Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: comic stores, comics shop

Twelve Comic Stores Close, Seven Open, Six Expand Or Rebrand

Eleven Comic Stores Close, Five Open, Six Expand Or Rebrand in Bleeding Cool's latest measure of the industry

Bleeding Cool always tries to keep an eye on comic book stores that close, those that open and those which go through ch-ch-changes. Recently, that means twelve stores closed, seven opened, and six expanded or rebranded with new owners.

Comic Stores Closing

• Destiny City Comics in Tacoma, Washington will be closing its doors at the end of February after its rent has increased "exponentially," owner Matt Nebeker told The News Tribune. Matt Nebeker owns the shop with his wife Stephanie Hagan., though he is known by his professional wrestling name "ETHAN HD." Nebeker and Hagan bought the shop from its previous owners in December 2019, he said. In more than five years, the couple has operated it, and rent has gone up higher than the price of books, Nebeker said. "We're just making less per graphic novel, but our overhead is going up, and especially with new books, new graphic novels, whatever the price is on that, we're kind of beholden to that," he said. "The cost of everything else we need to just exist as people going up, and the cost of doing business is going up, but the cost of the goods we sell isn't going up, and we're not necessarily in a position where we can mark those things up either."  Nebeker said he'll definitely be taking on more pro wrestling bookings. The shop plans to host a party on Feb. 28 to "have one last hurrah and get a little bit of face time with people that we're not going to see as often," he said. Destiny City Comics announced on Instagram Wednesday that everything in the store will be 30% off for the rest of the month.
• The Hero's Tale, in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada which opened in 2023, closed in the middle of November, saying, "We tried everything but we could not come up with a solution that would be in the best interest of the store. I apologize for the mixed messages about the status of the store. We were trying to find a way to make this work, but the reality is that I couldn't do it."
• The American Comic Shop in Chatham, Kent, England has closed after more than 30 years. June and Kerry Earl opened The American Comic Shop in 1993. June said "It has been a tough decision but we have been talking about it for a few years. It is the right time. We want to be able to do what we want to do when we want to do it. It is now time to do our own thing."
• Geeks Closet of Tallahassee, Florida closed at the beginning of the year. Owners Randi and Amy Rodriguez say the decision wasn't easy after opening last year. They state that items that were once considered 'niche' can now be found in Target and Walmart and that even Pokémon cards are sold at Costco now.

• Sley Comics and Collectables of Crossville, Tennessee is closing. "As of February 22, we will be closing our doors, which means great deals for you. Come and check out what we got… Thank you for your support over the last four years and also check us out online starting March 1 we will be selling stuff online."
• Metropolis Comics and Toys of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, has closed after the store's landlord made plans to rent out the entire building the comic book store currently resides in, and the store owners couldn't find an alternative physical location. "Maybe the rent was okay but the size was too small to keep the gaming tables. Or the space required a renovation too extensive to afford. Moving would only make sense if we thought we could make it work and for innumerable reasons it doesn't look that way. This was a very difficult decision to make. This space has been a favourite spot and home for various communities over the 15 years we've been open and while it's nice to make some money, these stores are not huge money-makers, providing that space was the real reason for opening the shop at all."
• The Book Review in Rochester, Minnesota's Hillcrest Shopping Center closed at the end of November. Posting "We are officially announcing the closure of the Book Review. We want to thank the community for all of the support and love over the past 20 years of business. Any of our remaining inventory will still be available for purchase following our closing via our eBay account, which can be found under the username: Kingcotten."

• The Dragon in Milton, Ontario, Canada is being closed by owner Jennifer Haines, who said "It's not a decision I want to make. It's a decision I have to make. I know that people do love us here, and they do want us to be here, and I do feel like I am letting them down, and that is the hardest… What I found with my south end store and I found now here as well is that commuters tend to shop where they work. They don't tend to shop where they live. So if you increase the commuter population, then it means I have fewer people coming into the store." The store in neighbouring Guelph will continue to operate.
• Level Up Entertainment in the Hamilton Mall, Mays Landing, New Jersey, has closed after eighteen years, a month ago. The store posted "The fact is, keeping something like this going takes a LOT of passion, time, and energy. It always has, but these days it requires more and more and more. 18 years is a long time to do anything, really, and after that long we simply do not have the fire in our hearts that we once did to give it everything it needs. After a lot of thinking and talking, we have decided it is time to wrap it up and start a new chapter of our lives."
• Comic Quest in SM Megamall, Manila, Philippines has announced its closure as a result of ongoing renovations at SM Megamall, as of January this year, along with a number of neighbouring businesses.
• 8th Dimension Comics in Vancouver, Canada closed at the end of the year, with owner Nick Paraschos saying "Well people of the 8th and associates, the time has truly come. The Portal of the 8th Dimension is closing at the end of this year. Times are tough, and I've had a few personal things happen recently, so this is the end of the shop."
• Gotham Newsstand of San Antonio, Texas has gone out of business.

