CR Shop Visit: Secret Headquarters In Los Angeles, California



By Tom Spurgeon
Photos By Whit Spurgeon

I'd been looking forward to visiting Los Angeles' Secret Headquarters for some time. It had popped into existence after I was visiting Los Angeles on a more regular basis than I do now, so I have no history with the store the way I do Meltdown or even Golden Apple. Here are some brief and I'm afraid not-very-penetrating observations, accompanied by photos of the place by Whit Spurgeon.

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I think the unique feel that many ascribe to Secret Headquarters comes from multiple sources. The first is the lighting. The second is all the dark wood and personal library-type shelving that dominates the infrastructure of the store's main room. The third and probably most under-appreciated is the sweeping through-lines that the store offers door to back wall and then again from the business desk to the front of the store. I've talked to people that don't think much of the store's look, or that at least think people overstate its attractiveness. One person I spoke to at Comic-Con even called it a "dumpy room." I liked it, though I think there's a lesson in remembering that this is a local store. When I asked what the big seller was it wasn't some hand-stitched comic from Utah, it was The Walking Dead.

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While we were in the store, a parent and child used the leather chairs up front to look over a few potential purchases. I would imagine it's nice to have a seating area for the people that don't want to shop as much as for those that do. The table was stacked with an array of comics, one imagines to attract a reluctant, tag-along shopper, and the whole section was near the hardcore local 'zine material, another area that non-comics buyers tend to find attractive.

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A couple of the major shelving areas from a distance. In comic shops, books on a shelf provide atmosphere, are decorative and serve as a place for shopper to interact with individual books, all at the same time.

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Some of the shelving at a close-up, including a lot of what my brother and later referred to as "pull outs," or comics that are shelved in little groups and then scattered throughout the store. I got two completely different vibes from walking around. The first is that all the bookshelves reminded me of being in a very, very big personal library as opposed to a more formal retail establishment. The second is that looking at a variety of material displayed in a variety of ways reminded me of walking around a classic neighborhood used bookstore, the exact kind that are blinking out of existence right now.

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I liked how there was a bit of idiosyncratic weirdness going on up at the part of the store where customers bought their goods. (That is indeed one of the owner/operators sitting behind the cash register and desk. While I was there, a kid bought himself a couple of Transformers comics and something from one of David Petersen's Mouse Guard series, which shouldn't be notable but sadly is.

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Buried treasure in the form of original art and prints hung up in the store's small back room. There were two by Al Columbia: a color print of which apparently one copy was made, and a sublime black and white sketchbook-style drawing.

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I like inexplicable, stupid-looking decorations.

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Some unsold art still on the walls from cartoonist Vanessa Davis. That which has been sold has already come down, I'm told.

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Most shops have something to sell other than comics.

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