Fond comic book store memories

[manga4life]

I thought it would be fun if everybody shared their favorite stories about trips to the comic book store, you know, memories that you've created and rare finds that you'll never forget.....stuff like that. I have a ton but I'll share one specific story to kick things off within this thread, this is a story about when I went from just a casual reader to a hardcore collector.....

I had a massive sports card collection from years and years of collecting cards, I probably had thousands upon thousands of sports cards scattered throughout the 4 major sports and I had a friend who was a comic book collector and had about 300 comic books that he kept in his room and read once in a while. One day he decided that he wanted to get rid of them and start collecting sports cards as a hobby, it was funny because a month or so previous I decided I wasn't going to be buying sports cards anymore and I was totally bored with the hobby so we began negotiations. Now, I was no stranger to the comic book store mind you, I've been buying comics here and there for about 7 years and had 2 shoe boxes that had about 40-60 comics in total, but by no means was I a collector. We decided that it would be a full on swap, my trading card collection for his 300+ comics, he obviously got the better deal in the swap seeing as how my card collection was absolutely massive and I had many cards valued at $100 or more, but I didn't care, I wanted to collect comics and I just wanted to unload the cards and forget all about them. I had $200 burning a hole in my pocked from saving up shoveling drive ways and mowing lawns the Summer before so I decided that the money was going to go toward comic books and lucky for my the big comic book store down the street from me (15 minute walk) was having a 50% off sale on their back issues, which is something they did twice a year. Since a majority of the comics my friend gave me was X-Men and Spider-Man I put a heavy focus on those titles and ended up buying about 70 comics that day, it was so much fun digging through the back issue bins and picking out which comics I wanted and there were TONS of collectors there going through the back issue bins too and many of which were filling up long comic boxes while marking off their checklists. It was so much fun, comics were so popular back then and collectors were everywhere, these guys were rabid about getting all the back issues they wanted and it was cool actually seeing people with checklists as they tried to complete their collections. From that weekend on I was a comic book collector, it's been almost 20 years since then, and I've been buying comics as a whole since I was 7 years old, but that weekend will always live on as the "genesis" of my true collecting days and I'll never forget it.

[jmatt]

This is clipped from my thread in the My Valiant Story forum:

...Once at a church auction I won like 10 issues of Mister Miracle (that hadda be about 1975) and loved it (I was 11 years old at the time). ...

... By the age of 28, my copies of Mister Miracle had been lost to time and tide. I didn't even remember the name of the character; I just remember this one cover with some funky looking guy strapped to a missile and being launched into space to meet his untimely doom. A vivid memory. And now a quest.

In all of these comic shops I'm visiting, I keep describing the character to the owner as looking kinda like Galactus. That's not really true, perhaps my subconscious was swayed by the fact that they were both drawn by Jack Kirby. Anyway, no one has any idea of what I'm talking about. Eventually, I give up and stop embarassing myself by asking. Years go by.

So one day I'm in Tor's Comics in Holtsville, NY, searching through the generic "M" section for Magnus issues.

And there it is.

I am 36 years old but I am instantly transported back to 1975. I am 11 years old, laying crosswise on my bed as I read the comic laying on the floor.

Eight years of searching and there it is. I literally had to fight back the tears.



He had 10 or 12 issues. I don't remember or care what I paid for them, I bought them all.

[StarBrand]

Great stuff. Great idea for a thread.

[manga4life]

This is clipped from my thread in the My Valiant Story forum:

...Once at a church auction I won like 10 issues of Mister Miracle (that hadda be about 1975) and loved it (I was 11 years old at the time). ...

... By the age of 28, my copies of Mister Miracle had been lost to time and tide. I didn't even remember the name of the character; I just remember this one cover with some funky looking guy strapped to a missile and being launched into space to meet his untimely doom. A vivid memory. And now a quest.

In all of these comic shops I'm visiting, I keep describing the character to the owner as looking kinda like Galactus. That's not really true, perhaps my subconscious was swayed by the fact that they were both drawn by Jack Kirby. Anyway, no one has any idea of what I'm talking about. Eventually, I give up and stop embarassing myself by asking. Years go by.

