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Post by Tony on Dec 4, 2014 16:24:47 GMT -5
I only know of two comic book stores nearby and have only dared set foot in one. Kings Comics is an institution in Sydney. It's Free Comic Book days are immense and that host Halloween parties, cosplay contests and local creator events year round. The clientele isn't very diverse, usually on NCBD it's me, the two female staff and about 15 men. When I was just getting into comics (and my Comic Store experiences had only been bad) this made me a little nervous but besides a few weird looks I've had nothing but great experiences there. The staff ALWAYS have something to say about your purchase, offering their opinions or suggesting similar books that you might enjoy. I always end up leaving with much more than I intended to pick up. What I would really love is to have more conversations with some of the other customers. When the Spider Woman variant cover was first leaked, I could barely step in the door without walking into a rant about artists and cover art and bad anatomy. It felt good to be included, even if it was just through meaningful eye contact or a nod of agreement. As for bad experiences. Well. There's the 'other comic store' in Sydney which I have heard nothing but bad things about, especially for female readers. There's also a store in Melbourne which I visit occasionally that I solidly dislike. I've been pushed away from shelves and ignored at the counter too many times to count. They're also terribly disorganised and I can never find what I want on the shelves. Which means going to the staff and having to wait until they see me or have time to find something for me. But it's the only store in Melbourne that I can find and so I keep going when I'm down there. One of my best friends, Megan, lives outside of Sydney and works in the city, and for her birthday last month I ordered her a Saga volume 1 through Kings, and I have to say that their online sales/customer service people were outstanding. Great communication, over-the-top nice; I have nothing but good things to say about the experience, which is one that can be tricky sometimes (ordering something overseas to be picked up by someone other than the purchaser/whose name doesn't match the credit card being used, and such; it could've been a real headache, but they made it pretty easy). She'd never read Saga before and within the week she'd finished the first volume, gone back and bought the second and third, and already marked on her calendar when volume 4 was due to drop : ) That made me feel pretty good, I must admit. Anyways, Kings did right by me; if I get her another trade in the future (which is likely), i'll definitely be using them again.
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matt
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Posts: 75
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Post by matt on Dec 12, 2014 13:57:57 GMT -5
I Switched comic shops this past June. my original shop was about 10 minutes from my house and about 2 minutes from my high school. It was always super convenient to pick up new books right after school even though the owner wasn't the nicest. I kept going for a year after I graduated, but one day the owner got really mad at me for just asking about some back issues. I'm not sure why he was so mad but i decided to switch stores. I found a another shop about half hour away. Conquest Comics in NJ is run by two really cool guys who are always willing to help you find what your looking for. The store can be a little messy and unorganized sometimes, but the owners always seem to know where everything is.
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Post by CaptainSuperior on Dec 12, 2014 14:57:11 GMT -5
My LCS has been pretty good to me, but a few little things here and there have caused me to move a majority of my business to DCBS.com. I very rarely want variant covers, but at my LCS there was pretty much a select group of people that got to pick through the variants and everyone else just gets the leftovers. On DCBS if I really want a variant I can easily pick it out and I have %100 guarantee I'll get it. My LCS is also more focused on DC and Marvel, so they have very limited #'s of Image, IDW, Boom, and other publishers. Also trying to get Image trades in for series that aren't Walking Dead, Saga, or Invincible is a 3 week delay almost. I will say this, my LCS has a great group of people running the shop and their selection of back issues and key issues is incredible. However, just due to the convenience, savings, and security I'll be sticking to DCBS for my monthly books and trades.
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Post by tomoe on Dec 16, 2014 21:07:25 GMT -5
About six months ago a small LCS opened in a shopping complex not too far from my house. They carry a wide assortment of current comics and trades from all the publishers (they just started, so they don’t have too many older comics). The owners are very friendly and helpful, especially with selecting comics and getting trades ordered. Also, if your car battery dies and leaves you stranded parked in front of a store elsewhere in the shopping complex, the owners of the LCS or one of their regular customers will come out with battery cables and give your car a jump.
