Comic Shops6122
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I'd like to start a discussion among fellow fans and collectors over something that I've always really realized, but never commented on, comic shops. Now as far back as i can remember, I've seen basically 2 types of comic shops, well technically 3 I suppose. Type 1 I'll call "Old School" for lack of a better term, I would characterize these shops as having an above average selection of back issues. Whether dollar bins, or literally just long boxes upon long boxes of back issues of seemingly every series. They have the modern stuff that you would expect like current runs and recent statue/toys, and a below average selection of the other pop culture stuff, namely card games like Magic and board games. These are also the shops that tend to have the better selection of key issues. Type 2 I would guess I'll have to characterize as "New School" which seemingly has no back issues. Where they really excel however ids their inventory of the card games and board games, notably even having a large corner or area of the store dedicated to game nights, etc. Generally I see no key issues here, while their toy selection is about average. Type 3 would be somewhere in the middle, skewed in one direction or the other by varying degrees. I would like to get everyones opinion on which they prefer, likes and dislikes, etc, I'd even venture to guess that there a re few owners here, and I'd really love to hear their thoughts and motives for which type of shop. Now stereo typically I would also say that the new schoold shops could argue that they entice a large fan base, while the old school types are geared towards collectors. In the same breath an argument could be made for the owner and staffs knowledge and passion with regards to the industry. I qualified the last statement with stereo-typically as I'm sure there are exceptions, and I dont want to offend anyone. Personally, through my recollection, I see more "new School" than "old School" shops which is fine, but personally I prefer old school. then again, I'm biased as card games like Magic never really appealed to me, but I certainly understand they have their own fandoms. So that's really it, maybe it was a stream of consciousness more than anything, but I really would like to open the floor for discussion. What ppeals you yo? Why? and if there are in fact owners her, how do you identify? Was that your goal or did it happen organically? Maybe there is a "type" that i missed, who knows. Thanks for playing along, and humoring a crazy guy. |
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Old school. Boxes and boxes of comics to dig through. I’m not a gamer. Up here in the northwest there are few left, quite the bummer. The best one in Bellingham (out of 2)sold and went 100% games. | ||
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Omg this is fate!!! Where? I’m out here in Seattle as well. I haven’t found a good old school one yet. My fave shop is back in AZ | ||
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
| No where here. I actually fly to Milwaukee a couple times a year and hunt there and Chicago and Minneapolis . Pays for the ticket. Rose City, Jet City and Emerald city cons can get you some good books, but the Bellingham Comic-Con in October is not to be missed so far. I’ve found my best stuff there. Games dominate up here, so shops to survive game. I live off eBay mostly, but if you like new, the gamer shops do new usually. Kirkland does have amazing heroes comics and corner comics, they have some selection bel Kirk stamp, coin and comics also has some selection, but nothing like the midwest | ||
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
 Here is a picture of my sons comic store in Milwaukee. You can see about 30 long boxes in this picture, a wall of new on the right, and there are about 100 more boxes in the adjoining room to paw through. That’s my ideal old school shop. Chip off the old block. |
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 You do know that the new guy brings the donuts, right?
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DWeeB1967 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @stanley1883 Type 1, no question. I don't collect many new comics, so anything that the "New School" stores would have to interest me - mostly Mezco One:12 Collective figures these days - I can get online. Back when I was collecting more than I do these days I used to love digging through long boxes looking for high grade Silver and Bronze. Can't do that at a "New School" store. |
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 I bought a meat grinder on amazon for $60 and it's changed my life.
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kaptainmyke private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 Seattle too. Ever been to Golden Age Collectibles at Pikes Market? It's the oldest comic book store in the United States! |
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doog private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by kaptainmyke You must have been to Zanadu in Seattle that closed last year. A guy who owned a comic store that would not deal in old books and amazingly survived 40 years or so. Yet the old books was where the profit was it turned out. |
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GanaSoth private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @doog I'm Old School as well. I think as long as your son keeps it Old School, he will do just great! | ||
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X51 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Most stores within a 20 mile radius of me have back issues, but they aren't above average. They are far below average. If they all closed tomorrow, I wouldn't care. | ||
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Wraith private msg quote post Address this user | |
| All comic ships where I live are wall to wall tpb with only a few new issues in a small section. Owners mostly order new issue comics that go straight into pull boxes so there is little hope of getting an issue you missed at the lcs. (wasnt this way 10-15 years ago where was much more old school) Different in Melbourne and Sydney where there are some stores with back issue boxes and new issues readily available to browse through. |
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Gabriel85301 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 Which one is that? AllAbout? |
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Gabriel85301 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Did you LCS make this list? Mine did. http://www.travelandleisure.com/culture-design/books/best-comic-book-stores-us |
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 I'll probably wake up constipated.
