FFF Results Post #274—Shops

On Friday, CR readers were asked to "Name Five Comic Shops: Your Current (Or Closest To it) (#1), Your First (#2), One That's Closed Now That You Remember Fondly (#3), One That You Hope To Visit One Day (#4), A Place You Bought Comics That Wasn't A Comics Store At All (#5)." This how they responded.

*****



Tom Spurgeon

1. Dave's Comics And Paintball
2. Bright's Book Exchange
3. Halley's Comics
4. Bergen Street Comics
5. B&B Loan Company

*****



Kenny Penman

1. Nostalgia & Comics Birmingham
2. Science Fiction Bookshop Edinburgh
3. Dark They Were and Golden Eyed London
4. Quimbys Chicago
5. Village Post Office, Watten, Caithenss

*****



Alan David Doane

1. Comic Depot, Saratoga Springs, NY
2. Cartoon Museum, Orlando, FL, run by Jim Ivey circa 1978 (not sure of exact name)
3. FantaCo, Albany, NY
4. Jim Hanley's Universe, NYC, NY
5. Hughes Newsroom, Greenwich, NY

*****



Kumar Sivasubramanian

1) All Star Comics, Melbourne Australia
2) A Collector's Dream, Fredericton Canada
3) Alternate Worlds (Chapel Street location), Melbourne Australia
4) Comix Experience, San Francisco
5) vending machine, Tokyo Japan

*****



Matt Price

(#1) Speeding Bullet Comics, Norman OK
(#2) New World Comics, Norman OK branch
(#3) Atomik Pop!, Norman OK branch (formerly Planet Comics)
(#4) Jim Hanley's Universe, New York
(#5) Homeland grocery store chain

*****



Larry Rippee

#1 The Escapist
#2 San Francisco Comic Book Shop {1969}
#3 Comic Relief, Bekeley
#4 Lambiek
#5 Rexall Drug Store

*****



Christopher Brown

1. Bergen Street Comics and Manhattan Comics
2. Comics World, Milford CT - the first comics shop I ever saw, run by a guy with truly dubious business ethics
3. Dream Factory, Milford CT - opened as a direct competitor to Comics World and totally stole my business from them with innovative retail techniques like being pleasant, valuing their customers, and maintaining a clean, well-lit, kid-friendly store
4. Quimby's
5. Cellar Stories, used bookstore, Providence RI

*****



Joe Schwind
1. Gryphon Games and Comics, Fort Collins CO
2. Clint's Comic Books, KC MO
Selling comics to Clint paid my rent, 1969/70.
3. Extremely Ltd., KC MO
Comix and hippie sundries behind a Mexican restaurant.
4. Eclipse Books and Comics, Rolla MO
5. A little Mom & Pop grocery in Dubuque, Iowa, a block or two southwest of Muscatine, circa 1958. The rack featured an excellent selection of ACG comics, DC war titles.

*****



Nathaniel G. McDonald

1. Elite Comics, Overland Park, KS
2. Antiquarium, Jefferson City, MO
3. Pohlman's, Jefferson City, MO
4. The Beguiling
5. Schulte's IGA, Jefferson City, MO

*****



Vito Del Sante

1. Jim Hanley's Universe (NYC)
2. The Comic Shop (Staten Island, NY)
3. Comics Crypt (Pittsburgh, PA)
4. Austin Books and Comics (Austin, TX)
5. Staten Island Ferry (Staten Island, NY)

*****



Nat Gertler

1. Tie, Ralph's Comic Corner (Ventura, CA)/Earth-2 (Sherman Oaks, CA)
2. Forbidden Planet (NY)
3. Comic Relief (Berkeley, CA)
4. Happy Harbor (Edmonton, Alberta)
5. The Black Market head shop (Anchorage, AK)

*****



Tom Bondurant

1. Comics And Collectibles (Memphis, TN)
2. Comic Connection (Lexington, KY)
3. I can't remember its name, but it was right above the Tolly-Ho diner on the UK campus, and despite my failing memory, it was a nice little store.
4. Heroes Aren't Hard To Find
5. Convenient Food Mart

*****



Trevor Ashfield

1. Tramp's Music Comics Cards and Games, Regina, SK
2. Regina Book Exchange, Regina, SK
3. Shadowfax, Winnipeg, MB
4. Now and Then Books, Kitchener, ON
5. Kells' Pharmacy, Grenfell, SK

*****



Tony Collett

1. DCBS
2. Fool's Paradise, Bloomington IN
3. Kokomo Comics And Baseball Cards, Kokomo IN
4. The Beguiling, Toronto Ontario
5. Kaky's Five And Dime, Arcadia IN

*****



Frank Cammuso

1. The Comix Zone
2. Dream Days
3. Twilight Fantasy Books and Games
4. Galerie Lambiek
5. The Corner Pharmacy

*****



Will Pfeifer

1. Top Cut Comics (formerly Tomorrow is Yesterday) in Loves Park, Illinois
2. Rainbow Comics in Austintown, Ohio
3. My buddy Jay Geldhof's late, great Watch the Skies in Kent, Ohio
4. Golden Apple Comics
5. A gift store in Niles, Ohio, where I bought Watchmen issues 1 and 12.