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Post by goodeeveening on Jan 4, 2015 22:08:13 GMT -5
I only know of two comic book stores nearby and have only dared set foot in one. Kings Comics is an institution in Sydney. It's Free Comic Book days are immense and that host Halloween parties, cosplay contests and local creator events year round. The clientele isn't very diverse, usually on NCBD it's me, the two female staff and about 15 men. When I was just getting into comics (and my Comic Store experiences had only been bad) this made me a little nervous but besides a few weird looks I've had nothing but great experiences there. The staff ALWAYS have something to say about your purchase, offering their opinions or suggesting similar books that you might enjoy. I always end up leaving with much more than I intended to pick up. What I would really love is to have more conversations with some of the other customers. When the Spider Woman variant cover was first leaked, I could barely step in the door without walking into a rant about artists and cover art and bad anatomy. It felt good to be included, even if it was just through meaningful eye contact or a nod of agreement. As for bad experiences. Well. There's the 'other comic store' in Sydney which I have heard nothing but bad things about, especially for female readers. There's also a store in Melbourne which I visit occasionally that I solidly dislike. I've been pushed away from shelves and ignored at the counter too many times to count. They're also terribly disorganised and I can never find what I want on the shelves. Which means going to the staff and having to wait until they see me or have time to find something for me. But it's the only store in Melbourne that I can find and so I keep going when I'm down there. I'm from Melbourne and pretty sure I know which store you're talking about and hopefully I'm not wrong, but next time you are here I would recommend going to All Star Comics. They have the widest range of most stores in Melbourne that isn't disorganized. They also recently hired a girl who has started up a Women's Comic Book Club at a local bar/cafe and every week or fortnight they invite anybody to come along and its a way to meet people and talk books. Its been really successful. Just wanted to thank you for the heads up about All Star Comics. I was in Melbourne over New Years and stopped by and they were so great! I loved their store (although apparently they are moving, so that's exciting) and they just had the friendliest atmosphere. I told them that I was visiting on recommendation and they said to pass on their thanks as well ^__^
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Post by toxicsooner on Jan 5, 2015 22:56:25 GMT -5
I gotta give the crew at Boomerang Comics (Neal, Brian, and the Sarah's) in Lewisville Texas a huge shout out!!! I tried multiple shops, including the long box caves, indie snobs, and the old school elitists, before I came across this wonderful little shop. The shop is well orginized and carries a variety titles and TPBs from multiple publishers. If they don't have something you want they will get it and I've picked up at least a couple of my favorite titles (Saga and Dead @17) based on their recommendations. They have ladies nights, game nights and a book club every couple of weeks. The clientele ranges from kids my son' age (8) to the older silver age patrons and everyone in between. The staff is friendly and guenuinely excited about comics. My son collects Marvel toki-doki's and was desperate to get a Captain America. After another failed attempt one of the girls at the shop said she had one and would trade him the next time he came in. I figured she was just helping to soften his disappointment, which I appreciated, but I'll be damned if when we came in the following week she had Captain America ready to trade. I truely look forward to Wednesdays so I can visit.
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Post by thephantomwelshman on Jan 8, 2015 4:11:22 GMT -5
My LCS (Ian's books and comics, Southsea UK) is only a small shop owned and run by one bloke. It's a great little shop, that has excellent community feel about it. I don't even feel like a customer, it's more like picking comics up off a mate. I actually even got a bottle of wine as a christmas gift, which was a nice touch.
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Post by kidkeith on Jan 8, 2015 15:47:03 GMT -5
Shout out to Great Escape comics in Louisville, KY. Bardstown Rd location. From what I can tell it's just a couple of ladies and a guy who are there all the time. They do have some other folks that work there as well. They're all super nice and willing to help. I've had a pull list there for about a year. Super cool and so glad they are here. Great music as well!
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