Comic Stores Opening

• Flashback Comics and Toys in Lansing, Michigan has been opened by Tim Hunt, a co-owner of Michigan's Capital City Comic Con. He told City Pulse, "At the time, I thought, 'Well, that's ridiculous.' I had a job and a family to take care of," Hunt said. "I didn't know that I could do it, but after thinking about it for a couple of months and planning and strategizing, I decided to go ahead and do it." Hunt is also using his new space to showcase work by a rotating cast of local artists, including painters Skeletorpaints and Michael Boursaw.
• Nelco Comics of San Antonio, Texas has opened on 1134 North Flores Street
• Grim's Fiction has opened in Nacogdoches, Texas. Just a soft opening so far. "Grim's Fiction is Nacogdoches' new go-to destination for all things nerdy! Whether you're a fan of thrilling novels, captivating comics, or epic tabletop adventures, Grim's Fiction has you covered. A one-stop shop for all your literary and adventure needs… so come celebrate with us to explore our wide range of fiction-only books, comics, tabletop games & collectibles."
• The Wee Toy Shop is opening in Yarmouth, England. "Hey Everyone! Check out this small sampling of what you'll find at The Wee Toy Shop once we open this spring in Yarmouth. This is just a fraction of the vintage games, toys, action figures and model kits that we'll have in store. Not to mention back issue comic books, novels, and other vintage collectibles. Stayed tuned!"
• Metropolis Comics has opened at Miami International Mall in Florida, its third South Florida location, overseen by Metropolis Comics owner Jose Duran.
• Secret Identity Comics has opened in Chester, England by Andy Smith who says that  the city has been  without a comic book store "for some time now… it was time to put that right. This is a completely new venture for me. "I've always wanted to run my own business and build it up myself. I needed to make the step. I wanted to do it but I was initially thinking about more mainstream businesses. I soon realised I wasn't making the step because I had no passion for it… The answer was there all the time – my love of comic books. I've been planning it now for a year with all the research. We're putting the finishing touches to the store now and carrying out stress tests as the phrase goes before we open for the first time."
• Big Alpaca Comics of San Antonio, Texas has opened on 5885 Babcock Rd which once was the home of Gravity Damage Collectables.

Comic stores have expanded or rebranded

• Excelsior Comics And Games has expanded in Broadmead, Bristol, England as Excelsior 3.0.
• Kushti Comics of Basingstoke, England, has expanded, moving to Festival Place, to a location four times larger.
• The Bugle of Sheboygan, Wisconsin has expanded, moving to a larger storefront after opening three years ago on the south side of town, a space four to five times larger at 1223 N. Eighth St.
• The Adventures In Ink has opened in Leander, Texas, owned by Eli Roberts, a former middle school teacher. The store is located on 15201 Ronald Reagan Blvd. Ste. 210.
• Galaxy Pops and Beyond, in South Windsor, Connecticut reopened at the Colony Plaza after closing its previous location at the Enfield Square shopping mall."We left Enfield because of the uncertainty of what was going on with the mall and we didn't wanna have to rush to find something last minute," said owner Rob Merrill,"We did not want to leave Enfield because I live there and went to school there."
• Old Town Café & Comics of Williston, Vermont is the new name for Champion Comics & Coffee, rebranded with new operators, husband and wife Ben and Kelsey Perry. They purchased the comics side of the business from founder Rory Malone and now own the shop in its entirety. "Comic books, coffee and doughnuts — that's just a no-brainer," Perry told Seven Days. "We really don't have another space like this in Vermont, and now we have synergy between the two sides. It should provide nothing but smiles." Liquor license pending, Old Town will also add beer from Burlington Beer.
• And as scooped by Bleeding Cool, Mega City Comics of Camden, London, England is now a new Forbidden Planet.

Bleeding Cool tries to mark the passing of comic stores as well as their opening. Existing fanbases are likely to make the former more well-known, but please let us know if a comic store is opening or closing in your neighbourhood. Just e-mail richjohnston@gmail.com.

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