A Tale of Two Comic Shops
This is in response to the current King 5 Best Of Western Washington Poll that currently has The Comics Place and Comic Book Ink going neck-and-neck for Best Comic Shop In Western Washington.
I personally love both shops, but there's really no question as to which one is better.
The Comics Place is the only comic book store in Bellingham, Washington... a town that is primarily a "College Town". The shop is small and old and hasn't really changed much in the 20 plus-or-minus years that I've been going there. Located upstairs and around a corner in an old building, it's a location that would be better serviced by a private investigator or cold-sales call center. Cramped, illogically laid-out, and worst of all an inhospitable attitude from the employees that conveys an attitude of "This shop is for our Regular Customers, if you're not a Regular Customer then we have no time for you". I have had several instances of price-swapping ("Oh that's an old sticker, let me look up the REAL price for you"), Opinion dismissal ("I can't believe you're buying that, it's crap") and Clueless Salesmanship ("Uhm, I don't really know about that... you should really come back when _____ is here, he knows all about that stuff").
On the plus-side, all of those negative things make it the exact type of place that comics collectors traditionally like. Obscure and quirky, nooks-and-crannies to search through, and a feeling of community and/or camaraderie once you've been accepted as one of them. And since they're the only game in town, they've been able to thrive with this business model.
Comic Book Ink, however, is run by a guy who is more passionate about comic books and their ancillary pop-culture counterparts than anyone I've ever met. He's frindly, passionate, charming... his shop is bright and clean and easy to find, full of everything a Modern Geek could ever want and laid out in the most logical and friendly way I've ever seen. Each employee is a "Specialist" in a particular product that they sell. Active in the community, there isn't a weekend that goes by where they don't have some charity event or other happening going on where they're promoting literacy or feeding the poor or clothing the homeless with some geeky twist. Comic Book Ink makes full use of The Internet with weekly newsletters, an active Facebook page, MySpace, and all the bells and whistles. Nominated some 5 times so far for the Eisener Awards "Best Comic Shop", Comic Book Ink is what should the the *standard* that all other comic shops should be measured against.
It all boils down to this; The Comics Place is where you go when you need comic books. Comic Book Ink is where you go when you WANT and LOVE comics.
I personally love both shops, but there's really no question as to which one is better.
The Comics Place is the only comic book store in Bellingham, Washington... a town that is primarily a "College Town". The shop is small and old and hasn't really changed much in the 20 plus-or-minus years that I've been going there. Located upstairs and around a corner in an old building, it's a location that would be better serviced by a private investigator or cold-sales call center. Cramped, illogically laid-out, and worst of all an inhospitable attitude from the employees that conveys an attitude of "This shop is for our Regular Customers, if you're not a Regular Customer then we have no time for you". I have had several instances of price-swapping ("Oh that's an old sticker, let me look up the REAL price for you"), Opinion dismissal ("I can't believe you're buying that, it's crap") and Clueless Salesmanship ("Uhm, I don't really know about that... you should really come back when _____ is here, he knows all about that stuff").
On the plus-side, all of those negative things make it the exact type of place that comics collectors traditionally like. Obscure and quirky, nooks-and-crannies to search through, and a feeling of community and/or camaraderie once you've been accepted as one of them. And since they're the only game in town, they've been able to thrive with this business model.
Comic Book Ink, however, is run by a guy who is more passionate about comic books and their ancillary pop-culture counterparts than anyone I've ever met. He's frindly, passionate, charming... his shop is bright and clean and easy to find, full of everything a Modern Geek could ever want and laid out in the most logical and friendly way I've ever seen. Each employee is a "Specialist" in a particular product that they sell. Active in the community, there isn't a weekend that goes by where they don't have some charity event or other happening going on where they're promoting literacy or feeding the poor or clothing the homeless with some geeky twist. Comic Book Ink makes full use of The Internet with weekly newsletters, an active Facebook page, MySpace, and all the bells and whistles. Nominated some 5 times so far for the Eisener Awards "Best Comic Shop", Comic Book Ink is what should the the *standard* that all other comic shops should be measured against.
It all boils down to this; The Comics Place is where you go when you need comic books. Comic Book Ink is where you go when you WANT and LOVE comics.