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Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #4 – Sports ‘n More

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Walt

I believe it would have been 1995 or 1996 when friends and I discovered Sports ‘n More. It was another case of happening to notice the store while being driven to Capp’s Comics.

Initially, the place dealt mainly in sports cards with a few collectible card games, as well as a small selection of comics.

Eventually it passed to new management, the store was rearranged, and became more of a comic-centric store. One of the greatest things–to me–about this store was their “membership” deal. For $10/year, one got a membership card, and a 20% discount off all new comics…a discount that “paid for itself” within a month.

This store never had the selection of new comics, nor back issues, that Capp’s had…but that discount became a pretty big deal for awhile.

When Capp’s moved to its new location, and then closed up…Sports ‘n More became–because of the membership discount–the main comic shop that I’d visit for a time, even while starting as a grad student in Kent, until gas prices started to skyrocket.

The shop remains open to this day, as far as I know—though it’s been awhile since I’ve made it in. I don’t get there enough to justify to myself the $10 membership now, but occasionally I’ll stop in when looking for a random comic that no one else seems to have.

This has never been a store that I’ve looked to for back issues, per se–though they keep a number of months’ worth of issues “on the rack” at a given time, so if the issues haven’t sold, sometimes there might be 6-7 of the most recent issues available for cover price.

Though I don’t believe I was ever formally introduced, the store proprietors know me on sight, and vice versa…and I must admit to a bit of guiltiness on not visiting lately. Generally I at least make it out on Free Comic Day…and they remain one of the most “active” stores I’m aware of when it comes to participating in some of the larger “event” things with comics. They were the only store I was aware of that participated in the big release party for the first Dark Tower comic, and they always have banners and stuff out for the annual Free Comic Book Day.

Even though I don’t make it there all that often…the store remains a fixture, and it’ll be a big part of my “comics’ past” when or if they ever close down.

NEXT WEEK: Comic Heaven.

Earlier Installments:

  • #3 – Fun Stuff Cards & Comics
  • #2 – Comics & Collectibles
  • #1 – Capp’s Comics
  • #0 – Introduction

    • Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

    Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #3 – Fun Stuff Cards & Comics

    Posted on February 18, 2011 by Walt

    favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

    By Spring 1993, comics were one of those “big” things. Everyone was out for a quick buck, the next great comic that would put their kids through college. Or, being one of those “kids,” it was a time for looking for the next great comic that would be full of awesomeness and be “worth” a lot of money pretty quickly. And of course, with this collectors’ boom…small comic shops were popping up everywhere.

    One day when we were driving out to Capp’s Comics, I spotted a sign outside a small house-looking building with the words “Fun Stuff” and a copy of that black-background poster introducing “the Four Supermen” for the Reign of the Supermen story. I don’t recall if we stopped in that day, or another, but eventually stopped in. It was a tiny little shop, like a small house emptied out and turned into a shop.

    This shop dealt primarily with new comics, and its main stock of “back issues” were very recent–stuff removed from the “new issues” shelves and put into the back issue boxes. Nothing spectacular about the place–they sold collectible cards as well as comics, and eventually got into the blossoming “collectible card games” market as well.

    Probably the most endearing part of this shop was its nearness–it was maybe a 15 minute bicycle ride from home, which made it extremely accessible on my own, without having to get a ride. It was close enough that a couple of times, I actually walked there with a friend. We had nothing else to do–just set out on our journey, and buy a comic.

    By 1996 or so, the shop was sold to new management; and by 1997 or so, it closed its doors.

    Not long after, the location was bought by some beauty salon, which remains there to this day.

    NEXT WEEK: Sports ‘n More.

    Earlier Installments:

  • #2 – Comics & Collectibles
  • #1 – Capp’s Comics
  • #0 – Introduction

    • Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

    Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #2 – Comics & Collectibles

    Posted on February 11, 2011 by Walt

    favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

    Not long after discovering Capp’s Comics, my friend and I discovered another store that sold comics–Comics & Collectibles. This store was in a back/side area of a local shopping plaza…rather out of the way, and if you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t even know it was there.

    It had many of the newer comics–like Capp’s did–but seemed to have a much different sort of selection of back issues. The quantity was less, but unlike Capp’s, this place had a couple tables with boxes both on and under the tables full of comics for $.25 or 5/$1. There were also boxes of "sets" and "grab bags" for good prices…and for awhile at one point, there were several boxes of old STAR comics and Archies for $.10/ea.

    The store owner even had a weekly column about comics in the local paper, which was very cool to read at the time.