So one day I'm in Tor's Comics in Holtsville, NY, searching through the generic "M" section for Magnus issues.

And there it is.

I am 36 years old but I am instantly transported back to 1975. I am 11 years old, laying crosswise on my bed as I read the comic laying on the floor.

Eight years of searching and there it is. I literally had to fight back the tears.



He had 10 or 12 issues. I don't remember or care what I paid for them, I bought them all.

That's an AWESOME story bro, I'm so glad you found your special comic book! It's stories like that why I really believe this hobby to be the greatest on earth, I love the passion that the fans have for certain comics and the success stories of finding them years later, what an awesome feeling.

[OmenSpirits.com]

Back in the heyday of my yoot (the two yoots, ) I was actually on the tv.

I had gone to a con at a howard johnsons and was asked about the process used for the GN Batman: Digital Justice.

Two other people in my high school saw that.

I used to spend HOOOOOUUUUURRRRRSSS at my LCS. I became good friends with the owner, worked there, and helped reorganized THOUUUUUSSSSAAAANNNDDDSS of comics.

Jesus, seems like another person.

[kevinbastos]

My fave day at the LCS was flipping through a pile of Hulk comics - to find an Incredible Hulk 180 for $4.

But I can remember on numerous occasions pedaling my bike back home with a large bag of comics - and on at least two occasions - holding a long box and getting home.

[manga4life]

I remember one Thursday afternoon me and my friend Kenny drove all around the state visiting 12 different comic book stores in an effort to find a copy of DC's Hitman #2 for him and a copy of Battle Chasers Prelude for me. Well, it took 5 stores to find Hitman #2 in decent condition for my friend and I never did find my Battle Chasers Prelude, but we both bought a ton of comics in every store we visited and I eventually ordered the Battle Chasers Prelude online 3 years later. We ended up buying over 100 comics each that day and it was cool seeing how many comic book stores had different setups and how many had cute girls working there (4/12), the road trip was a blast. When we hit the 5th store and he found his Hitman #2 I remember he literally jumped and yelled "yes!", which was funny because it was in a crowded store and everyone looked over at us as he did it, but it was totally worth it for him and he left happy.

We still talk about that day once in a while, the fact that we hit 12 stores in one single day was cool because we've never done that before and haven't done that since and we purchased a ton of comics on that day, many of which we needed to complete a set or to get current on something we were currently collecting or reading.

[Tim]

I've posted this before:

There used to be a place in High Point, NC called Daddy Jim's. In addition to new issues and a colossal inventory of every trade paperback, graphic novel and hardcover ever printed, they had about a hundred 10 cent boxes. Daddy Jim would seed the bins with really good stuff from time to time to keep people looking. I'd find stuff like an Uncanny X-Men #248 or a Hulk #377 and tell him it was worth 20 bucks or whatever and he'd laugh and say "Ok....I got 50 copies I'll sell ya for that much". He obviously had all that crap left over from the boom days and now that the crash had come he wasn't bitter like a lot of guys. He just got rid of the stuff for a dime and smiled at all the people he made happy in the process. I bought literally THOUSANDS of comics from him over the course of about 6-7 years. He was as friendly a guy as you'd ever want to meet and he was incredibly knowledgeable about comics. He was always willing to let you talk his ear off about your favorite books and creators and he always had the most amazing anecdotes about almost everything relating to comics from his years in the hobby.

There was always talent hanging around too. Mart Nodell (the creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern) used to hang out there with his lovely wife Carrie, who was an absolute joy to be around. Marty was a quiet guy, but Carrie was the exact opposite. She'd holler out "MY HUSBAND CREATED THE GREEN LANTERN!" and stuff like that and for some reason she was always pestering Marty to hurry up and eat his food.

"MARTY, YA GOTTA EAT!!!!"

When you'd check out she'd always say the same thing...

"YOU BOYS GET A LOT OF NICE THINGS FROM DADDY JIM?!"

Brian Stelfreeze, Mike Wieringo, Roy Thomas, and I-can't-remember-who-else could be found there on any given sunday afternoon hanging out behind the counter with Daddy Jim.

