Sufferin' Shad: Ghosts of Retailers Past
Like many of you, I'm sure, I spent a portion of my weekend reading Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner #2, cover dated October 1984, starring the world's only superhero so cool he routinely shows up for fistfights in nothing but his swim trunks.
Here's something I never thought of before that struck me while flipping through the comic book. Check out this list of comics shops and related services advertising in this issue (allow for misspellings caused by bad '80s Marvel printing and/or Attuma):
American Comic Book Co., Studio City CA
Another World, Los Angeles CA
(3) A&S Comics, North Bergen NJ
Comic Sales Company, Brooklyn NY
Comic Vendor, Torrence CA
(2) Dave's Comics, Richmond VA
Discount Comics, Santeo CA
* Graham Crackers Comics, Naperville IL
Grand Book, Inc., Brooklyn NY
Harti Comics, Phoenix AZ
(3) Howard M. Rogofsky, Queens, NY
Island Fantasy, Victoria BC
J&S Comics, Red Bank NJ
* Mile High Comics, Boulder, CO
Moondance Enterprises, Hamden CT
(3) Passaic Books, Passaic NJ
Rainbows End, La Mesa, CA
R. Creslichi, Montreal, Canada
Robert Bell, Coral Springs, FL
(1) Tomorrow is Yesterday, Rockford IL
* Westfield Comics, Madison WI
The ones I'm familar with now I've starred. Do any of you know the fate of any of these other retailers, if they're still around, why they aren't, in what form?
Please share and I'll note it here.
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(1) Will Pfeifer:
Tomorrow is Yesterday, which was mentioned in that Namor ad, still exists. It actually managed to expand during the great comic book shop collapse of the mid to late 90s, mostly due to good management and great customer service. Super-heroes are most prominent at the store, but they carry plenty of Manga and just about any independent I can think of, along with all sorts of toys, games, models and even a used paperback book section. It's a good store. I'm there every week, and the staff is always helpful and working (as opposed to sitting behind the counter and playing Magic all day), and they make an extra effort to help people -- parents shopping for gifts, young kids -- who might've never set foot in a comic book store.
I'm glad it's my local comic book store. I could've done a lot worse.
(2) Johanna Draper Carlson
Dave's Comics is unfortunately still around in Richmond, VA. It's a terrible place, with suspicious, unhelpful salespeople and clutter everywhere. Yet that's what most people in town think of when they think of comics. I've had a number of conversations with people that ran "Oh, yeah, I hated that place, but I kept going there for years." There's no accounting for taste, I guess.
(3) George Khoury:
A & S is still around -- went there early this year. Passaic Books is no longer around -- believe they closed down several years back. Howard M. Rogofsky continues to sell via catalogs, listing classified ads in movie magazines.
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