So for my birthday, I got a bug up my ass about going out and doing some comic shopping. I found a place in the phonebook that I had never been to. Hopped down there and it was a complete pile.

The store was filled with 95% gaming junk and they had maybe three shelves of new comics. The comics they did have were horribly unorganized. They had two short boxes of "back issues". But I didn't feel like dropping 18 bucks for 4 issues of New Warriors.

The middle of the store was filled with 3 giant folding tables, obviously set up for gaming. Five customers and the two owners were sitting around their computer up front, giggling over the Chuck Norris Facts website. Ever few minutes, one of the owners would shout over "can I help you with something"? After looking around and finding rat shit, I bought their last copy of Aquaman:Sword of Atlantis and left, with no plans to return.

What's the deal with shops nowdays? There's exactly two stores I visit that have more than two boxes of back issues. One of those is the Shitloads of Dollar Comics store, where I go to find new "Bargain Bin" features for my crappy website. The other is out in my old 'hood and over the years I've picked them clean of all the good stuff. Used to be that I could kill about two hours at a store...now I can't kill five minutes.

I feel safe in saying that the Comic Store concept is officially dead. Selling comics just isn't profittable for anyone, and the era of the specialty comic shop is gone.

My local comic town is pretty good. It has a nice balance of gaming stuff and comics. Only problem is that they're hte only decent place around, so they sell out of shit WAY quickly.

Dublin's great. There's four shops within roughly 500 yards of each other. One os a Forbidden Planet, great for trades, two are great small shops, where I know the guys in there. It's not uncommon, for me, occasionaly, to drop maybe 100 quid a week in there.

The other I'm not nuts about, because it's all long boxes, but I've occasionaly had a decent root around

The shop I used to go to changed ownership a few years ago. It's turned into quite the dump since then. They have the back issues in shelves so you have to pull the boxes out. Which is a disaster as you have to either put the box on the floor or try a balancing act where you hold the box up with one hand and then shuffle through the issues with another. It also just has tables everywhere. You can go from one side of the store to the other without having to take a huge detour around the table. They also have small aisles to walk through which is a huge mistake with comic book fans. The few times I go I'm constantly knocking stuff over just with my shoulders. They also have no reason for what's on the shelf. They'll have stuff from years ago sitting out like it's new. They almost never have supplies. Everytime I go in there for bags and boards and want more than 2 of silver age there's always a problem. Also if you show up right when you open the employees are still doing pull lists and none of the new stuff is up yet.

It has a sister store a few miles away and it's a lot nicer. The new arrivals have their own section so you know exactly where to go. They have little paths through everything so you don't have to run all over the place. They keep 9 months worth of issues on the stands. They have all the gaming stuff in the back and out of the way. The aisles are huge so you don't have to assume the position against the wall if someone wants to walk past. The back issues are neatly placed on tables and easy to navigate. I went in a few weeks ago and I pulled New Avengers 7-16 right off the shelves. I also walked over to the back issues bin and pulled out #1 and 3-6. I can only do that at this particular store now. New stuff is always up right at opening on Wednesday.

The two I've been to here in Dayton are ok. One is trying to get rid of his comics, so I'm not gonna judge him much. But you can tell he's more into sports Memorabilia. The other one is AWESOME. They have there stuff organized by company, which can sometimes be annoying, but is actually really nice when you know exactly what you want.

I've been to some in Tennessee. One was ok, but they didn't bag & board all their back issues, and if you didn't pick up your pull and hold every couple of weeks, they'd drop you from the list. Which sucked because I was in college and couldn't afford to buy my stuff every time it came in. Sometimes I'd need to wait a week or two. Like when classes started. But my friend started selling comics out of the game store he worked in. Made enough off the comics to buy the game store, and then move it to the mall. Even though the games were the focus, the comics section was always in great condition. And he sends me my pull and hold now. No charge for shipping.

Grr... all this comic book talking has me itching to start buying them.

I'm stubborn in holding out hope... but everytime I visit a store I think "shit..shoulda' just stayed home and browsed eBay". Everyone around here has that crappy shelf idea, where you have to pull the box out. What's the purpose of having all this crap if nobody can get to it?

The Mile High dicks are sprinkled around the city. They generally have decent store layouts, but about 10 years ago they bought a buncha' display cases from Service Merchandise and filled their stores with 'em. You walk in and see giant display cases holding X-men sculptures and in the back are the comics.