When I was around 19 or 20, struggling to live on my own after leaving my parents house I'd sometimes spend the whole day there putting together HUGE runs of stuff and sell them on eBay for scads of money to help pay the bills.

All that, not to mention the great stuff I got for my personal collection (full runs of almost every early Vertigo title, hundred-plus issue runs of Avengers, Fantastic Four, gobs of Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, Slapstick, Silver Sable and other 90's crap.)

Daddy Jim knew what I was doing and used to love hearing how much money I got for stuff I picked up there and he always smiled when I'd tell him "Thanks for helping me pay my rent". He passed away in 2001 and the comic book industry lost a huge supporter and a great guy.

I miss him dearly.

[dhudson1]

My best comic shop memories come from Brandon Comic Shop in Brandon, Fl.

I was in my late 20's, but had not lived close to an LCS before. The guys that ran it were younger, but big fans. Used to spend hours there on the weekends.

At the time, I maintained the good traders list on Prodigy, pre AOL and pre internet. I was able to track down hot books for them that they were out of, but stores in other areas overordered, like death of Superman and such. It was there I got into Valiant.

[BugsySig]

My fondest comic shop memory is the first time I walked into one. Prior to that fateful day, my only experience with purchasing comic books was at the local 7/11s and the quarter bin at the used bookstore (where I found many a gem over the years).

Then one day when I was 11 or 12, purely by accident, I was out with my Dad (a comics fan who has never fully recovered from his Mother throwing out all his original Silver Age Marvel comics when he went into the Navy). We were coming back from some errand I can't remember and decided to stop for lunch at a Ruby Tuesdays or Bennigans we saw from the road. Right next door was a comic book shop.

We went in.

I don't think my eyes had ever opened any wider. I was amazed by the racks lining the walls covered in comics. The tables down the middle with long box after long box of back issues. I was so dumbfounded I could barely pick something out to buy! I left with a TPB of the Wolverine/Nick Fury Scorpio crossover and two Marvel silver-age reprints of XMen #1 and Giant Size XMen #1.

The next week, I asked to go back...and the week after that...and the week after that...It got so bad that my Dad found me another store that wasn't 30 minutes away (Barbarian Books in Wheaton, MD where I would later receive my free issue of Unity #0 ) The rest, as they say, is history.

Edit: Funny story...Back when the Smmer of Valiant was first announced, I decided to buy the 3 VEI hardcover trades in order to get back in the Valiant groove. I spent a slight bit extra to get them all through the same seller (which ultimately saved me on shipping). When they arrived i ripped th ebox open, observed those little beauties that were now mine and glanced at the reciept. The return address caught my eye: Barbarian Books, Wheaton, MD. That, my friends, is the circle of life

[Brother Darque]

this happened a few years ago.

i was at my comic shop picking up my stuff and i saw this guy, he was dressed in a full cowboy getup, (hat & spurs & everything) he looked like he just jumped off of a horse, and as he was walking by me i looked at what comics he was buying, he had the latest issue of The Lone Ranger!

[jmatt]

Great stories!

[manga4life]

I had a really fun time yesterday at my comic book store that I felt I wanted to report.

I had about $100 bucks burning a hole in my pocket and I grabbed a few of my normal weekly purchases that I wasn't able to pick up on Wednesday thanks to work, but it only came out to about $10 so I decided that I would build upon my Batman collection and pick up as many Batman comics as possible. I started with Batman #461 since I've recently purchased #425-460 over the past few weeks and I was able to secure #461-#500 without missing an issue! After taking a look through I noticed that it appeared that they had about another 50-60 issues before missing one in succession, so I'm going to make sure to go back soon to get as many as I can. It was great because many of these issues were only $.90-$1.20 at max so I had a good amount of cash left in my pocked so I decided to start up on Superman (80's) starting with issue #1 (relaunch after Crisis). I was able to get #1-#10 and plan on going back to get many more over time, it's fun brushing up on classic stories and older back issues and I hope to continue to build my comic book library over the next several years much like I did with X-Men in the 90's.

