toytastik Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Krypton Comics in Staten Island. It's now closed as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Owner was a great guy very honest and easy to talk to. I remember going every Saturday with my Dad. He would let me drive there even though I was nowhere near the age to get my license. Great memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yosemite Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Unknown Worlds in Toronto, maybe some of Toronto's older folk can remember them, Vince and Mike, they used to draw their own sale flyers, fun times. I used to buy back issues from them one at time with whatever I could scrounge up, they would toss a freebie every once in a while since they saw me in there so often. Unfortunately I believe they succumbed to the comic pit that was the 90s . But definately fun times (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azkaban Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I grew up in Southern Indiana. The closest comic store was in Louisville, KY. It is still there and is called The Great Escape. Its dark, smells like old paper, and is basically heaven to a 10 year old boy who loves comics. It was like I was transported into a different world when I walked through those doors. Man, I loved it. It was special every time my parents would take me. Priceless memories, for sure. I got some great raw books there back in the day. Way before I cared about numbers like 9.8. All I knew is that the copy of ASM #300, or NM #87, was a little slice of happiness, and I couldn't have been more excited, and proud, to add them to my collection. They had/have a huge wall of new weeklies, and a lot of back issues. The box I always loved to look through was the $20.00 and up short boxes. Oh, to be able to own all of those back then, haha! They also had a wall behind the counter of the more expensive issues. I also scored a Captain America Annual #8 poster (vs Wolverine. And I still own it too!), and it was the coolest thing ever to me back then. Thanks for this thread. It brought back some very happy memories... Too funny, I was jumping in this thread to mention The Great Escape myself! I started buying comics off the rack at a convenience store at the end of the street when I was a kid. In time my best friend told me about a store that JUST sold comics. Eventually his folks took us both there and my mind was blown. The posters on the walls, the smell of the newsprint, and the bins full of 25, 35 and 50 cent books! I was in heaven. After that I was able to talk my folks into taking me out there every other month or so. This was back when I could recycle aluminum cans and gather my meager allowance, head into the store with $5-$10, and walk out with armloads of stuff. I eventually ended up working there when I got out of high school, when I was about 19. A lot of fond memories of that brief year and a half as well. But when I go in there now, as a nearly 40-year old man, I still see the place through the eyes of 10-year-old me. I was visiting my Uncle in Franklin, TN and I could've sworn i went to this awesome shop called the Great Escape near Nashville. Had to be early 90's. They sold toys, records, anything pop culture. I'm sure you're right. They were a regional chain. I think the Nashville store was the original...if not, it was certainly the headquarters, at least when I was there. The Nashville store was almost more a record store than anything, but they did have a huge selection of comics and other stuff as well. I think they eventually spun off a second store in Nashville. TGE had other locations, though I can't remember all of them. I believe they took over Pac-Rats, which was...Bowling Green, maybe? The Louisville store is still going strong. I try to get in there every couple of weeks to look at back issues. Yeah they bought out Pac Rats here in Bowling Green. I live in Greenville and we didn't have a LCS I bought all mine off the comic racks in the old IGA store and Uncle Lees in Greenville what I didn't get thru a mail subscription in the old brown bags The first comic shop I went to was Comic Quest in Evansville Indiana before they moved to the larger location, I used to drive over there every weekend It was awesome It just doesn't seem the same in the bigger location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unca Scrooge Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) I grew up in Southern Indiana. The closest comic store was in Louisville, KY. It is still there and is called The Great Escape. Its dark, smells like old paper, and is basically heaven to a 10 year old boy who loves comics. It was like I was transported into a different world when I walked through those doors. Man, I loved it. It was special every time my parents would take me. Priceless memories, for sure. I got some great raw books there back in the day. Way before I cared about numbers like 9.8. All I knew is that the copy of ASM #300, or NM #87, was a little slice of happiness, and I couldn't have been more excited, and proud, to add them to my collection. They had/have a huge wall of new weeklies, and a lot of back issues. The box I always loved to look through was the $20.00 and up short boxes. Oh, to be able to own all of those back then, haha! They also had a wall behind the counter of the more expensive issues. I also scored a Captain America Annual #8 poster (vs Wolverine. And I still own it too!), and it was the coolest thing ever to me back then. Thanks for this thread. It brought back some very happy memories... Too funny, I was jumping in this thread to mention The Great Escape myself! I started buying comics off the rack at a convenience store at the end of the street when I was a kid. In time my best friend told me about a store that JUST sold comics. Eventually his folks took us both there and my mind was blown. The posters on the walls, the smell of the newsprint, and the bins full of 25, 35 and 50 cent books! I was in heaven. After that I was able to talk my folks into taking me out there every other month or so. This was back when I could recycle aluminum cans and gather my meager allowance, head into the store with $5-$10, and walk out with armloads of stuff. I eventually ended up working there when I got out of high school, when I was about 19. A lot of fond memories of that brief year and a half as well. But when I go in there now, as a nearly 40-year old man, I