    It was this comic shop that my friend and I would primarily geek out on back issues. Poring over our back issue guides, and then being amazed at all the great deals we found in those bargain bins (never mind that the condition of the issues wouldn’t always be pristine, or that we later realized that just because an issue had "Sub-Mariner" in the title did not mean it was the series where the issues were "worth" $75+ apiece…just as it never occurred to us that no comic shop owner at that time would even consider putting such valuable comics in a bargain bin).

    A couple times, Dad paid $25 to give me a "credit" with the shop for the bargain bins. It gave me a sort of "Tab" so that I could walk in and pick up some bargain issues, without having to spend "new cash." Made for a pretty sweet deal.

    As new issues go…it was at this store that I first saw something called "Batman: The Vengeance of Bane" and thought it looked stupid and pointless–and I passed on it. I picked up the first issue of something called Batman: The Sword of Azrael, but thought that it was boring so never picked up the other issues. (To my regret when Knightfall rolled around). Also got my first issue of Spider-Man 2099 here.

    And it was–in the heart of that collector mentality that I’m somewhat afraid to admit I was victim of at the time–at this store that my mom, my friend, and I waited in THE hugest line I’ve ever seen at a comic store, for the chance to walk through the store to purchase a single copy apiece of the black-bagged Superman #75.

    I recall a few bicycle rides out to this store–about a 40-45 minute journey each way, but highly worth it. Once such journey was where I picked up something called "Kingdom Come," with art by the guy who did that Marvel series–Marvels. (The names Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, and Alex Ross didn’t mean much in and of themselves to me yet–I followed characters, not writers or artists. Though Alex Ross was the first artist whose work I distinctly recognized).

    And it was partway through high school–1996 or 1997–that Comics & Collectibles closed its doors. I still had other comic shops to go to, so it wasn’t a huge loss, except in that sentimental sense.

    NEXT WEEK: Fun Stuff Cards & Comics.

    Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

    Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #1 – Capp’s Comics

    Posted on February 4, 2011 by Walt

    favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

    Capp’s Comics was the first comic store I ever experienced. I recall being amazed at its very existence, as well as the selection of comics available. There was a long row of tables covered with stacks and stacks of new comics. There was an aisle-length upright, double-sided rack of new comics. DC and Marvel on one side, Image and other smaller publishers on the other side. There seemed an endless selection of comics in boxes along the outer walls of the store. There were comics and the walls.

    I’d never seen such a place. They had recent Superman and Batman comics, like what they’d have at Waldenbooks or Finast. They had older issues, including issues I’d missed years before. They had early issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, and they even had some of the Mirage-published issues.

    After being introduced to Capp’s, Waldenbooks and Finast seemed second-rate. I preferred to get my comics at Capp’s…and over a period of several months, started going there more and more (thanks to Dad driving me, and buying my comics for me).

    It wasn’t too long into going to Capp’s that The Death of Superman was announced. The store owner was offering a pre-order deal…you could pre-order however many copies of just "the death" issue, or the whole story. Dad pre-ordered 2…one for us to read and one for putting away. You could also choose to pick the issues up as they came out, or at the end–we opted for "at the end."

    That’s how it happened that that day in November 1992, the family had one of our quiet nights in–and Dad and I both read the entirety of The Death of Superman in one sitting. Since the issues had been pre-ordered (and, I believe, pre-paid-for, too) we had no hassles with getting any of the issues.

    I became a definite "regular" at Capp’s. Dad would take me most weeks, and I’d get a few comics. The latest Superman issue, definitely, and a bit of whatever else I was following at the time.

    In 1999 when I went off to college, I started a pull box, and maintained that throughout my college career, even when I wasn’t following much.

    And it was with a definite heavy heart of disappointment that I discovered one evening in early 2004 that the store had closed its doors permanently, after several years at a new location.

    The comic shop was a regular part of my life for almost 12 years…at the time, that was almost the entirety of my comic-reading/collecting life. I went to that comic shop nearly ever week for nearly seven years, and on a regular basis those next five.

    Now, occasionally I’ll bump into the store owner at local one-day comic events, and we’ll chat briefly; the usual sort of pleasantries.

    Capp’s Comics was my first comics "home," and remains one of the most significant comic shops that’s been a part of my life.

    NEXT WEEK: Comics & Collectibles.

    Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

    Favorites of Walt: The Comic Shops #0

    Posted on January 29, 2011 by Walt

    favoritesofwaltcomicshopslogo

    When I was introduced to comics in late 1988 and early 1989–ages 7/8–comics were found in a pretty fancy spinning thing at Waldenbooks at the local mall, or in a "traditional" wire spinner rack at Finast (later became Tops), the local grocery store. My grandfather and uncle could get comics at a local drug store, and Kmart occasionally had bags of comics. Hills, a local department store, also occasionally had shrink-wrapped 3-packs of comics.