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Pre_Coder private msg quote post Address this user | |
| My LCS handles it all, and is only a 5 minute drive from the house. | ||
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BrianGreensnips private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I prefer the "old school" store if I am in the mood to hunt some older books and find a hidden gem or older books to spec on. However for new books I prefer the "new school" type store where they order heavier in new books which mean I have a better chance of finding nicer copies and B covers and for me the occasional varient. We have a really good "new school" store here in Michigan. They actually have 3 stores with large selections of new books. They have absolutely no back stock at all. They just blow the books out for $1 a piece or so. I do like that their stores are always clean, well lit and organized and the employees are very helpful. They are called Comic City. | ||
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Gabriel85301 All About was ok, but my favorite and best in my humble opinion is Drawn 2 Comics in Glendale. They're the absolute best. |
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poka private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have 2 LCS where I live. Both are #2 - so only go there ocassionally. Good thing love is that they are next to each other | ||
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by doog I've been to Zanadu, it had the "old School" feel was just missing the old school inventory. I've also been to Golden Age a Pikes, and let me apologize ahead of time if this is going to often anyone, but while Golden Age is good and has a decent selection, it just feels.....too....main stream? Corporate? I don't know if if that makes sense to anyone else, and I certainly don't mean that in a derogatory or negative way, but it just doesn't "feel" right. I like the feeling of walking into a shop where my fiends are, and I know the owner, and the owners my friend and we can just shoot the breeze about issues or character, etc. |
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Amazing Heroes in Kirkland is good as an old school type. He certainly has the inventory, I just kind of wish they didn't move. Their first location was better layout wise for my taste. | ||
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stanley1883 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Gabriel85301 #5, I'm not surprised. I swear thats my favorite shop ever. Haven't found one better and I've been to a couple of the other ones, Gotham City in Mesa was ok. Comikaze was better than average but that was definitely the 3rd type, they had some back issues and stuff but they definitely skewed more towards the collectibles/toys spectrum. We went there for some statues and stuff, but the back issues were nothing to write home about. All About had a really good back issue selection. |
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Gabriel85301 private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by stanley1883 I have my pull box at Drawn To Comics. I live 5 minute walk from the the location, (as you can probably tell with my zip code in my name) |
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CopperAgeKids private msg quote post Address this user | |
Quote:Originally Posted by Gabriel85301 I just looked through that list....There are a few good shops I've heard of, and a couple that I know are solid. The only shop in my area, on that list, is a new shop, that has been open for barely 2 years. Amalgam in Philly. Never been there, don't have to go. It's a coffeehouse/comic shop. Ugh. That should tell you everything that you need to know. There are a couple good comic shops in south Jersey....Frankenstein Comics in Woodbury NJ is one of them. Been there since the 1980's, all Frankenstein carries is new comics and back issues. Plenty of silver. No card games or toys. So yeah, that list blows. |
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Themaxx35 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have an embarrassment of riches where I live. Off the top of my head I can think of 8 LCSs in the area and they run the full spectrum. On one end there’s an LCS that very much caters to serious collectors with thousands of back issues and a phenomenal selection of wall books. They also hold frequent sales. On the other end there’s a place that has very limited back issues and definitely caters to new books and statues etc. I don’t go there unless it’s an emergency. When DC started doing covers A and B for all their books during Rebirth, this LCS charged a dollar more for the B covers. A little slimy in my opinion. There’s a couple places that used to be more traditional LCSs but have shifted their focus to gaming. These are great places to hunt for books. With the owners focusing on a different clientele, there are some really sweet gems hiding in the dusty long boxes that the owners have forgotten about. The others are somewhat closer to 3s. Mainly new books with some back issue boxes, but instead of focusing on games, they have huge selections of TPBs. There seems to be a decent customer base of people who trade-wait. Never been my approach, but to each their own. These places are a little more chill and the focus is more on reading than collecting. The LCS I have my pull-list with is one of these. The owner’s great and customer service is fantastic (guy knows the sound of my voice if I call to ask him to pull something aside for me or change my pull-list)so even though I would prefer a little more collector focused LCS, these guys have my business as long as I’m buying new books. |
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antoniofett private msg quote post Address this user | |
| http://comixconnection.tumblr.com This is the best one in the Capital region of Pennsylvania in my opinion. The have two locations. Staff is awesome and the have ALOT of key issues and back issues. |
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 Beaten by boat oars
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Studley_Dudley private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I have a few good ones that I frequent in the area. Four come to mind right off the bat. There are others too that get the occasional solid key in. All mess with toys and cards (sports or otherwise) but the ones I tend to visit are mostly comic centered. A lot of back issues, new comics and keys. | ||
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