Tell me about your old Comic Book haunts

[Wee67]

7-11 was where I bought most of my comics as a kid. Admittedly, they were few and far between. My mom didn't like us riding our bikes down the non-shouldered Newportville Rd to get here. I tried to explain to her that the nearby Wawa didn't sell comics but she wasn't having any of it.



When I re-entered the world of superheroes in adulthood, my first place for comics was over on Wisconsin Ave in Georgetown in Washington, DC. I think the store has since closed, but it's where I started buying Avengers titles again and picked up my Marvel Legends figures. Moving to NYC a year later, I was a regular visitor to Midtown Comics in Times Square.

[Mr.Marion]

This was an old village design marketplace there was two fixtures for me KB toys and the comic shop which I can't remember the name of. But they were also good for vintage toys , not much mego but they had carded remco, and super powers figures. I know the had that secret wars 3 pack with daredevil, blk Spidey, and cap. Wish I would've picked up that.

[SeattleEd]

When I was a kid, I got my comics off the rack at the 7-Eleven or the local liquor store. When I moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s, I would frequent the Golden Apple on Melrose at least once a month, and whenever I hit the beach in Santa Monica, I always made sure to stop at Hi De Ho Comics when they were on Santa Monica Blvd about 5 blocks from the ocean. There were a few smaller stores in the San Fernando Valley where I lived, but I can't remember their names. That all changed when ebay came along, and most of them closed or moved. Hi De Ho Comics is still around, but they moved a few blocks away and I stopped going there.

Oh, and I almost forgot the LA Comic Book and SciFi Convention at the Shrine Auditorium once a month! Dozens of comic book dealers! They also used to have great guests like the Lost in Space cast.

Loved Hi De Ho comics! Great place. I would hit up there, the 2nd Street promenade and stop at Rhino Records. Hi De Ho was where I saw an actual legit Revenge Of The Jedi poster that was recalled. They were asking $1000 for it which was a lot back then.

SFV is where I went to college and had relatives living out there so had time to frequent some some comic stores during my class breaks. They are all gone but some great shops.

The Comic Book and Sci-fi Con was the place to be for collectors. I was interested in finding bootleg movies.
Did you go to the Con when they moved it to the Universal Sheraton in 1988 to exhibit clips from the Batman movie? Bob Kane was a special guest. Placed was packed. It stuck out to me since there many pro '66 fans protesting the movie.

[SeattleEd]

Dating myself, on Melrose. you had so many great shops and it was punk rock central. BLEEKER BOB's was such a great record shop; CHIC-A-BOOM was also open great collectibles shop. This was also when JAY WARD's EMPORIUM was open on Sunset. And of course the Rainbow Bar & Grill was Headbangers Heaven!!!! great times very much missed.

I will date myself, I went to High school from the mid 80s so I was able to experience the growth. Punk rock abound but also the local scene was happening, Bleecker Bobs was great and so was Aaron's, Rene's All Ears, and Vinyl Fetish. There was always some artist or actor you would run into at one of these shops. Golden Apple was a major hub back then and the first comic book store for me to see them sell Star wars figures as collectibles. First time I saw a prototype rocket fett and this was in '87. They even had Megos. I recall when DKR came out and what a big deal it was since it was crazy seeing a graphic comic book from DC. Fellow comic readers in school were going berserk about it and stating what a dig deal it was. At Golden Apple they had it located in the mature section next to Heavy Metal.
Another great memory is meeting Julie Newmar in '88 when Batman mania was big as Hollywood was getting ready for the release of Burton's movie.
Great times at Golden Apple. The new location I've only been to seemed smaller and more sterile. I heard the owner passed away and someone bought the business to bring it up to date.

[SeattleEd]

We used drive out that way to hit that store up several times a year from the mid 90's up through shortly after they moved down the street. Loved that shop across from your school, right next to Doc Martins! Used to make a full day out of it, hit up the novelty/specialty shops on Melrose, Sunset & Hollywood by day, and hit the clubs by night. Golden Apple & Hollywood Toys & Costumes were always "Must Hits" for us. Fun, fun times!

Indeed. So much to do and so much to see. The 90s were the heyday for Melrose. But always much to do in Hollywood. Books, posters, toys, movie nostalgia.

[Jorge Galvan]

My first memories were of going to 7-11 (and various) convenience stores and seeing comics on a spinner rack. My very first comic that I remember which my dad got me was AVENGERS # 89. How prophetic. It was years later when MARVEL TWO IN ONE # 4 & 5 at the 7-11 where on sale and things were never the same again.

Joe Sarno was the DEAN of comics here in Chicago when he had the very first comic shop in 1973/74??? Then came Larry Charet of Larry's comics which was 2 block's down from the Loyola Univ redline station. I didnt discover it until the early 90's and what was so special about Larry's shop was he had the biggest collection of DR WHO magazines, BLAKES & mags, THUNDERBIRDS, GERRY ANDERSON, lots of brit mags, which no other shop carried, and he also had copies of UCHUSEN magazine from Japan, which Blew me away. Uchusen had features on Spectreman, Space Giants, Ultraman (Family), Gogira, Gamera, all kind of KAIJU. Amazing.