*****



Mike Baehr

1. Arcane Comics & More
2. I never knew its name -- there was no sign. We just called it "the comic shop." The sole proprietor also sold rare books.
3. Rocketship
4. Desert Island
5. Goodwill

*****



Mike Thompson

(#1) - The Comic Depot (Wilton, NY)
(#2) - Geppi's Comic World (Largo, FL -- worked there for Steve Geppi all through high school)
(#3) - The Silver Snail (Hamilton, Ontario -- met Walt Simonson and Bill Sienkiewicz there, among many others)
(#4) - The Beguiling (for some reason, never went there when I had the chance)
(#5) - From sweets truck when I visited England as a young boy (circa '74)

*****



Shannon Smith

1) Cavalier Comics - Wise, VA
2) Mountain Empire Comics- Bristol, TN
3) Classic Comics - Atlanta, GA
4) Heroes Aren't Hard to Find - Charlotte, NC (Despite going to HeroesCon for years, I've never managed to step foot in the store.)
5) Monlinary's - Saint Paul, VA (An old train depot restaurant that carried on for years after the train depot was closed. I think the only money they took in between 1980 and 1987 was what I spent on comics, ham 'n cheese sandwiches, french fries and orangeades.)

*****



Kenneth Graves

1) Great Escape, Charlotte Pike
2) Great Escape, Broadway
3) Could ditto #2, but let's list Rocketship in Brooklyn where I shopped once
4) Desert Island, Brooklyn
5) Brown's Drug Store (once upon a time, there was newsstand distribution...)

*****



Chris Gumprich

1. Cover To Cover
2. Doug Sulipa's Comic World (on Portage Ave)
3. Dave's Amazing Comics
4. Strange Adventures
5. "Food Store" (really, that was its name)

*****



Johnny Bacardi

1. The Great Escape, Bowling Green, KY
2. My first was a small shop just off Bardstown Road in Louisville sometime in the mid-70's, but I can't remember what they called it to save my life. I bought back issues of The Kaluta Shadow and the Wein/Wrightson Swamp Thing there. Only stayed in business a few months, just caught my eye when I was up there with my parents going into Karma Records.
3. Books & Buttons, in the old Bowling Green Mall in Bowling Green, KY. Bought a lot of fine comics there in the 80s, including Thriller.
4. Isotope in San Francisco
5. Houchens Market, Horse Cave, KY

*****



Paul Stock

1) Current: Librairie Astro Montreal (I own it)
2) First:The Reader's Den Montreal (Really a bookstore, but with a huge comic section)
3) Hope to see: JimHanley's Universe NYC (Because Jim's a good guy.)
4) Not comic shops at all: Topps Barber Shop Montreal, Bakka Books Toronto Gene's Greyhound stop/Lunch counter- Keeseville NY (1950's-60's)
5) Fondly remembered: Archie's Record Bar, Montreal in 1961, which became Snowdon Pocket Novels & Comics in 1962

*****



Grant Goggans

(#1): Bizarro Wuxtry, Athens GA
(#2): The Book Trader, Smyrna GA
(#3): Stateside Comics, London
(#4): Isotope, San Francisco CA
(#5): Cobb Stamp & Coin, Smyrna GA

*****



Scott Dunbier

1) Comickaze in San Diego -- Robert Scott's place, he carries everything.
2) Supersnipe Comic Emporium -- possibly the smallest shop ever, but it was heaven to me at nine!
3) Quality Comics in London, across from the World's End Pub.
4) Strange Adventures in Halifax -- I've heard nothing but great stuff about this place.
5) The drugstore in Hartsdale New York, across the road from the train station -- they got their comics every Tuesday and Thursday.

*****



Hisham Zubi

1. Things From Another World
2. Pegasus Comics (now Things From Another World)
3. Guapo Comics and Coffee
4. Forbidden Planet
5. B. Dalton Books

*****



Michael F. Russo

1. St. Mark's Comics (NYC)
2. The Million Year Picnic (Cambridge, MA)
3. Rocketship (Brooklyn, NY)
4. The Beguiling (Toronto, CA)
5. Tower Records/Books (NYC)

*****



Michel Fiffe

1) Bergen St. Comics
2) A&M Comics
3) Coral Comics
4) Heroes Aren't Hard To Find
5) 7-11

I was just mentioning to a friend how every time I visit a new city, I'm more excited about discovering local comic shops than anything else about the visit. The smaller the town the better the chances of finding something great, I found.

