Posted in: Comics | Tagged: brooklyn, comic shop, new york, St. Mark's Comics

St Mark's Comics of New York Returns, With a Brooklyn Store (UPDATE)

In February 2019, St Mark's Comics of New York closed its last store after 36 years of business. With locations over the years in Manhattan and Brooklyn, it was a noted "indie" comic store, rather than the supermarket or classical bookstore look. It employed women staff long before that was the norm and was such a New York institution that it ended up appearing in Friends and Sex And The City. Employees at the shop would go on to become industry figures at major comic book companies. Its passing was mourned by the great and good of comic books, as well as New York itself.

But now… tonight… Bleeding Cool gets the gossip that it's back. St Mark's Comics will be returning to bricks'n'mortar, opening up a Brooklyn store. We asked on Twitter… and owner-since-1984 Mitch Cutler answered.

Exactly where, when, who else apart from Mitch is involved, these and many more questions are there to be asked and I understand that they will be answered at some point soon. Very soon. (UPDATE: Industry City, Brooklyn) Maybe I'll learn more when I wake up. But for now, congratulations to St Mark's Comics, good luck with the future, and the knowledge that there is going to be a wave of positive reaction to their return to the comic book marketplace.

Mitch tells me "We're delighted to be back! We can't wait to see our old friends and make new ones…so many people said great things about us when we left—we can't wait to thank them in person!"

Has anything happened while they've been gone? Not too much, a pandemic shutting down distributors, publishers and printers. DC Comics leaving the Diamond monopoly for two of their biggest customers, Marvel leaving for DC's bookstore distributor – but only for the direct market, Bad Idea Comics hitting and firing comic book stores to sell their comics, and DC Comics being packaged up into a new company run by the CEO of Discovery Inc, to be sold off to the highest bidder. So basically business as usual, right?

UPDATE: St Mark's Comics has issued the following press release:

A venerated piece of New York's cultural landscape plans a summer return to Brooklyn. Famed pop culture retailer St. Mark's Comics® has announced its return to brick-and-mortar with a new location in Industry City this August. The store's previous location in Manhattan closed in February 2019. "There was such an enormous outpouring of support when we closed our last location. We were a proud part of the East Village for over 35 years," said Mitch Cutler, one of the owners of the new shop. "The decision to close wasn't easy, but it's what we had to do at the time."

Fans and New York diehards always hoped St. Mark's Comics would make a triumphant comeback. For the store, it was just a matter of timing, opportunity, and the addition of partner Nick Giangarra, a longtime comics professional and St. Mark's Comics veteran.

"Almost immediately, people began proposing a new shop. We've had many offers to reopen over the past two and a half years," Cutler said. "The pandemic certainly slowed us down, but we were really waiting for the right situation. We're tremendously excited to have found the perfect new home at Industry City."

The Industry City campus features 35 acres of restaurants, retail shops, small businesses, art installations, green spaces, and more. By welcoming local businesses and celebrating its surrounding Sunset Park neighborhood, Industry City creates an authentic New York experience for locals and visitors alike.

"With the recent opening of HiFi Provisions Record Shop, vintage markets like A Current Affair, and antique purveyors such as cityFoundry, the arrival of a renowned comic book establishment like St. Mark's Comics marks our campus as a haven for old school New York." says Jim Somoza, Director of Development at Industry City.

Former and future patrons of St. Mark's Comics will not be disappointed when they visit the new location. "You can expect the same vast stock, deep back issues, and dedicated customer service that you've come to expect since we started in 1984," Cutler said. "But we're also adding a new layer of expertise—
and a vintage toy inventory—by combining forces with Nick's company, Big Tin Robot Toys and Collectibles."

The shop is already buying collections and stocking up to prepare for the grand reopening, currently slated for mid summer. And when the time comes, Cutler says they "are looking forward to seeing our old friends and making new ones."

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