still see the place through the eyes of 10-year-old me. Awesome! Love that place! Do you all remember the commercials they used to run on the local Louisville channels? Pretty sure it was Great Escape but whatever store it was the commercials showed off new stuff that they had got in and always had some guy dressed up in costume. Also, if memory serves me right there was another store in Frankfort which I think might have been another Great Escape. Truth be told though, I was a child of the 90's and I basically associated any comic store in the area with Great Escape since it's the only name I knew. Hmm, when I was there I know they used to run late-night ads that usually involved a flying saucer (like, very primitive CG animation) that would visit the store or something like that. I don't remember any costumes, though it's certainly possible. I DO remember that local chain Book and Music Exchange used to do lots of ads with people in weird wigs and costumes and such. Book and Music Exchange, that was it. They had some crazy commercials. Going along with the first ever comic stories I still remember mine vividly. Family went on a ski trip to Paoli Peaks in Indiana and my parents bought me the red foil version of X-Factor #100 from the grocery store in the middle of Paoli. Long story short that issue (death of Multiple Man) was way over my head as a 6-7 year old. However, I find myself buying it out of .50 cent bins due to nostalgia a lot. Edited February 4, 2015 by Unca Scrooge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBedrock Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 last night I was thinking about my first comic shop... I think about my first comic shop all the time.The year was 1990. I had just moved back to Houston after managing a store in Albuquerque called Over the Rainbow. Opened my first Bedrock City location in March of '90 on Westheimer. It was 1400 sq. ft. of funnybook goodness. We've moved it twice since then, most recently in 2013, expanding to 8500 sq. ft. We just opened our fifth store in Sugarland/Missouri City two months ago. Hopefully years from now everyone in the Houston area who reads comics will remember us as their first comic shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzetta Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 There was what would be called a "dirt mall" by Kevin Smith's terminology around by me when I was a kid. This lady owned and operated it. I was around 11 at the time and I remember her telling me that I could not afford that, (ASM 69) for $5. At the time I was 3-4 titles a month and the cost per title was 65¢ to 75¢ - GI Joe, Transformers, Web of Spider-man and Amazing Spider-man. Eff her. I went home and dug through my change and bought it out of spite. Soon after she sold her booth and these two new guys took it over... but that is another story. Incidentally... that ASM 69 graded out a 9.0 when I submitted it a couple of years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsilverjanet Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 last night I was thinking about my first comic shop... I think about my first comic shop all the time.The year was 1990. I had just moved back to Houston after managing a store in Albuquerque called Over the Rainbow. Opened my first Bedrock City location in March of '90 on Westheimer. It was 1400 sq. ft. of funnybook goodness. We've moved it twice since then, most recently in 2013, expanding to 8500 sq. ft. We just opened our fifth store in Sugarland/Missouri City two months ago. Hopefully years from now everyone in the Houston area who reads comics will remember us as their first comic shop. Now that would be pretty cool... greggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PovertyRow Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 What was your first comic shop and what do you remember the most? My First was Million Year Picnic in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Back then they had two store fronts: one for newer stuff and one absolutely loaded with boxes of back issues. My second, when I was collecting SA seriously was The Outer Limits in Waltham. It was a really nice shop, a bit small (Steve Higgins, the owner, got a new and larger location). He always had interesting wall books which he switched out on a regular basis (as I recall weekly). He had a few short boxes under the main back issue books filled with pre-code horror. That's what got me going on the PCH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzejunkie Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I grew up in Lethbridge Alberta and back in the mid 80's it was a pretty one horse town (Great place to be FROM) anyway-- A new mall opened and they had indoor water slides on the north side. My brother and I went berserk and just had to go, eventually Mom and Dad relented and took us. It was pretty much the greatest afternoon for a 10 year old kid until-- We walked back to the car through the mall and my brother and I experienced a near out of body experience when we saw a little store in there called COMIC CITY. The vision of walking in the front doors still sits with me. First time I saw bagged and boarded books, first time I saw racks upon untold racks of comics from new till all the way back to the 50's. It was surreal. They had a Hulk#1 in VG (wow!!!). Runs of pretty much every Marvel book, even the expensive ones(in lower grades) those glorious Byrne Xmens on the walls for huge bucks to a kid like me. GI Joes for as far as the eye could see. Miller Ronin posters. TMNT was hitting huge and it was cool. Zeck Punisher posters. Indy books. Gawd, it was a gold mine of new things to this kid-- The owner(Neil) talked me into buying a copy of Kamandi no1 for the massive sum of $2.50 and it started my Kirby addiction. But the thing that really blew me away was this... He showed me the somewhat R-rated cover to Three Dimensional Alien Worlds. I had no idea what a 3D comic was and he said I had to buy it to find out. I couldn't afford it and the other books I had but it sent my mind reeling into that 'Must Have' state. (kind of insane he would try and sell this book to a 10 year old in retrospect) But-- I walked out of there a comic collector for life. I ended up getting that issue of Alien Worlds along with all the horrific Pacific titles by bruce Jones. Great memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 My First was Million Year Picnic