What was the names of your old Comic Book store haunts ?

[nvmbrsdoom5]

As a really young kid I didn't have much access to comic book stores. There was one here in my 'hood very briefly when I was about 5 y.o., my mom took me in there once and I saw they had a 1962 Incredible Hulk #1. Being a Hulk fan of course I wanted it, and the guy told my mom it was $100, which of course was outlandish to her at the time. She never took me back there

I bought most of my comics after that at places like Ben Franklin's and 7-11. I can still very clearly remember buying books like Super-Villain Team Up, What If?, and Amazing Spider-Man off of the rack at that 7-11.

When I was about 10, I discovered there was a comic shop not too far away in Calumet City called Amazing Fantasy. It wasn't until then that I started getting into collecting Siler Age stuff, and luckily for me I managed to get some great stuff before the prices really skyrocketed on it during the late 80s and so on. Unfortunately I sold off alot of it later, much to my chagrin =( Mainly during the time in 1996-2000 when I owned my own short-lived comic shop here in south Chicago.

Amazing Fantasy moved a short time later to a different locale but in the same town and it's still there, and I still frequent it when I can. I also started going to Tenth Planet when I was a teen, and that's still around too.

I get nostalgic for that stuff when I go through old comics and find old boards that have the store stamp on them on the back. It used to be a real treat when my mom would take me to the comic shop. Truthfully it's still a pretty nice treat to go there now.

[bobws]

one of the earliest from around 1980 was Space Traveller's a little donwstairs shop on a side street in downtown ansonia CT. my friend could never remember it's name and always called it Space Dust. Then over the bridge and away a few miles open up Shortell's Time Travellers run by Bob Shortell who new an artist on superman and had the page framed in his shop where his friend drew him as a reporter in the Daily Planet Bullpen with Clark and Lois over his shoulder. But for about 13 years now i go to Legends of Superheroes in Middlebury( moved from waterbury) CT. great guys own it.

[megoscott]

The only comic shop in Las Cruces, NM was the local paperback exchange shop. Dave's Paperback Exchange. A little old adobe house stuffed with paperbacks andthen racks of comics hung from the ceiling. Dave was a crotchety old Eastern European guy who always scolded you for looking at the comics because they were "collectible". I has a subscription box there and went every week to pick up my comics, all Marvel. This was in the mid-80s.

[Captain]

Back when I was a kid, I dont even think Calgary had any comic shops...if there were any I didnt know about them. Most of my comics came from the Mayland Heights Drug Store, or the Mayland Heights Safeway, or the 7-11 on the corner (still Mayland Heights)....if we could convince Dad to stop there.
Since we lived out in the country, the weekly Friday after school trip to the Safeway for groceries was always looked forward too. Since my Dad was a closet comic book fan, he would let my Sister and I go to the drugstore to each pick out our weekly comic, while he and Mom bought the paper. I loved that store. The owner was a toy nut, and had a section of Marx and Corgi stuff that no other store ever seemed to have.
When the super hero cups were available, we used to frequent the 7-11 quite often too. Loved the old smell 7-11 used to have. Unfortunately, we took my Step Grandfather there once. He was an old school Saskatchewan farmer and this was literally his first trip to the big city. Despite my Mothers warning, he took a huge sip of his first ever Slurpee...made a face I will never forget...threw the Slurpee cup back at the clerk (this was back when they used to pour the Slurpees for you) and started jumping around and hooping and hollering like he thought he was going to die! For a tough old farmer he sure couldnt handle brain freeze!! My folks were so embarassed, we never set foot in that place for a loooong time afterwards.

[vulcan2074]

Damn the only one I really remember the name of is Golden Apple, It's in Los Angeles on Melrose. I used to go there when I would visit my sister for Summer Break. There were like 3 near me when I grew up in Tx. I can't remember there names though
Sammy

[Bionic Joe]

Going way back to the early 80s when i got serious into collecting

1. Comic Crypt- Oaklynn NJ [still there but owned by someone else
2. Fat Jacks Comic Crypt- South Phillie [still there]
3. Cosmic Comics-Berlin NJ closed a long time ago
4. Tem DEE -WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP NJ still there

[WannabeMego]

From the late 70s to mid-80s I would go to the Batcave in Bayshore, NY. They got into a little legal entanglement over the name and temporarily became Comic Heaven, the owner was brothers with the owner of California's Comic Heaven store. It became the Batcave again and eventually Long Island Comics but I stopped going there long before that. I heard that Frank moved the store to Babylon in the 90s.