    A couple years later, I discovered a mail-order company that specialized in comics. I’d receive their monthly catalogs: Entertainment This Month, where one could pre-order new/upcoming comics. And American Entertainment, where a select quantity of particular comics was available at marked-up prices.

    Back then, I loved getting to stop in Waldenbooks to look for new Superman and/or Batman comics. Sometimes I got a couple issues with consecutive numbering…but in many cases, I’d be missing a "middle" issue. It was just an accepted thing. There just weren’t other outlets for finding those missed issues. Frankly, I don’t think I even fully noticed that. I mean…I was only vaguely aware that Robin had died–and I got that from The Mud Pack chapter 3, where Batman’s confronted on the cover by a ghostly image of Robin, and the story had him referring to Robin being dead. And I wasn’t even sure what was going on with Superman–he was in space and needed some sort of breathing apparatus, while someone was struggling with who they were on Earth and became Clark Kent.

    One of my friends was also "into" comics at the time, with a similar background. During the summer of 1992, he’d obtained a Superman #1 comic, and it was really thick. It was about some guy possessing people, starting an even bigger story. Turned out it was Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #1, part of the Eclipso: The Darkness Within crossover.

    There was a store in the same mini-plaza where his mom took him for a haircut that sold comics. Like…the store itself was basically selling nothing but comics, and some sports cards and such. It was a comic store. Which was quite the amazing concept to me at the time. Who ever heard of a store that only sold comics and the like?

    I was 11 at that point, and was standing on the edge of a whole new world…a world I live in to this day, despite all the twists and changes and events that have happened since then. But it seems most probable that it was my introduction to the Direct Market, to comic shops, that took what I often imagine my parents figured for a casual hobby and turned it into a regular part of my life, that has in one way or another informed much of my life for the last couple decades.

    Over the next several weeks, I intend to share a series of short posts about the various comic stores that have been any significant–or at least, a repeated–part of my life. Some are still around, others are long gone.

    This weekly journey begins Friday, February 4th with Capp’s Comics…my first comic shop.

    Filed under: Favorites of Walt, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Comic Shops | Tagged: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

    Death in Fantastic Four, and Why I love my Local Comic Shop

    Posted on January 26, 2011 by Walt

    ff587cover_marvelstockimageI was home in this apartment tonight when it occurred to me: I didn’t even LOOK for the “death issue” of Fantastic Four. All this hype and such about it…and it wasn’t even—in the actuality of standing in the comic shop—worth my attention, apparently.

    I ranted a bit about the issue from an ad a few weeks back in my post Fantastic Four, death and the return of the polybag. I would add to that list of complaints the way the publisher spoiled the story/leaked it to media on Tuesday, when ostensibly they were encouraging (“allowing?”) comic shops to sell the issue on Tuesday to allow fans and readers to get and read the issue withOUT having the story spoiled for them. Also the supposed “bonus” of random signed copies that seem to be cropping up—with a certain limited number of copies inside the polybags being signed by the writer. As if to add a further level to falsely inflate the “collectibility” of the issue.

    On a much more positive side, my local comic shop was having an incredible sale on hardbacks (mainly Marvel). $10/pop. I wound up picking up Magneto: Testament (been interested in that for ages) as well as Marvels: Eye of the Camera, which I’d read the first issue back when it came out, but opted to wait for the collected volume. What better time than now? And, after going the library route to catch up on nearly HALF of the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, I’ve been morbidly interested in Ultimatum, but the libraries I frequent haven’t had it. Saw it here, figured what the hey?

    So…$75 in books for only $30. And I have friends who’d be interested in reading these volumes as well, so they get increased value for multiple readers…

    10dollarhardcovers

    tmntatundra01Sales like this are why I love my comic shop. For lack of better phrasing…they often have “convention-level sales” at least once a month—whether it’s freshly-stocked 25-cent bins (yeah, 25…not 50!), random bargain runs ($10 for 45 of 50+ issues of the original X-Force or $15 for 60 issues of JLA, and other such deals), 50-90% off collected volumes. Sometimes these sales seem ongoing…to the point that on the “deals” side of things…I never seem to get a chance to miss going to conventions.

    Also, a TMNT book I ordered from Mirage a couple weeks back came in today. Disappointed there’s no text on the spine, but it’s otherwise a great collection of the Archie Adventure Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #s 5-10 from Tundra, from 1991.

    Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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