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Your old LCS that is no longer around5009

Collector DocBrown private msg quote post Address this user
I had a few...

One of the very first comic stores I ever went to was the Land of Nevawuz in Danville, CA.

Also Halley's Comics in Pleasanton AND San Lorenzo.

Then Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy, where I was banned (this would have been 1990), because I was an idiot teenager who thought they were overpriced.

Then there was Clay's Comics on "A" street in Hayward. I miss Clay.

Then the Comic and Card Vault on Mission Blvd in Hayward.

There was this hole in the wall in Pleasanton downtown that I can't remember the name of...they priced everything at CVM prices, which were laughable.

And there was a long time store on E. 14th st in San Leandro. I forget the name, but it was around for 25-30 years or so, maybe more.

And, of course, Comics and Comix around the Bay Area. They were "the big chain."

I sauntered down to Heroes and Lee's Comics in the south bay every now and again.

And, when I went off to college, the great Atlantis Fantasyworld, which made an appearance in The Lost Boys.

Memories.

Anyone else shop at these places?
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Collector X51 private msg quote post Address this user
Nope, but there were about 30 places I could drive to in the 90's and one by one they started disappearing. Chains became single stores. Single store went under. There's only a few left and I get very underwhelmed when i walk in and see their selection. I go to a comic shop about once every three months.
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Collector 50AE_DE private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by DocBrown
I had a few...

One of the very first comic stores I ever went to was the Land of Nevawuz in Danville, CA.

Also Halley's Comics in Pleasanton AND San Lorenzo.

Then Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy, where I was banned (this would have been 1990), because I was an idiot teenager who thought they were overpriced.

Then there was Clay's Comics on "A" street in Hayward. I miss Clay.

Then the Comic and Card Vault on Mission Blvd in Hayward.

There was this hole in the wall in Pleasanton downtown that I can't remember the name of...they priced everything at CVM prices, which were laughable.

And there was a long time store on E. 14th st in San Leandro. I forget the name, but it was around for 25-30 years or so, maybe more.

And, of course, Comics and Comix around the Bay Area. They were "the big chain."

I sauntered down to Heroes and Lee's Comics in the south bay every now and again.

And, when I went off to college, the great Atlantis Fantasyworld, which made an appearance in The Lost Boys.

Memories.

Anyone else shop at these places?


I remember visiting some of those same shops. The think the name of the store on E. 14th was The Comic Shop or something generic. It was right across the street from a Good Will. I believe one of their employees opened up their own shop in Castro Valley, Crush Comics, in the early 90's.

I remember seeing a newspaper article about the owner of Comics & Comix buying a Superman #1. After seeing that I took a bus and headed to Berkeley to check out this shop. I remember not being too impressed with the selection of books they had.

Comic Relief was another place I remember visiting back in the 80's. They had their Silver/Golden age books in short boxes behind the counter so you would have to ask for "A box", "B box", etc. I loved going to this place because their selection of keys were more than any other shops I visited.
One place that had some awesome keys was Seduction of the Innocent by Laney College in Oakland. They were in a pretty weird spot for a comic shop and later relocated to Piedmont and changed their name to Dr. Comics & Mr. game.

Another Oakland shop was Comic Collectors across the street from the public library. I only went there a few times but never bought anything since the shop was pretty messy and the guy didn't have anything priced. His books were stacked in cubbies without any boards and bags. To look at the books you had to pull the stack out and flip through the books, and then shove them back into the cubbies.

My favorite spot was Nightmares & Notions in East Oakland. I remember looking through comic boxes and then hearing singing from the church next door with the occasional gun shots coming from outside. Definitely not a safe area, but they had some awesome stuff at this store. Dan, the owner, was a cool guy and priced his books well under guide.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by 50AE_DE
Comic Relief was another place I remember visiting back in the 80's. They had their Silver/Golden age books in short boxes behind the counter so you would have to ask for "A box", "B box", etc. I loved going to this place because their selection of keys were more than any other shops I visited.


There is a store open now named Comic Relief in Tom's River, NJ.

One of the best stores in the 1980s was located in the basement of the Bergen Mall. It later moved upstairs and then to Maywood, NJ before it closed. The owned now sets up at local comic shows near me each month.

I remember a store in Waldwick that I would visit driving home from high school that turned into a pet grooming store and is something else now.
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Collector thelastbard private msg quote post Address this user
Two for me that mean anything... the first "real" comic shop I went to, Infinity Comics, in Manassas, VA, and the House of Armand in Oceanside, CA...

Infinity is where I learned to be a comic nut from when I was about 11 years old. It's where I transitioned from spinner racks to comic shops and had my first pull list.

House of Armand is where I learned more about the comic community... I used to drive with the owner to the Diamond warehouse to pick up books, hang out, etc... I went there for a number of years from when I was 13.
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Collector thelastbard private msg quote post Address this user
You always look back on a certain comic shop in your life and compare all others to that shop, I think... I had the best "pull" experience at House of Armand to this day (in store pulls)... I got my Hulk 181 for $0.25 at House of Armand, but a lot of other memories there. Also bought the majority of my RPG manuals, modules, etc there.

I guess it comes down to "What's your utopic store like?" and what stores have gotten close to reaching that?

