REMEMBERING THAT FIRST LCS... 3 3

[Jeffro.]

On 7/31/2020 at 11:39 PM, PeterPark said:

On 7/31/2020 at 8:44 PM, Inappropriate Spock said:

Loved those shows at the East Hartford Elks (it was the Elks hall, wasn't it?)

Yeah it was!  The Elks Hall building isn't even there anymore. They put in a multilevel climate controlled storage facility.

The successor(s) to those shows still exist, albeit in two different incarnations: the almost-monthly show in Plainville and the East-of-the-River Comic Show in Enfield.

Yeah, I just noticed that. I went on google street view looking for it and it was gone. I usually hit the Plainville show every time. I think they might be starting up again at the end of the month. Even if they are, still too soon for me to go back with everything going on. I have been to the East of the River show but don't get there very often.

 

[Qalyar]

Kaboom Comics in Plano, Texas. Plucky little comic store that held out for years against better-funded competition. I bought comics there, I played CCGs there, I made a lot of friends there. Even effectively managed the store for awhile, until its co-owners moved on to other things (can't blame them, really, the more active of the two got the education job he'd been after for years, and I will never dig on people with the wherewithal to teach!).

[01TheDude]

On 2/7/2015 at 11:15 PM, 01TheDude said:

I have been hesitant to add my experience to this thread because most people had a sense of wonderment or joy involved with that first time in an LCS. Mine was much more subdued, primarily because it was a few years after I had stopped actively collecting books.

 

It was around 1980 in the south suburbs of Chicago in Tinley Park. The shop was in my home town - I cannot recall the name of it -- perhaps it was something really basic like Comics Store. Anyway-- I only noticed it because it had a great location. Center of town next door to a long standing coffee and donuts shop that was across from the train station. What I remember first about the store was the wall of books behind the counter which were pretty decent in terms of keys of the time etc but 5 feet away from the customers. That was not an easy task to accomplish because this place was tiny -- maybe a 12 by 12 room, fairly bright from the two large windows on the corners (terrible for the wall books no doubt).

 

Anyway-- I went in the check it out. The dank smell of comics smacked you in the face and was a brisk change of pace from the wonderful smell of donuts next door. There was one guy working there-- couldn't remember a thing about him other than he was the typical comic book store guy type. I don't recall him being very welcoming-- perhaps because his store was not doing as well as he had hoped. Not sure as I think he only lasted a few years.

 

It probably didn't help that he kept some weird hours and would not be open most of the time - even if you were there at his posted "open" times. But it was a comic book store and it was intriguing because I heard and read about them -- the amazing stores in New York etc-- from the Overstreet Guide or other places-- and this was a far cry from that. Perhaps I was too old to get that excitement factor/wonderment but what I do recall clearly was how expensive his books were and that the condition was not as good as the ones I owned already. I think I brought a few in myself to see if he was a willing buyer/trader-- which he was not. I think I found one or two books that I liked and bought them for the heck of it (support a business type move). He seemed nonplussed (or was is non-pulsed, as in dead) by the whole scenario.

 

I think I tried going there a few more times but he always seemed closed. And then the store was simply gone. I think the place was at one time a new stand type of business-- something he tried to emulate as well. But it just didn't pan out.

 

Far more interesting was the first comic shop I went to when I moved to Tampa. That was Green Shift Comics and this was about 1985. The difference in atmosphere and attitude were unbelievable. Wall books on multiple walls-- racks and racks of interesting stuff everywhere and displays. There was more to it than comics as well which was helpful if you brought a friend so they had something to do. I didn't buy much if anything though-- I was a college kid with a drinking budget that replaced my comic book budget. Book money was for textbooks by then. But it was a really nice store which I believe is still there. Seems like the last time I went in there in the early 1990s or so there was a greater amount of head shop supplies/look and feel with comics being less of the focus. Or maybe that reflected my change in focus.

 

So I basically missed out on the whole LCS experience most folks here have had for the most part.

Just this morning I came across a post on Facebook that showed the tiny store that was the only used book store I recall in Tinley Park that sold comics.

The building straight ahead is the one--- On the left side was a small cafe ("Depot Donut Shop" good donuts!) that served people waiting for the Rock Island RR train that would take them into downtown Chicago. And on the right was the small LCS store on the bottom floor. The road you see is South Street--  off Oak Park Avenue with the train station to our left. Here is a google earth shot of it-- all the buildings appear to be torn down.

 

It is crazy how much that small area has changed and how much it is the exact same. Here is a comparable street view of the picture above:

 

[lordbyroncomics]

The first comic shop I ever went to was Comics & Robots in Wilmington, Delaware. I remember it vividly and it was 1987 so I was 7 years old and it was magical; it was in a basement (!) and the guy who owned it, I remember he had Hulk #6 with the Ditko cover hanging up by the register. I was very into the Hulk at that time and he was very good to me and very patient and also introduced me to The Defenders (in a 25 cent box!), which I would have been unaware of, so I got a few copies of The Defenders as well and can still remember the specific issues. In fact, this may have been 1986 as I remember him showing me Byrne's Hulk issue of Marvel Fanfare on the wall, so it's around that era. I was very young but was hardcore into comics and my recall for those years is pretty spot on. I remember going to that store into 1992 and then I think the owner retired or/and just did conventions but I'm not sure. I believe he was also a teacher, which is why he may have been so cool to a very young fan. Whenever I was in there, I remember realizing I was the only little kid shopping.