Going back a bit, the very first specialty comic shop that was near my house was FRIENDLY FRANKS on Western Avenue. It was my shop for most of the 80's and early 90's before they went out of business. the owner was a great guy, he sold me over the years so MANY SILVER AGE books, it was there where I discovered Bat-Mite, Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Girl in those old 1950/60's issues of BATMAN & DETECTIVE COMICS. Back then NEW comic came out on Thursdays. It seems with time most current shops have lost their charm, a huge majority of them are really CARD SHOPS in disguise. With comics as an after thought. When I get really bored and make the rounds of shops it seems like only ATLAS on Harlem ave, and the Graham Crackers in Naperville are the go to's for vintage fix. Bronze, Silver and Golden age.

Graham Crackers are a chain, 9 shops in the Chicago area, one in Wisconsin and one in Orange County Ca. I really don't like shopping at most of them as they seem to have a habit of say... You buy 10 comics and they charge you for 11!!! Doesn't matter which one you go to, it will happen. And when they ask if you want to be in their "system" they seem offended when you say NO!

AF (Amazing Fantasy) comics are on the southside they have three locations, They seem to have a good mixture of back issues, current, toys/Funko and card games. and they are the publisher of MOONSTONE COMICS the home of the KOLCHAK Comic!!!!


And that decomposing dinosaur WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO aka Chicago Comic Con , I have been going to that since 1989, but its has gone downhill from 2015 to now, its turned into a Swaparama/Flea Market No comic companies attend anymore, They get DubyaDubyaEEEEE wrestlers for all the MARKS to spend their money on and I only go to see what "new" Golden Age books are available.

As a side note, to end this, when Larry's comics went out of business he was getting rid of EVERYTHING! His shop was in an old building and it was falling apart, He had not one not 2, not 3 but FOUR comic spinner racks and one MARVEL red metal comic stand. I asked him how much and he offered them to me at $ 75.00 a piece this was 2003/2004??? and I was broke, always broke and I think if I remember, I used what money I had for rent and used that to but three of the racks and the red metal marvel stand. One of the four was VERY Beat up and didn't want it. I still have all of them except one spinner rack which I Gifted to a friend in California and let me tell ya it was a ***** to ship out cost me $350 to box and ship!!! and the rest are all in my "Fortress of Solitude" my 10x30 Storage unit.

Yeah the rise and fall of Chicago's comic shop scene and my journey in it. Lovely...

[RonnyG]

When I was a kid, I got my comics off the rack at the 7-Eleven or the local liquor store. When I moved to Los Angeles in the early '90s, I would frequent the Golden Apple on Melrose at least once a month, and whenever I hit the beach in Santa Monica, I always made sure to stop at Hi De Ho Comics when they were on Santa Monica Blvd about 5 blocks from the ocean. There were a few smaller stores in the San Fernando Valley where I lived, but I can't remember their names. That all changed when ebay came along, and most of them closed or moved. Hi De Ho Comics is still around, but they moved a few blocks away and I stopped going there.

Oh, and I almost forgot the LA Comic Book and SciFi Convention at the Shrine Auditorium once a month! Dozens of comic book dealers! They also used to have great guests like the Lost in Space cast.

[Jorge Galvan]

We used drive out that way to hit that store up several times a year from the mid 90's up through shortly after they moved down the street. Loved that shop across from your school, right next to Doc Martins! Used to make a full day out of it, hit up the novelty/specialty shops on Melrose, Sunset & Hollywood by day, and hit the clubs by night. Golden Apple & Hollywood Toys & Costumes were always "Must Hits" for us. Fun, fun times!

Dating myself, on Melrose. you had so many great shops and it was punk rock central. BLEEKER BOB's was such a great record shop; CHIC-A-BOOM was also open great collectibles shop. This was also when JAY WARD's EMPORIUM was open on Sunset. And of course the Rainbow Bar & Grill was Headbangers Heaven!!!! great times very much missed.

[Dark Shadow]

Back in High School that would be Golden Apple on Melrose in West Hollywood, across the street from my High school...

We used drive out that way to hit that store up several times a year from the mid 90's up through shortly after they moved down the street. Loved that shop across from your school, right next to Doc Martins! Used to make a full day out of it, hit up the novelty/specialty shops on Melrose, Sunset & Hollywood by day, and hit the clubs by night. Golden Apple & Hollywood Toys & Costumes were always "Must Hits" for us. Fun, fun times!

[SeattleEd]

Back in High School that would be Golden Apple on Melrose in West Hollywood, across the street from my High school.
In Seattle, that would be Xanadu Comics which is now gone due to gentrification. I try and frequent some local comics that are barely thriving.

[Mikey]

Brah you political talk gets threads taken down.

And that would be a shame because early comic book shop memories is a good topic and like to hear the stories.

You're right

editing now

please so the same in my quote on your post

[Mr.Marion]

edited to add...…….

Had some second thoughts on Southern States

You guys are cool and you know where you want to get to nowadays …

Brah you know political talk gets threads taken down.

And that would be a shame because early comic book shop memories is a good topic and like to hear the stories.

[Mikey]

Hello ???????????

[Mikey]

Whaaa they heck ???????????

[Mr.Marion]

One of my local comic book shops in the 80's (not Cap's who I spoke of above) used to sell comics and n_zi memorabilia … pre WW2 American Bund stuff --- totally weird

A lot of flea markets had things like that. Buying some dead guy's war uniform or metals seems wrong to me imo. Unless its a prop for a film project or sometime.