I toyed with the idea of starting my own shop about 3 years ago. I would've insisted that everyone wear at least "business casual" attire. No ambivalent employees wearing hockey jerseys, baseball caps or tie-dyed Punisher shirts. I'd keep the pseudo-porn and knicknacks to a minimum, in hopes of getting the average guy to walk in, unafraid of the "great unwashed" stigma of comic shops. Make it look more like a Barnes & Noble that happens to sell comics (sans coffee, of course).

Leave out the coffee and charge $1 to use the restroom.

See, I wouldn't mind a coffee shop/comic shop hybrid. In all reality, it's safe to hybrid your store. It's just how you treat it. My personal favorite hybrid is "Sudsy Malone's" in Cincinnatti. It's a bar, and a laundromat.. IN ONE!!!

Anyway, I don't think mixing things like Video Games & Comics, or Coffee Shops & Comics are that bad. As long as you emphasis that you're not Barnes & Noble, and people can't read without buying stuff.

In 1999, there was a shop here called "Enchanted Grounds" that did the coffee/comic hybrid. Unfortunately, they also did Magic Gathering cards and all that crap. So you'd walk in, see people playing games, and turn right around. Their coffee was just some kid with a percolator.

Alot of comic shops have the strict "NO food or drink" rule for fear of damaging their precious inventory. But it could work in a small shop. I'm thinking of the combo coffee/book stores they have in some airports. If you're selling coffee, it adds a slight layer of maturity to it and parents wouldn't drop their kids off for free babysitting.

Currently, there's a gaming shop out in Lakewood that sells overpriced snacks to their customers. Guys make a good chunk of change. Something like that, but with comics.

Exactly. And if you're doing the magic shit, put it in the back. The biggest problem with stores I've been to is that they throw that shit in your face the second you walk in. If any of my family wanted to buy me a comic as a surprise, the magic games would send them right out the door.

EDIT: You gotta look at it like gas stations. The comics may make you cash, but if you sell coffee/candy, you'll make a killing and keep parents & kids happy

See the now shitty one was the one I used to attend. I was really good friends with the old owner. Basically it was a firable offense to be rude to me and you weren't allowed to touch my pull box, even if there were 3 months worth of comics. But then I was one of their biggest spenders. Essentially I had first dibs on any X-Men back issues that came in.

But after this week I won't be visiting the local shops unless I'm hunting for a particular thing. I got a sub account with mycomicshop. It's just easier than dealing with stores now.

I agree that comic shops are outdated now. I think they need to start mailing out pull lists to customers that want them. The other problem I see is everyone's a punk that works there now. I used to know all of the employees and they knew me. Now I'm lucky if the monkey boy behind the counter even acknowledges my existance. Half the time I go in I haven't had two words said to me the entire time. Comic shops are supposed to be personal.

I'd rather not be bothered, since it might interrupt the dorks arguing over which Star Trek episode was the best.

Oh please, bother them. It's what I do for fun

I would, but I don't have a comic book store within reasonable walking distance. I guess I'll just continue making fun of 400 pound people working at Burger King.

There are times that I don't want to be bothered but once you've been getting your books on a regular basis for a few months you'll be on a first name basis with the people working there. It just happens. The old owner and I became friends that way. You start going and over time your conversations just get longer and longer. When I was going to the shop a couple of times a week it was because I was going as much to hang out with a friend as it was to get comics. And it paid off for them because I was spending hundreds of dollars a month on this and that.

While having a little read in the library, this topic reminded me of a small shop I used to go to all the time back when I was in middle school. I went primarily for sports stuff, especially since it was called (Guy's name) Sports Haven" or something, except most of the lay-out was for shitty Magic and Pokemon shit, while all the packs of sports cards were reduced to being shoved all the way in back of the store, and like you described with the box project, if you wanted to find partciular loose cards, you had to pull out a box from shelves and thumb through it.

I didn't mind it though, because after going so many times (and I admit I was buying Pokemon then, too), I started getting free stuff, even with minor purchases. It helped my build up my card collection a lot. Pretty cool place to hang, since the owner was a nice guy. Too bad most of his customers were idiots. "OOOH! MAGIC!"

Yeah, I got a lot of discounted stuff from the guy. He'd give me $200 back issues for $120 or so. And he actually gave me a bag of free stuff when I graduated from high school.