[Hollywood1892]

Must've been Heroes in London Ontario

Nice little shop started on Richmond St before moving to Dundas. I'm assuming it's closed down now, must be 20yrs since I've been in London. The first book I bought there was Web of Spider-man 1. As a kid I thought I hit the jackpot

[kaculler]

1 hour ago, Hollywood1892 said:

Must've been Heroes in London Ontario

Nice little shop started on Richmond St before moving to Dundas. I'm assuming it's closed down now, must be 20yrs since I've been in London. The first book I bought there was Web of Spider-man 1. As a kid I thought I hit the jackpot

Heroes is still  there at 186 Dundas Street.  I visited it back in February before the pandemic hit along with a few other London comic shops.

[Hollywood1892]

3 minutes ago, kaculler said:

Heroes is still  there at 186 Dundas Street.  I visited it back in February before the pandemic hit along with a few other London comic shops.

Wow

That is pretty awesome 

Thanks for the update!

[batman_fan]

Where I grew up I bought my co mics in Osgood, IN at the drug store.  What you got was dependent of when you showed up.  Sometimes I could score a Batman or Spiderman.  Other times I was stuck with Hulk or X-Men.  When I moved to WY in 1977, I was able to0 convince my parent to drive me to Mile High Comics in Fort Collins.  My first visit was unbelievable.  Just way too much to take in.  I had just finished helping shingle a roof so I had what I considered a lot of money and walked away with a bunch of Silver Age Spiderman's.  

[Poekaymon]

On 2/8/2015 at 9:23 PM, Robot Man said:

John Verzyl had a shop in Alhambra called Comic Heaven. Lot of pricey old stuff.

Comic Heaven in Alhambra was my LCS.  I went there exclusively for a decade, until about 91-92.  Seems to be gone--not sure when it closed down.  I just googled it, for the purposes of responding to this thread, and one of the top google hits was Robot Man's post in this thread!  

Didn't know who owned it--was too young to care about stuff like that.  But I believe the person I interacted with the most was his daughter.  

Edited December 13, 2020 by Poekaymon

[buddy2]

Mine was in the late 60's/early 70's in Atlanta.  It was called Cantrell's in West End (found an old photo).   Mr. Cantrell had high end books (those over $100) like FF#1, AF#15, etc. in a showcase.He had back issue silver age usually for 10/15 cents.    He sold coverless back issues for 3 cents.  I remember one of my first visits, I found a coverless FF #2 from the stack but he told me ( a 10 YO kid) that it wasn't in the correct stack and it would be an outrageous 50 cents Of course I didn't buy it at that price . .  I did pick up several early FF and other early Kirby's (which was my favorite) from the back issues and the spinner rack.   

[BigLeagueCHEW]

Rialto Coins in Rialto, California. Bought comics and coins here in the late 80s to the late 90s.

The book I always wanted was ASM #40 in the window of the comics section, couldn't afford it.

Just found this on Google Maps. Still open, just moved locations. 

The old owner passed this year in February.

Bud Moore, thanks for the memories in my old home town 

 

[Robot Man]

19 hours ago, buddy2 said:

Mine was in the late 60's/early 70's in Atlanta.  It was called Cantrell's in West End (found an old photo).   Mr. Cantrell had high end books (those over $100) like FF#1, AF#15, etc. in a showcase.He had back issue silver age usually for 10/15 cents.    He sold coverless back issues for 3 cents.  I remember one of my first visits, I found a coverless FF #2 from the stack but he told me ( a 10 YO kid) that it wasn't in the correct stack and it would be an outrageous 50 cents Of course I didn't buy it at that price . .  I did pick up several early FF and other early Kirby's (which was my favorite) from the back issues and the spinner rack.   

Books and “Oddities”? Just the kind of place my parents would have probably forbade me to go to. Not that would have stopped me...

And those old metal Coke buttons on their sign. . Those are worth a fortune today.

[Robot Man]

4 hours ago, BigLeagueCHEW said:

Rialto Coins in Rialto, California. Bought comics and coins here in the late 80s to the late 90s.

The book I always wanted was ASM #40 in the window of the comics section, couldn't afford it.

Just found this on Google Maps. Still open, just moved locations. 

The old owner passed this year in February.

Bud Moore, thanks for the memories in my old home town 

 

I wonder if they have any vintage comics left? Boarded up too. Sadly, a common sight in SO CA these days...

[BigLeagueCHEW]

1 hour ago, Robot Man said:

I wonder if they have any vintage comics left? Boarded up too. Sadly, a common sight in SO CA these days...

They changed to a new name, Rialto Coins & Bullion, appears to be the only 2 things keeping them going these days.

The internet took out the LCS in somewhat of a bad way. We would support them more without the internet, but then we would probably never see the comics we want at the click of the button.