I also used to venture to Heroes World in the Nassau Mall, Hempstead, NY.

Those were it for me other than 7-11 and local flea markets.

Ummm, Scott...Our paths HAD TO cross.

Berto [Blue Meanie] and I know Frank (the owner of The Batcave) since the store opened in Bay Shore near the South Shore Mall...I think we were like his 3rd and 4th customer through the door.

As a matter of fact, I used to help out in the store when the weekly books came in...

While Frank was busy with the store he shared in New York [The Original Batcave] with his friend Jerry Ohlinger...the Bay Shore Store was managed by Mrs. Murray (Mother of Doug Murray-Writer of Marvel's 'Nam)

Needless to say, Berto and I were regulars (kinda like Norm & Cliff from Cheers).

...and if I'm not mistaken, we would pick-up our Mego's at Child World right next door and Play World at the Gardiner Manor Mall.

We'd also go to Heroes World in Hempstead as well as World of Fantasy in Deer Park.

Before The Batcave, we'd pick-up our Books at a stand in the Farmer's Market near the Butcher where the Drive-In used to be.

[Mego Milk]

Chaos In Print
Chicago!

[EMCE Hammer]

Brad's Bookshelf childhood through the early 90s, then Comic Connection, now Comic Town for about ten years or so.

[The Toyroom]

Yeah,Ravenswood here as well. Started going there back in '86. Before that it was Reader's Island and Waldenbooks over at Sangertown.

Yup....and at Riverside Mall too. For a while, in the mid 90s, there was a comic shop at Sangertown called "Same Bat Channel". They eventually changed the name to "Comics Plus" but by that point it was always a bunch of ******s sitting around in the back role-playing. In fact, they took over the former Waldenbooks location and had waaay to much space for the inventory they had. Rent must've been too high too....they moved to a kiosk and then left abruptly.

[Marvelmania]

There were no comic shops around me as a kid. My main places were 7-11, Jiffy Market Zimmerman Book Store and Super X Drug Store

[jwyblejr]

For the longest time I used to buy my comics at various newstands and drugstores...it wasn't until the direct only market hit with stuff like Dazzler #1, Moon Knight, Micronauts that I started to venture out to find a comic book shop. None in my town but I eventually found a hole in the wall in Utica NY by the name of The Lost World. First back issues I bought there were Doom Patrol #113 and Batman #202 .

They weren't around too long but soon after a much better shop opened up in '83, Ravenswood Comics. They've moved location a few times but they're still the shop I go to to this day. 20 minute drive. They briefly had a 2nd store in my town in the early 90s but closed up after the shop manager was embezzling from them.

Yeah,Ravenswood here as well. Started going there back in '86. Before that it was Reader's Island and Waldenbooks over at Sangertown.

[livingdead70]

Well here in Augusta it was 7-11s, A local store that sold magazines,reocords and comics called Homefolks News and Records. They went out in the early 90s. There is a place here that has been around since the late 70s called the Book Exchange , they are kinda pricey but you can get some good scores out of the dollar bins.
Latly its been the Flea Market.
In the early 90s when that comic boom was going on several stores popped up but they were all seriously overpriced on stuff that was in crap shape and I dont think any of them made it year. One of them was trying to sell Death of superman the day it came out for 30 bucks.
trey

[jds1911a1]

The Comic Vault Philadephia City line ave- coolest thing was the rare ones were in the lowerlevel and there was a special door to go into

Heroes world exton PA- great comics related toys and lots of cheap back issues incl those great DC treasury editions

Downingtown Farmers market - my #1 place to get cheap old comics

[Timothy2251]

Started collecting comics thanks to 7-11. Comics and superhero Slurpee cups... ah, bliss.

My folks would take us to Heroes World (R.I.P.) at the Woodbridge Mall on occasion, but most of the comic shopping from the early '80s onward was at Steve's Comic Relief (first in Lakewood, now in Toms River). I'd also hit the Record Store in Howell (still do!) and Zapp Comics at the Freehold raceway Mall, until they moved over to Manalapan.