Reminded of one of the first shops I used to frequent, around 1986. It was in the basement level of a big ass mall. In the front they sold comics, in the back they sold "smoking accessories". They also sold alot of heavy metal t-shirts and posters. The walls were always plastered with Metallica and Iron Maiden crap.

If I remember correctly, they began as a "Heroes' World" outlet in 1979 or so. Check out the late 70's comics for the mish-mash ads that sold MEGO figures, Star Wars pendants, Shogun Warriors and other crap. They were listed as the Colorado/Cinderella City location--weird, since all of the other Heroes World locations were in New Jersey. They went independent in the early 80's and flourished.

They were fairly intelligent, in comic terms. My brother talked to the owner on one of our early visits, and he introduced us to the Overstreet guide and the Evils of Mile High Comics. He told us that, despite our X-men and GI Joe comics, our most valuable were probably our old Uncle Scrooge comics from the 50's. He was right.

The store was right across from the arcade, so going there was always a trip. You'd get some comics, spend a buck in the arcade, see some of the wacky smokers from school and get caught up on all your metal tunes. Probably one of the coolest places in town, at the time. To get there, you had to drive through the creepy underground garage. Always felt like we were in "Omega Man" when we drove through there. Plus, that portion of the mall was designed like old London streets. Complete with street curbs, streetlamps and roads. It had its own setting and ambiance. It was awesome and I don't think there will ever be another mall like it.

The guys who owned the comic store stayed in business until the mid 90's. I last saw them at a different mall in 1996...they were STILL selling trying to sell leftover Whitesnake and Dokken t-shirts from 10 years ago.

I miss that place.

What are the evils of Mile High Comic other than it being really overpriced. I'm curious as I've only bought from them here and there on ebay.

Overpriced and the belief that a comic can never drop below its coverprice. For years, the belief was that last month's comics were automatically double their cover price, at least. Traditionally, the selection of back issues (older than one year) at their stores has always sucked.

When 1602 came out a few years ago, they immediately bumped issue #1 up to 18 bucks, a week after it came out.

They capitalized on Denver's isolation (roughly 800 miles from closest big city -- Kansas City) and gouged customers for every penny. On their subscription/hold serivce, they routinely charge a 25 cent "handling fee" every week. The really sad part is that the owner truly believes he's doing everyone a service.

With the influx of Internet sales, they've had to lighten up a bit...as people realized that you don't have to pay 250 bucks for Avengers #48.

Yeah, they still do that shit. MyComicShop is almost always cheaper unless there's a big sale.

But that sucks. I've always been lucky that Ohio seems to have a strong comic shop community. I've never had less than 3 within driving distance.

I also noticed today that you see a lot more suits walking into shops these days as the last of the younger readers are graduating from college and getting jobs. Maybe that will end up being a good thing for some shops. Guys in suits aren't as scarey as your typical Magic or D&D player.

I was in downtwon San Francisco about five years ago and went into a comic shop there. It was fairly small and had a new release rack that was about 8 feet tall. But the weird thing was that it opened at 8am and there were alot of office types there. Guys in suits and stuff. They had all stopped to get their morning coffee, paper, and then went into the comic store.

By contrast, Mile High Comics used to have a small store in downtown Denver. It was located about 50 feet from a fairly busy food court in a ncie office mall. But...they had a big airbrushed painting of Spidey vs the Green Goblin and a big poster of Lady Death at the front of the store. Plus another of those awful display cases with statues and Star Trek crap.

Office types walked by it everyday, but only the typical comic dork went into the store. When the mall remodeled, they were forced into a small cart, located in the middle of the hall. But they abandoned that quickly and packed up... didn't have anyplace to displace their Vampirella and Black Widow statues.

I'm thinking a newsstand approach would be more successful. While the nerd haven with Dr. Who posters, Godzilla toys and Star Wars figures might appeal to some, I think it's alienating comics from the "normal" fan. Someone might want to read a comic, but they don't want to take the Walk of Shame into a store filled with nerdy relics.

Really, do stores make that much money off the statues and crap? They never seem to move 'em, so I'm curious if that $500 Green Lantern power battery needs to be on display.

Bookstores will have temporary big displays for new books (like maybe a stand-up Harry Potter)... but you don't walk into the rest of the store and see a giant bisque statue of Miss Marple, Stephen King action figures or Harlequin Romance t-shirts. There's a reason the Harry Potter toys are stocked in Target, not Borders.