I'm posting this story because of how fun it was to just be in the store, I was there for literally almost 2 hours just digging through back issue bins and looking at other series that I was going to get into or try to complete in the near future. Because of the amount of back issues I purchased (50 in total) I received a massive discount that ended up coming to about $.70 per issue and left the store spending under $60 in total out of my $100 that I had to spend, which I'm glad I did because an unexpected bill showed up this morning in the mail that needs to be paid, lol.

Fun times indeed!

[orbitalshift]

I've posted this before:

There used to be a place in High Point, NC called Daddy Jim's. In addition to new issues and a colossal inventory of every trade paperback, graphic novel and hardcover ever printed, they had about a hundred 10 cent boxes. Daddy Jim would seed the bins with really good stuff from time to time to keep people looking. I'd find stuff like an Uncanny X-Men #248 or a Hulk #377 and tell him it was worth 20 bucks or whatever and he'd laugh and say "Ok....I got 50 copies I'll sell ya for that much". He obviously had all that crap left over from the boom days and now that the crash had come he wasn't bitter like a lot of guys. He just got rid of the stuff for a dime and smiled at all the people he made happy in the process. I bought literally THOUSANDS of comics from him over the course of about 6-7 years. He was as friendly a guy as you'd ever want to meet and he was incredibly knowledgeable about comics. He was always willing to let you talk his ear off about your favorite books and creators and he always had the most amazing anecdotes about almost everything relating to comics from his years in the hobby.

There was always talent hanging around too. Mart Nodell (the creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern) used to hang out there with his lovely wife Carrie, who was an absolute joy to be around. Marty was a quiet guy, but Carrie was the exact opposite. She'd holler out "MY HUSBAND CREATED THE GREEN LANTERN!" and stuff like that and for some reason she was always pestering Marty to hurry up and eat his food.

"MARTY, YA GOTTA EAT!!!!"

When you'd check out she'd always say the same thing...

"YOU BOYS GET A LOT OF NICE THINGS FROM DADDY JIM?!"

Brian Stelfreeze, Mike Wieringo, Roy Thomas, and I-can't-remember-who-else could be found there on any given sunday afternoon hanging out behind the counter with Daddy Jim.

When I was around 19 or 20, struggling to live on my own after leaving my parents house I'd sometimes spend the whole day there putting together HUGE runs of stuff and sell them on eBay for scads of money to help pay the bills.

All that, not to mention the great stuff I got for my personal collection (full runs of almost every early Vertigo title, hundred-plus issue runs of Avengers, Fantastic Four, gobs of Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, Slapstick, Silver Sable and other 90's crap.)

Daddy Jim knew what I was doing and used to love hearing how much money I got for stuff I picked up there and he always smiled when I'd tell him "Thanks for helping me pay my rent". He passed away in 2001 and the comic book industry lost a huge supporter and a great guy.

I miss him dearly.

Are you still in the area? I used to go to Daddy Jim's too.

[xodacia81]

Best memory ever was when I went in to pick up the first few issues of the Reign of Supermen story. Worst memory was when I went there the next year and a local church was there, decrying the place as "working the devil on the innocent" and they were trying to block people from entering. Eventually the police had to be called in and order them to step away from the building and conduct themselves better, ie, boycott, but no contact and forced blocking.

BTW, the "working the devil" was mainly because of Spawn and Azrael (Batman), as it turns out.

[grendeljd]

Best memory ever was when I went in to pick up the first few issues of the Reign of Supermen story. Worst memory was when I went there the next year and a local church was there, decrying the place as "working the devil on the innocent" and they were trying to block people from entering. Eventually the police had to be called in and order them to step away from the building and conduct themselves better, ie, boycott, but no contact and forced blocking.

BTW, the "working the devil" was mainly because of Spawn and Azrael (Batman), as it turns out.

So ridiculous.

[manga4life]

Best memory ever was when I went in to pick up the first few issues of the Reign of Supermen story. Worst memory was when I went there the next year and a local church was there, decrying the place as "working the devil on the innocent" and they were trying to block people from entering. Eventually the police had to be called in and order them to step away from the building and conduct themselves better, ie, boycott, but no contact and forced blocking.

BTW, the "working the devil" was mainly because of Spawn and Azrael (Batman), as it turns out.