in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. Back then they had two store fronts: one for newer stuff and one absolutely loaded with boxes of back issues. Jerry Weist's shop. When I started collecting in my mid-teens and read my first copy of Overstreet I always wanted to visit that store, in particular. I could never have afforded the airfare from England, or had much to spend there, anyway. Larryw7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidrvacc Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 That was my store also. It used to be on Hylan Blvd Across the street from my house then moved down to midland beach, I used to hang out in Midland Beach so was there all the time. . Arthur was a good guy. Was terrible that he lost everything. My one memory was my friend buying 3 gold foil covered image books for like $150 and telling me he was putting them into a lock box until his kids are in college and he will take them out to pay for his kids school. I hope his kids got a scholarship. Krypton Comics in Staten Island. It's now closed as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Owner was a great guy very honest and easy to talk to. I remember going every Saturday with my Dad. He would let me drive there even though I was nowhere near the age to get my license. Great memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I did not have an LCS in my hometown and it never occurred to me to look for one in Oklahoma City until I went to College in 1985. I started visiting New World Comics at their Meridian location and I was hooked. I bought a lot of books from the owner Bill "Bash" Bates and his manager Barry. Great guys who treated me well; so well that I ended up working there for a few years from 91 until I married and moved to Tulsa in 93. Bill has since sold it, retired, started a new store in OKC, sold it, and retired again. I loved that place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phicks Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 It wasn't local, but the first comic specialty store I ever saw was Now and Then Books in Kitchener, Ontario. It opened in 1971, and I understand when it closed in 2002 it was the oldest comics store in the world. I first visited it around 1980, and to a15 year old comics fan from a small town of 3,000 people, it was pure magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grube09 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Capital City Comics in Madison, WI. I used to spend all of my birthday money there every year when I was 12, 13 years old in the late 80's. What good memories! The thing I remember most was the smell...definitely got the adrenaline going when I walked in! For one birthday my mom bought me an ASM 121 & 122 for $20 each. That was a ton of money to me back then so those books have always been special to me. I just got them slabbed last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettrFastrStrongr Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I think I used to visit a Capital City Comics in Milwaukee back in the early 90's, near the UW-Milwaukee campus. The back issue shelves were just comics stacked about two feet high so the bottom issues were "pressed" perfectly and I cherry picked all the bronze DC Horror, MTU, and all the Tony Stark listed cheap Bronze gems. It was about a 1.5 hour drive so I always made a day of it. Ate at Mike's Chicago Dogs and always caught a flick at the college movie theater next to the comic shop. One special night My brother and I caught a showing of this anime I never heard of, Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend. Oh boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally's Comics Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The first collectible comic I ever bought was from Tales Resold back in 1979 in Raleigh, NC... A NM- ASM 104 for $3 with bag and board (on the back of the board was "Tales Resold and their phone number" stamped into it). I still have that same book today, it is about a 6.0 today I took care of it, but it was very loved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeNemesis Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 my first comic shop was back in 1989 a small store in Jacksonville NC called Michelles Bookstore. it was just outside my neighborhood so i could ride my bike to it. I remember being amazed that i could ahve a box that they would put my comics in every week. That bike ride was always exciting because before the internet you had no idea what that next book was gonna look like etc... Just a great time of youth for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjum12 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The first collectible comic I ever bought was from Tales Resold back in 1979 in Raleigh, NC... A NM- ASM 104 for $3 with bag and board (on the back of the board was "Tales Resold and their phone number" stamped into it). I still have that same book today, it is about a 6.0 today I took care of it, but it was very loved. ..... I got my first spanking in Raleigh.... for walking to North Hills Mall at age 6 (second offense)...... all for a Classics Illustrated "Frankenstein". There was no third offense. GOD BLESS... -jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grube09 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 I think I used to visit a Capital City Comics in Milwaukee back in the early 90's, near the UW-Milwaukee campus. The back issue shelves were just comics stacked about two feet high so the bottom issues were "pressed" perfectly and I cherry picked all the bronze DC Horror, MTU, and all the Tony Stark listed cheap Bronze gems. It was about a 1.5 hour drive so I always made a day of it. Ate at Mike's Chicago Dogs and always caught a flick at the college movie theater next to the comic shop. One special night My brother and I caught a showing of this anime I never heard of, Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend. Oh boy. Oh yes, the stacks! I did the same thing. I used to just sit and dig through the stacks! I'm not sure which was better back then...walking into the comic store or walking into Toys 'R Us to get the newest Nintendo/Sega game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettrFastrStrongr Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Same here. Basically it was comics during the day and marathon Nintendo sessions at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