*****



Colin Smith

1. "Abstract Sprocket," Norwich, England
2. "Dark They Were & Golden Eyed", Berwick St, London, in 1974
3. "Comics Showcase" in London
4. "Time Machine", Chelsea, New York (George Khoury wrote a great article about it at CBR)
5. The 7th Ashford (Middx) Boy Scout Summer Fete, circa 1973

*****



Chip Mosher

1. Meltdown
2. Camelot Comics
3. Herb Halvorson's Silver Penny
4. Comics and Vegetables
5. Stop n' Go

*****



J.E. Cole

1: Forbidden Planet Croydon
2: Deadzone Comics in Croydon
3: Enigma Comics in Croydon
4: The Beguiling
5: Foyles Charing Cross Road

*****



Mark Clegg

1) Hijinx Comix
2) The San Jose Comics Art Shop
3) San Jose Comics Collector Shop
4) The Beguiling
5) Twice Read Books

*****



Kristy Valenti

1. Zanadu Comics
2. Bonanza Books and Comics
3. Confounded Books
4. The Beguiling
5. Save Mart

*****



Chad Nevett

1. Border City Comics (Windsor, Ontario)
2. The Comic Book Collector (London, Ontario)
3. (Sorry, I haven't had any of the shops I go to close. I've been lucky like that so far. The closest would be the Comic Book Collector in London, which changed locations and ownership a few times during the time I've gone there.)
4. Isotope
5. Wal-Mart

*****



Marc Arsenault

1. Comics Conspiracy, Sunnyvale, CA
2. FantaCo
3. Comic Relief
4. Floating World Comics
5. Baums Newsroom, Schenectady, New York

*****



Andrew Mansell

1. Heroes Aren't Hard to Find -- Charlotte
2. All-American Comics in Evergreen Park, IL
3. Larry's Comics on Devon in Chicago
4. The Beguiling Toronto
5. Driftwood Souvenirs Shop at Sisters Lakes Benton Harbor, Michigan

*****



Kiel Phegley

1. Challenger's Comics - Chicago, IL
2. Comic Relief - Flint, MI
3. Excalibur Comics - Grand Blanc, MI
4. The Beguiling - Toronto, Ontario
5. Mother of Junk - Brooklyn, NY

*****



Marc Mason

1. Pop Culture Paradise, Tempe AZ
2. Comic Carnival, Broad Ripple IN
3. The One Book Shop, Tempe AZ
4. Jim Hanley's Universe, NYC
5. Hooks Drug Store, all over IN

*****



Justin J. Major

1. Unicorn Comics & Cards (Villa Park, Illinois)
2. Rainbow Sports Cards and Comic Books (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
3. Moondog's (Mt. Prospect, Illinois)
4. Ralph's Comic Corner (Ventura, California)
5. Rube Westry's Drug Store (Wessington, South Dakota)

*****



Mark Clegg

1) Hijinx Comix
2) Bob Sidebottom's Comix Collectors Shop
3) San Jose Comics Collector Shop
4) The Beguiling
5) Twice Read Books

*****



Evan Dorkin

1. Comic Book Jones
2. The Green Ghost
3. The Fantastic Store
4. Little Island Comics
5. The Salvation Army

*****



John Platt

1. Casablanca Comics, Portland, ME
2. I have faint memories of a a shop that I think was called Heroes World at Rockaway Mall in NJ. I've always wondered if this was the start of the distribution company that Marvel later bought, or if it ever even really existed. Maybe I dreamed it.
3. I'm a bit upset that I can't remember the name of this long-dead shop, but it was in North Plainfield, NJ, and was run by Brent Erwin, who later co-founded Ape Entertainment.
4. Quimby's in Chicago.
5. Bolton Drugs or Pharmacy or something like that in Bolton, CT. I remember buying lots of DC digests there in the 1970s.

*****



Aaron Costain

1. The Beguiling
2. Curious Comics (Victoria, BC)
3. Fichtre
4. Desert Island
5. Casey's Corner

*****



Charles Brownstein

1) Midtown Comics/Forbidden Planet NYC
2) Golden Apple Northridge
3) Comic Relief of Berkeley
4) The Beguiling
5) Bedford Avenue street book vendor

*****



Fred Hembeck

1. Dragon's Den (Poughkeepsie)
2. Queen City Comics (Buffalo)
3. Fantaco (Albany)
4. Forbidden Planet (NYC)
5. Heisenbuttel's General Store (Yaphank)

*****



Eric Newsom

1. Aquilonia Comics
2. Jim Waugh's Collectors World
3. Heroes Aren't Hard to Find at its old location
4. The Beguiling
5. Yard sale on Hoosick St. where I bought two decades' worth of Heavy Metal for $8

*****



Stergios Botzakis

1. Comics Exchange in Knoxville, TN
2. Iron Vic's Comics in Poughkeepsie, NY
3. Triad Comics in Knoxville, TN
4. The Beguiling in Toronto, ON
5. Middlehope Flea Market in Middlehope, NY

*****



Derik Badman

1. n/a
2. Comix (written in black electrical tape on a blank strip mall sign) (Quakertown, PA)
3. Rocketship (Brooklyn, NY)
4. Desert Island (Brooklyn, NY)
5. Library Sale

*****



Douglas Mullins

1. New World Manga (Livingston, NJ)
2. St. Mark's Comics (Brooklyn, NY)
3. Rocketship (Brooklyn, NY)
4. Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery (Seattle, WA)
5. G-Mart (Woodward, OK)

*****

topic slightly altered from a suggestion by John Platt; thanks, John

*****
*****
 
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