I saw a similar situation at a hobby store about 2 years ago (not a comic shop). This hobby store sold model kits and other such things to build and one of the products was a "Build your own Satan" thing that was being promoted in the front window for weeks with a launch date slapped on the poster. Well, when the morning came for the release of this item there was a huge line of people who were blocking the store from letting people in when they opened at 10, there was about 12 people waiting to get into the building. I wasn't there for the Satan kit, I was there with a friend who was a train collector at the time and he needed some pieces to complete a set, and of course they tried to step in front of us and were chanting things in our face. Well, being the tough guy that I am I shoved away 2 or 3 people who fell to the cement and we entered the store, I wasn't about to let some crazy picket line people try to tell me where I can shop. Eventually the cops did come and remove the people and I got a tongue lashing about shoving my way through, I responded to the cop letting him know that nobody tell's me where I can shop and if someone stands in my way they'll be sorry and it pretty much ended there. Everyone left and the day went on as planned.

[Tim]

I've posted this before:

There used to be a place in High Point, NC called Daddy Jim's. In addition to new issues and a colossal inventory of every trade paperback, graphic novel and hardcover ever printed, they had about a hundred 10 cent boxes. Daddy Jim would seed the bins with really good stuff from time to time to keep people looking. I'd find stuff like an Uncanny X-Men #248 or a Hulk #377 and tell him it was worth 20 bucks or whatever and he'd laugh and say "Ok....I got 50 copies I'll sell ya for that much". He obviously had all that crap left over from the boom days and now that the crash had come he wasn't bitter like a lot of guys. He just got rid of the stuff for a dime and smiled at all the people he made happy in the process. I bought literally THOUSANDS of comics from him over the course of about 6-7 years. He was as friendly a guy as you'd ever want to meet and he was incredibly knowledgeable about comics. He was always willing to let you talk his ear off about your favorite books and creators and he always had the most amazing anecdotes about almost everything relating to comics from his years in the hobby.

There was always talent hanging around too. Mart Nodell (the creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern) used to hang out there with his lovely wife Carrie, who was an absolute joy to be around. Marty was a quiet guy, but Carrie was the exact opposite. She'd holler out "MY HUSBAND CREATED THE GREEN LANTERN!" and stuff like that and for some reason she was always pestering Marty to hurry up and eat his food.

"MARTY, YA GOTTA EAT!!!!"

When you'd check out she'd always say the same thing...

"YOU BOYS GET A LOT OF NICE THINGS FROM DADDY JIM?!"

Brian Stelfreeze, Mike Wieringo, Roy Thomas, and I-can't-remember-who-else could be found there on any given sunday afternoon hanging out behind the counter with Daddy Jim.

When I was around 19 or 20, struggling to live on my own after leaving my parents house I'd sometimes spend the whole day there putting together HUGE runs of stuff and sell them on eBay for scads of money to help pay the bills.

All that, not to mention the great stuff I got for my personal collection (full runs of almost every early Vertigo title, hundred-plus issue runs of Avengers, Fantastic Four, gobs of Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, Slapstick, Silver Sable and other 90's crap.)

Daddy Jim knew what I was doing and used to love hearing how much money I got for stuff I picked up there and he always smiled when I'd tell him "Thanks for helping me pay my rent". He passed away in 2001 and the comic book industry lost a huge supporter and a great guy.

I miss him dearly.

Are you still in the area? I used to go to Daddy Jim's too.

I'm about 20 minutes outside Greensboro.

[MarrowMan]

The first comic I ever bought with my own "Hard earned money" and the first comic I ever bought from an LCS. When i was 12 in 1988 I began a 20 or so issue run on Daredevil.

[MarkRoseHFX]

My fondest memory is actually working part time at a local LCS part time when I was in High School. It was a sports card store that decided to get into comics and they hired me and one of my best friends to handle all the ordering, etc. So anyway the best memory is I was working there when the Death of Superman came out. All of our local LCS's started limiting people to 2 copies and eventually 1. I of course with my connections got 7 of them. The day I bought them I cracked one open and read it and thought to myself....oh my god this is one of the WORST comic books i've ever read in my life. So I flipped the other 6 copies shortly after that for $120 each. That money bought me a LOT of Valiant books at the time

[jmatt]

So I flipped the other 6 copies shortly after that for $120 each. That money bought me a LOT of Valiant books at the time

Man, were people caught up in the mania back then or what? That kind of thing is what made me spend $120 on Rai #4.

