(no subject)

[captain_slinky]

Today's PVP is the funniest thing I've ever seen in a comic strip, and there are so very few of us that will actually get it. But at least all of you on my Friends List will understand!

Comments

[florindo.livejournal.com]

Bwaha. Been there.

That's why I like The Comic Stop up in Lynnwood. The owner's not a pretentious snob and will gladly sell you books that would normally get you laughed out of the store... He's also fairly good at suggesting new titles based on your interests.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Jim and Brian are both great... Jim even sang the PRAISES of The Punisher movie so much that I actually want to go see it now!

So you do The Comic Stop? That's my regular shop! I've probably even seen you there a few times!

[florindo.livejournal.com]

I'm an infrequent visitor but a long-standing customer. I have extreme loyalty to Jim but have been begging him to open a shop down in the Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue area for years... and he goes and opens a shop in the Everett Mall.

:P

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

The Bell-Kirk area NEEDS a shop! The only one still around (and I'm not even sure it's still there) is the olde Evergreen Stamp & Coin... and they're barely a comic shop! What ever happened to the good old days... the days of Darkholder, Psycho 5 and others? Are there even ANY comic shops left on the East Side?

[florindo.livejournal.com]

Those good-old-days were a byproduct of some schmo telling collectors and investors to put a lot of their money into comic books... what we ended up with was a bloated market that saw more interest in making and selling special limited editions rather than focusing on good product.

And yes, I fell victim to it as well, willingly. I have that multi-cover X-Men #1 and one of the McFarlane Spider-Man's. I've got the glow-in-the-dark Ghost Rider and various other kitchy gimmicks.

When investors wised up because readers lost interest (and a lot of money) the scene dried up like the mojave and several shops went tits up.

My "neighborhood" shop when comic books were in their height was the Reid Comics shop over on Benson in Renton. I still have my Reid Comics/Deathblow t-shirt and love wearing it (it's gotten to the point where it's been worn and laundered so many times that it's super-soft)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Reid Comics... on Benson? Where abouts on Benson? Was that the one by the Fred Myers in that strip-mall area? That was a nice shop, but almost too *clean*... like most of the "Sports Cards & Collectables" shops that suddenly became comic book stores back then. And then they became "Sports Cards & Collectables & Comic Books & Beanie Babies". BLEAGH!

I used to live on the other end of Benson in Kent, just a stones-throw away from Book World and some crazy 24/7 Gaming Shop... did you ever go?

[florindo.livejournal.com]

The Fred Meyer shopping center is indeed where Reid Comics was. I miss Brad and Jeff (the owners/operators) and wonder how they're doing. Brad was a great artist and always put something up in his windows. Jeff was a kooky guy who was into comic books and was studying quantum physics at UW.

I prefer a store that's clean and organized. I like being able to find things. I especially like it if the shop has a place to sit down and look at the stash of books you just purchased before you head out. TCS has that nice comfy couch near the door.

I've been to Book World many a time. It was nicely situated near my old highschool and the church I went to while I was growing up. Bought a bunch of White Wolf and Palladium RPG books there.

The Book World in Federal Way was also a familiar haunt of mine for a time, because that's where I did a great deal of P&P RPG'ing.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Clean is good, don't get me wrong... it's just... well... you have to see the movie "Comic Book Villains" to really appreciate the differences between the two major types of stores.

The old, dirty, cluttered and unorganized ones (like The Comics Dungeon in the U-District) have sort of a 1950's "Friars Club" feeling to them. A great place to go and be one of the guys, but you certainly wouldn't want to take a Dame there! Intimidating and unfriendly to outsiders.

The new "Collectables" stores are clean, spacious, well organized, and soulless. They carry most Marvel, DC, Image, and a little bit of the Archie stuff... along with a case full of baseball cards, M:TG, Yugioh, Pokemon, Beanie-Babies, POG's... pretty much anything that they thought they could make a buck off of. You ask them for a back issue of Sin City, they stare blankly at you and try to sell you a Beanie Baby. "Jack of all trades, master of none".

Some shops go for a hybrid of the two. Comic Stop is the first one to have gotten it right, imho :)

[florindo.livejournal.com]

And to answer your question about shops in the area... there's the shop in "historic" downtown renton, but it's a cramped, dirty hole in the wall.

Part of the appeal of the Comic Stop is that it's clean, well-lit and the racks arent' a mess.

That and the back-issues are tidy... because there's not a lot of them.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Yes... Comic Stop has it all over those other shops. It's the Disney Land of Seattle Area comic book stores! Family-friendly, sparkling clean, and always a treat!