Where Did Buy Your Comics in the 1970s?

[LonnieFisher]

I bought them at 7-11.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

from spinner racks in a small candy store/newstand by the train station. magazine and treasury edition sizes on the floor under the newspapers.
and there was a small(!) hobby store just a few doors the street. and a pizzeria next to that!
those sure were the days

[bleit1701]

Spinner racks at any drug store I was in. Perry Drugs mostly.

There was a neighborhood party store that sold "coverless comics"

I remember being at a campground once that had a general store with Phantom and Enter Ghost Manor comics which were new to me. They were in piles on the counter by the register. I think I cleaned them out.

Same thing at another campground with a spinner rack where I bought my first 100 page giant- Detective comics 438. The cover was beat up and torn but I didn't care. I loved the cover and all the extra stories. I still have it.

We had a cabin in up state Michigan. On the way was a Mobil Station. While THEY were pumping the gas we'd go in. There was a spinner rack. I got Adventure Comics with Supergirl and Superboy comics there.

[MRP]

When I first started buying comics, I got them from the spinner rack at a little drug store called Ideal Drug. On the other side of town, there was another drug store called Genovese Drugs that didn't sell new comic, but they had bins of comics that were 1-2 years old at 5/$1, and I sometimes would get some there. That was until 3rd grade, during 3rd grade, we moved to a different town, and then I got new comics from the spinner rack at the local Dairy Mart, but more often I would get the polybagged 3 packs of Marvel books from the local Shop Rite when my folks would go grocery shopping and I went with them and behaved, which was only about once a month. I got a lot of those as stocking stuffers at Christmas as well. In 4th grade, I got my first subscription (to Iron Man) through our school's magazine drive.

-M

[The Bat]

The local Drug store, Zayre(in multi-packs) and mail order from Mile High Comics.

[Mikey]

Local mom and pop drugstore for new comics (on spinny rack) and local farmers market for older issues -- had homemade mystery 5 packs for super cheap.

[Makernaut]

Spinner racks at a couple of local drug stores, mostly. Walmart back in the late 70s had a lot of Charlton Comics in the toy department. Woolco had the bagged Whitman DC multi-packs and stuff like Gold Key, Dell, and the other comics that weren't DC/Marvel. I would occasionally get some at the grocery store or a convenience store.

The last comic book I remember getting before they had totally moved to comic book shops was at a strip mall news stand. This would have been about 1987-ish and it was a Marvel comic called "The 'Nam".

[EmergencyIan]

Spinner racks at a couple of local drug stores, mostly. Walmart back in the late 70s had a lot of Charlton Comics in the toy department. Woolco had the bagged Whitman DC multi-packs and stuff like Gold Key, Dell, and the other comics that weren't DC/Marvel. I would occasionally get some at the grocery store or a convenience store.

The last comic book I remember getting before they had totally moved to comic book shops was at a strip mall news stand. This would have been about 1987-ish and it was a Marvel comic called "The 'Nam".

That’s exactly the kind of mall newsstand, at the bookstore, where I got my “Nam” comics. Seems that was a popular comic at the time. I recall that it was well written and drawn.

- Ian

[Makernaut]

That’s exactly the kind of mall newsstand, at the bookstore, where I got my “Nam” comics. Seems that was a popular comic at the time. I recall that it was well written and drawn.

- Ian

I really enjoyed that book at the time. Didn't realize until later that Larry Hama was the editor.

[powersthatbe]

I had a pharmacy and a newsstand by my house but most of the books I got were from my aunts who would take me downtown on the weekends to the five and dime.they would buy me ten dollars worth of toys or a toy and ten dollars worth of comics(which added to a lot since comics then were 25-35 cents).

[glimpy]

I used to buy them at a local liquor store down the street called "Stop n Go". And also at the Swap Meet.

[Hector]

There were tons of comic book stores in Berkeley (and still are)...all next to the University of California. My go to comic book shop was the iconic but now defunct, Comics and Comix. In the 80s, the late Rory Root opened Comic Relief, who some say he was the inspiration for Matt Groening’s Comic Book Guy.

See the resemblance?







Cool comic book stores, fond memories.

[Megotastrophe]

I don't think I saw a comic book store til the mid 80s. I suppose there could have been a few in the 70s but they were like Sasquatches. Somebody at school would have a cousin's friend who saw one...

[Bruce Banner]

The go to places for comics in the 70s for me were the local drug store, the tobacconists and the several small local convenience stores.

[Blue Meanie]

When I was 4 or 5 years old I bought my first comics at a luncheonette that was across the parking lot from where we would drop my dad off at the train station (LIRR) Also at the stationary down the block from us. But by 1978 I was fortunate to have one of the earliest LCS in New York...The Batcave. I was a customer there for almost 30 years. He's still around...but I like to spread my money around a little. He doesn't get a lot of the independent books that I like and doesn't believe in "accessorizing" the store with comic related stuff like toys etc.