[jsilverjanet]

 

[BigLeagueCHEW]

On 10/26/2021 at 8:04 AM, jsilverjanet said:

 

Funny you bump this, I was just thinking of heading up north to the bay area and seen Lee's Comics, only to find that it was closed last year 

[Crimebuster]

Anyone from Worcester, MA remember the comic / sci-fi bookstore on South Main Street just before you got to Webster Square? I've been trying to remember the name of that place but it escapes me. I got a lot of great books there, even though the owners were classic Comic Book Guys. 

[ExNihilo]

On 10/26/2021 at 8:50 AM, BigLeagueCHEW said:

Funny you bump this, I was just thinking of heading up north to the bay area and seen Lee's Comics, only to find that it was closed last year 

Lee's San Mateo location was my first shop I ever visited and was my home LCS until it closed.  I remember the early days when the store used most of its floor space for back issues and there were always a lot of wall comics.  I was a bit bummed when the back issue stock was reduced in favor of making space for TPB's but that's where the money was.  I fondly remember seeing Jim Lee and Brandon Choi in the old Palo Alto location doing a signing promoting Marvel's Heroes Reborn.  Was sad when they announced the closure of the Mountain View location early on during the covid closures but it's great to see he's been setting up a booth at the Berkeley Cons since then.

[MattTheDuck]

I posted this in the "welcome to the boards" thread, but here it is again, somewhat expanded:  I had been buying all my comics from Joe's Market, an independent grocery store within walking distance of the house where I grew up.  In 1973 sometime, and after a couple of years of wishing such a thing existed, I discovered there was in fact a local place where you could buy what I thought of as "back issues" of comics.  (As a kid, I used to have dreams about someone at Joe's telling me they had all these "back issues" in the back storage room and I could have them if I wanted).  I don't remember where I learned this - I suspect there was an article in the newspaper* of which I became an avid reader beginning in grade school.  This place was called "Old Weird Harold's" and it was clear on the other side of town, two busses and a transfer downtown, a total of about an hour.  I had a friend up the street who also liked comics so we ventured over there (although he was really more of a rock-and-roll guy - he thought it was fun to count the joints you could spot on a "Kiss" album* cover and truly believed that because Paul's guitar was pointing there in his "Paul McCartney and Wings" tour poster, the Beatles would reunite in Seattle).  Anyway, the place was owned/run by two overweight** women - mother/daughter or two sisters - and was small, a long rectangular space with cash register in the front and funny books in the back.  Comics were in cardboard boxes up on shelves to the left as you went into the back room.  There was a counter below the shelves to bring the boxes down to for your search.  No bags or boards in those days.  I already had a copy of ASM 122 (which I still have) from Joe's, so that's where I started.  Books were 3/$1, so I paid a premium to read about Gwen's death (spoiler alert!) and started working my way backwards from ASM 122, FF mid-130s.  Eventually, I "discovered" other shops that had early Silver Age and expanded the titles I was buying.

*These terms may not be familiar to younger readers.  "Newspaper" refers to a daily publication analyzing local and national issues of interest, sports, local social life and providing listings of jobs available and upcoming TV programs (note also in those days there were 3 national "network" channels, a PBS channel and a local independent channel.  I had to get out of my chair to change the channel on our TV).  "Album" refers to a vinyl disk that produced music when played on a "record player" which worked by spinning the record at the required speed under a needle that would translate the record's grooves into music.  You may know an album as "vinyl."

**Not judging anyone here, just accurately describing these large women.

[graffix13]

Weird that I just saw this thread, as I was thinking of my first LCS just last night. 

Actually, it's two...as I can't remember which one I visited first. The main one I went to (as it was closer) was Grandview Book Gallery in Grandview, MO. It was an old book store (which, like it's namesake, primarily sold used books) with a good size comic book section. The owner would put all the new weekly releases on top of a glass cabinet/display case and I remember every week or so looking at the titles and picking what looked good or what I collected. For some reason, I still remember picking up Uncanny X-Men 242 off the new comic stack. Also, I picked up Nth Man #1 (anyone remember that series) because it had a cool cover. I picked up hundreds of other titles but for some reason those two stick out. The owner also had a good selection of back issues. In the aforementioned glass cabinet/display case, he had his "valuable" comics. I remember seeing a Star Wars #1, and a few Uncanny X-Men. Those books were usually a little too high priced for me. I did my fair share of picking through the long boxes. My little brother collected Batman, and he always went for the older issues in those long boxes. The owner also had a good collection of old Playboys in the back. And as I got older, those would garner more quick glances from me than the comic books. IIRC, there was a makeshift sign saying you had to be 18 or older to look though the issues, but we would sneak peaks whenever the owner wasn't looking. 

The other store was a bit farther, Clint's Books at Metcalf South shopping mall. Anyone from Kansas City would tell you that Clint's Books was a staple for comic books, but his main store was downtown. He opened a second store in Overland Park, KS and that was closer for my parents to drive. This store was more glitzy than Grandview Book Gallery and it was always a treat to go there. I remember picking up Uncanny X-Men #251 and New Mutants #87 at this store. 

Man...good times. I wish I could go back and relive those moments.