These days, so few have a decent select of REAL back issues, staff may or may not be cool (I have a cool staff at my local shop), pulls may need work, or whatever makes for the right chemistry to be perfect. Some of it, too, ties to the right time for comics, probably.
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Collector JustABitEvil private msg quote post Address this user
There were 2 in the town I grew up in during the 80s and 2 more opened in the early 90s, none of them is open now. The Comic Store and the Comic Shop were right down the street from one and other on Elm St. Then Hammer's Comics opened by the mall and there was another in Goffstown who's name I cannot remember, the only thing I remember buying from them was the Gen13 #1 Janet Jackson cover.
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Collector TellEmSteveDave private msg quote post Address this user
Empire Comics in Rochester NY. They were the guys that sold the Tec 27 unrestored CGC 8.0 a few years back.
They had a huge store in a shopping plaza that was across from my elementary school. Every Friday (ncbd when I was a kid) I'd race over after school and grab my precious X-Men or New Mutants comics a few back issues and have some quarters left to play this new game called Super Mario Bros.
I'll never forget the smell of paper when you walked in the door. That giant Marvel poster over the t-shirts and Godzilla toys. The chain smoking owners. The wall books and back issues were incredible. Really miss that place.
Sad ending for the shop. Twin brothers Tony and Roman owned the shop. Roman got cancer a few years ago. Passed away fairly soon after. A few days after Romans death Tony was diagnosed with the same cancer. He also passed away soon after. I almost quit reading comics after that.
One of the shops employees now runs a shop that I visit keeping the Empire fag flying.
R.I.P. Tony, Roman and Empire Comics.
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Collector daywalker private msg quote post Address this user
Had a few here and there while growing up in the 80’s. My friends and I would walk 30-40 minutes to get to them. Also had a Hornsby store that carried comics, they carried new issues as well as Whitman 3 packs. A few adult bookstores also carried comics...we would rush in and go directly to the comics and no one said a word (of course we would browse othe items out of the corners of our eyes 👀.) One shop closed and one day I saw a garage sale add in the paper selling regular items as well as comics. I went to check it out and it was the owner of the now closed comic shop. He was selling long boxes for $20 each! His wife wanted them gone...so I bought his whole collection! $20 a box, couldn’t pass that up!
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I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life. kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user
The one I worked out in high school: Stop and Swap Bookstore in Rosenberg, TX.
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I had no way of knowing that 9.8 graded copies signed by Adam Hughes weren't what you were looking for. drchaos private msg quote post Address this user
When I visited Colgate University in Hamilton, NY I remember buying a copy of GS X-Men 1 for $35. When they closed during my freshmen year I got some good bargains. I forget most of the books but remember getting an X-Men 108 and a couple Silver Surfer books from the first series.
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Collector doog private msg quote post Address this user


My son bought a comic book store this year, paying a friend to decorate the building. Hope the hobby is not dying! Partly done, but looking good to me. I should add this store closed down with the death of the owner, but now resurrected. It had started in the 70’s.
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COLLECTOR conditionfreak private msg quote post Address this user
All five of my original stores are still around. I think.

I moved 300 miles away from them 13 years ago.

I used to go from store to store, chasing hoards of the latest "have to have" books.

Reflecting back. I think I am about 70-30 on picking eventual winners, versus drek. Most of the drek I own, came from a huge collection I bought from a friend.

I remember chasing ASM #50's when they were $11.00 in NM (Overstreet). I went to conventions and stores all over Ohio. I could not find any in even mid-grade condition. Always regretted not finding some high grades of that book.

Even Bill Gates and Al Gore hadn't thought of "the Internet" at that time.
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Collector Rafel private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by DocBrown
I had a few...

One of the very first comic stores I ever went to was the Land of Nevawuz in Danville, CA.

Also Halley's Comics in Pleasanton AND San Lorenzo.

Then Fact, Fiction, and Fantasy, where I was banned (this would have been 1990), because I was an idiot teenager who thought they were overpriced.

Then there was Clay's Comics on "A" street in Hayward. I miss Clay.

Then the Comic and Card Vault on Mission Blvd in Hayward.

There was this hole in the wall in Pleasanton downtown that I can't remember the name of...they priced everything at CVM prices, which were laughable.

And there was a long time store on E. 14th st in San Leandro. I forget the name, but it was around for 25-30 years or so, maybe more.

And, of course, Comics and Comix around the Bay Area. They were "the big chain."

I sauntered down to Heroes and Lee's Comics in the south bay every now and again.

And, when I went off to college, the great Atlantis Fantasyworld, which made an appearance in The Lost Boys.

Memories.

Anyone else shop at these places?


I miss Comics and Comix. They were 17th and 18th St. on Irving St, San Francisco.
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I live in RI and Rhode Islanders eat chili with beans. esaravo private msg quote post Address this user
Growing up in Cranston, RI, I would spend my weekends at the Home Run Shop on Park Avenue across from City Hall. It was owned by two brothers that were in their early 20’s and you could hang out there and talk about sports and comics, or play Stratomatic baseball all day (the good old days before computers and cell phones - dice ruled). I would stop there during vacations from college and pick up my subscription books, but found out that one of the brothers died of an aggressive form of cancer. The store closed a few years later. God I miss the 1970’s and early 1980’s.
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Collector VaComicsGuy private msg quote post Address this user
There was a shop near me that was run by a guy and his wife. The shop was comics and cards. Fair prices and they would negotiate if you bought a bunch of stuff or were a regular customer. Rarely updated back issue bins and if you found something that the price had gone up, you got it for the price it was already listed at. Had an area with couches, tables and TVs an were fine with people hanging put and playing games. They were in business for 20 yrs. They retired and turned the shop over to their son. He started charging a membership fee ($5) to be on the pull list. Whenever anyone bought ANYTHING, he looked it up in Overstreet, Beckett, Wizard, or whatever guide he hand handy at the moment. He took the highest price and charged 5-10% over guide. Took out the lounge area (said he was running a business not a clubhouse). I only went there once after he took over. He was out of business in less than 6 months, which was a shame because it had been a great shop.
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Collector Rafel private msg quote post Address this user
I know what you mean. The 1970's and early 80's were a great time for comic books and artists were more than happy to sign or draw something for their fans....FOR FREE!!!! Best part was NO CELL PHONES!!
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