Chicago Ave

Chicago, IL 60622

(312) 423-6774

 

I stopped in here today on my lunch hour, seeing as we were discussing it earlier. It's a large, not particularly well-lit shop, that while clean, doesn't seem tidy. The new issues seem worked over a bit and things seems to be sitting on the shelves a little too long. Probably about 20 Silver Age books in the entire store and I didn't see anything older. The comics aren't just displayed that well. It's a neighborhood store (of a just so-so neighborhood), and I wasn't overly impressed.

 

What did I buy? A few dollar comics and an old issue of Our Fighting Forces for $2.

 

Grade: 6.0

[originalisbest]

Cool post, and glad you got a new gig. Sorry to hear Atlas comics closed up, I found their stock pretty interesting to go through. Some GA/SA on the wall looked interesting enough to inquire after, but never had a chance to make it back to his store. Have still managed to buy from him off of eBay though, so there's something.

[masterlogan2000]

Bridgeport Comics and Games

3323 S Halsted St

Chicago, IL 60608

(773) 475-6214

www.bpgames.net

 

I went twice, and they were open neither time. If you say you open at noon and it’s one and there’s a lock on the door, you’re not a very good store.

 

Grade: 0.5

 

I live in Bridgeport and was super excited when this shop opened over a year ago. I visited one time three weeks after they opened, and that was the last time I was there.

 

Unfortunately, there's not much "comic" about this comic shop. There was an overpriced Silver Surfer book in their large glass display counters and a small wall of moderns (mostly DC). That was all the comics they had. They carried no comic supplies either, as I found out since I needed to buy a couple longboxes.

 

Now, what they did have was 30 teenagers screaming at each other about who were the best players on the Bears while playing Magic: The Gathering. Their two large glass display counters were filled with Magic cards and other TCGs/CCGs. If you're into this sort of thing, this is the gaming shop for you.

 

The people running the shop were kids, probably around 16. I almost got the feeling that this was a storefront that someone rented out so their teenage kid and all his buddies could hang out. If kids are still running the place, that may be why the shop didn't open on time.

 

The shop had potential and is actually fairly large inside. However, there was a lot of open/unused floorspace. The space that was utilized mostly consisted of a few long tables and chairs so the kids could duel (or whatever they call it nowadays).

 

I haven't been back since my visit over a year ago. Maybe it's gotten better, but I'm not holding my breath.

[RCheli]

Brainstorm Comics

1579 N Milwaukee Ave #321 (in the Flat Iron Building)

Chicago, IL 60622

(773) 384-8721

www.brainstormchi.com

 

During my earlier comic shop roundabout, I never went to this store because they were moving from their place on North Avenue (close to Ashland) to their new location in the Flat Iron Building, at the intersection of Milwaukee, Damen, and North.

 

I hadn't been in their old shop for some time, but when I went about 6 or 7 years ago, it was a relatively clean place that has mostly new comics and trades.

 

You would think that after a move, you'd clean stuff up, organize it better, and try to make a go at it, but then you'd be wrong.

 

The shop is cluttered, disorganized, and messy. There were maybe 20 comics in the shop older than 1980, and the back issues were either bundled in packs (mini-series or stretches of ongoing series) or cobbled together in filing cabinets that ran against the wall. It's about 40% DVDs and 60% comics.

 

This is another place that if you opened up even a half-decent store within 20 feet of this one, then you could drive Brainstorm out of business within two months.

 

What I bought: BPRD: Vampires #1-5

 

Grade: 3.0

 

 

[Diamonddave]

Brainstorm Comics

1579 N Milwaukee Ave #321 (in the Flat Iron Building)

Chicago, IL 60622

(773) 384-8721

www.brainstormchi.com

 

During my earlier comic shop roundabout, I never went to this store because they were moving from their place on North Avenue (close to Ashland) to their new location in the Flat Iron Building, at the intersection of Milwaukee, Damen, and North.

 

I hadn't been in their old shop for some time, but when I went about 6 or 7 years ago, it was a relatively clean place that has mostly new comics and trades.

 

You would think that after a move, you'd clean stuff up, organize it better, and try to make a go at it, but then you'd be wrong.

 

The shop is cluttered, disorganized, and messy. There were maybe 20 comics in the shop older than 1980, and the back issues were either bundled in packs (mini-series or stretches of ongoing series) or cobbled together in filing cabinets that ran against the wall. It's about 40% DVDs and 60% comics.

 

This is another place that if you opened up even a half-decent store within 20 feet of this one, then you could drive Brainstorm out of business within two months.

 

What I bought: BPRD: Vampires #1-5

 

Grade: 3.0

 

 

I ran in to the owner of Brainstorm at WW Chicago. Disorganized is a compliment, he had no idea what was in his longboxes or where titles began and ended. I did get quite a few nice finds while I was there, not going to lie, but it was a literal shoot as to what titles might be in a box.

[Brian48]

Cool. Nice read.

[the blob]

I don't know the Chicago area or how far spread out all these stores are but I'd say based on population there are about 10 stores too many. As you mentioned with some of your reviews I'm surprised all of them are still in business.

 

20 shops in a city of 4 million + a bunch of commuters coming in from the burbs doesn't sound like ten too many.

[the blob]

Would be nice if we have something like this (reviews) Pin for every City, contributed by our members. I used comic shops locator but still missing lot of shops that not in database plus their reviews/pictures suck. Yelp is no help either, reviews in yelp is mostly none comic books related and not in depth like I want it to be, what selection they have, slabs, prices, back issues, modern, bargain bins, location, Parking, etc... I found that many shops advertised as comic shops but when I walk in, it is filled with card games, video games, tournament that they are running and so many stuff that not related to comics so wasted my trip. I also see once in a while, board members asking what shops should they stop by in some city that they happen to visit for a few days all the time so a comprehensive list of shops would be nice.

 

There must be people in Boston, New York, LA, Dallas, etc., who have a couple of weeks to do nothing but drive around to local shops! If you want, I can call up some bosses and tell them to start lay-offs. It's for the good of the comic collecting community.

 

Yeah, about 1/3 of the shops I'd be driving to based on yelp have closed up though. One shop that HAD three locations in Brooklyn just closed up one of them. A guy who had a shop in Brooklyn and Manhattan had to close both of them due to a business dispute with his partner -- he swears it wasn't because business was bad. He vowed to open up again once the dispute is resolved.

[JollyComics]

Long before Diamond Comics, I used to go to White Pantry, 7-11, Woolworth, Walgreens and local drugstores within few miles. So many excellent comics. Also I would buy 3 comic paks easily.

 

Newsstand edition started to fade away after 1983.

[MetalPSI]

You know, everytime I look at your sig, I wonder what that pelican is thinking. He looks like he wanted to take it away from the seal. That's way too big for him

 

Seriously laugh out loud

[TheLiamSturgess]

You know, everytime I look at your sig, I wonder what that pelican is thinking. He looks like he wanted to take it away from the seal. That's way too big for him

 

Seriously laugh out loud

 

I'm actually more enthralled by the part in spoilers.

 

I want to try both activities displayed.