[MarkRoseHFX]

Man, were people caught up in the mania back then or what? That kind of thing is what made me spend $120 on Rai #4.

yeah those were absolutely crazy times. I was mostly spec buying Image and flipping it so I could afford to buy every Valiant, Marvel and DC title every month. yeah I never got laid in High School lol

Once everything started to go to *SQUEE* in 95/96 i was basically sick of everything except Vertigo titles. so I sold it all. Now you got me thinking about some of my dumbest overpaying for books. I remember paying like 100 or something like that for a Harby #0 bc I didn't want to bother collecting the coupons and sending them in lol I know i paid some more ridiculous money for pre Unity Valiant. esp like you said on the early Rai books. I didn't start until I saw X-O Manowar #1 on the shelf.

[manga4life]

Man, were people caught up in the mania back then or what? That kind of thing is what made me spend $120 on Rai #4.

yeah those were absolutely crazy times. I was mostly spec buying Image and flipping it so I could afford to buy every Valiant, Marvel and DC title every month. yeah I never got laid in High School lol

Once everything started to go to *SQUEE* in 95/96 i was basically sick of everything except Vertigo titles. so I sold it all. Now you got me thinking about some of my dumbest overpaying for books. I remember paying like 100 or something like that for a Harby #0 bc I didn't want to bother collecting the coupons and sending them in lol I know i paid some more ridiculous money for pre Unity Valiant. esp like you said on the early Rai books. I didn't start until I saw X-O Manowar #1 on the shelf.

That was part of the charm back in the day of comics, even though we were overspending a lot of the time it was still a fun hobby and we have so many great memories because of it. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[xodacia81]

Best memory ever was when I went in to pick up the first few issues of the Reign of Supermen story. Worst memory was when I went there the next year and a local church was there, decrying the place as "working the devil on the innocent" and they were trying to block people from entering. Eventually the police had to be called in and order them to step away from the building and conduct themselves better, ie, boycott, but no contact and forced blocking.

BTW, the "working the devil" was mainly because of Spawn and Azrael (Batman), as it turns out.

I saw a similar situation at a hobby store about 2 years ago (not a comic shop). This hobby store sold model kits and other such things to build and one of the products was a "Build your own Satan" thing that was being promoted in the front window for weeks with a launch date slapped on the poster. Well, when the morning came for the release of this item there was a huge line of people who were blocking the store from letting people in when they opened at 10, there was about 12 people waiting to get into the building. I wasn't there for the Satan kit, I was there with a friend who was a train collector at the time and he needed some pieces to complete a set, and of course they tried to step in front of us and were chanting things in our face. Well, being the tough guy that I am I shoved away 2 or 3 people who fell to the cement and we entered the store, I wasn't about to let some crazy picket line people try to tell me where I can shop. Eventually the cops did come and remove the people and I got a tongue lashing about shoving my way through, I responded to the cop letting him know that nobody tell's me where I can shop and if someone stands in my way they'll be sorry and it pretty much ended there. Everyone left and the day went on as planned.

Good for you. Around here, it's likely the police would be in on the boycott. No wonder half the city has left in the last 15 years.

[ECKSRAE]

6 years ago I was at the comic shop that is now my LCS, there was a sale there and I was piddling around trying to find comics to buy and then a 'light' came on: Lets look for Valiants! So I go in the indie comics section and find Harbinger #1-7 w/ coupons , X-O Manowar #1-3, and 10, Rai #1-5, Magnus #0-4, & Solar #1-(i think)10! Best part, I got them ALL VF condition under cover price!

A few months later I get to fill in the gaps at another shop along with Harbinger #0 for about $28 and Archer & Armstrong #0 GOLD at $5.

I still think back to that time and just go, "man, that was a good time and the BEST trips to the comic book store ever!"