How to Find a Comic Book Store Near You

Finding a good comic book store isn’t as easy as it first seems. Comics are very much in the news these days — specifically with the release of MCU films such as The Avengers (2012) and billion-dollar hits like Aquaman (2018), causing the demand for superhero books to soar.

Nowhere is this demand greater than in the heartland, where literally every urbanite can find great bargains at any corner bookstore. But wherever you go to find a comic book store, make sure you find one that shares your values — or else you’ll be regretting your comic store selection for years to come.

Before we dig into the basics for new readers, do you have any recommendations for a Local Comics Shop (LCS)? Let us know in the comments.

What Is a Comic Book?

Comic books are created and intended for the purpose of entertaining audiences through the use of sequential art and spoken dialogue in printed format. Modern comics are generally dominated in popular culture by one category: superheroes, but you can find mainstream and independent comics to suit every genre and taste, from historical tales to romance to horror to science fiction and more.

How to Find a Comic Book Store

The first step in finding a comic book store is to understand your local comic book scene. The best way to do this is to simply ask around for recommendations. Your friends, family, and significant others may have some great suggestions. Additionally, you can also use online resources. Popular websites such as Yelp, Google, and Facebook have comic book-centric groups that are easily accessible from your smartphone or computer. Once you understand the local comic book scene, you’ll be able to better determine which stores to avoid and which stores match your tastes.

Try out the free Comic Shop Locator app to search for comic shops near you

Know What You’re Looking For in a Comic Book Store

Many factors go into finding a good comic book store, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind in order to find a good one.

Know What You Want Out of a Store

If you want an extensive collection of comic books, then you need to find somewhere that specializes in a broad title selection. On the other hand, if you want a place to simply flip through the latest issues and find a match, then you might want to look for a store that sells other fiction genres.

Know Your Budget

This is a tricky one. If you’re on a budget, then you have to be realistic about where you want to shop. There are plenty of comic book stores that will happily sell you an issue for a dollar. The problem is, stores with a limited variety of titles are more focused on getting people in the door than providing quality customer service. Know what you before you enter a store, and don’t settle for what they have if it’s not what you want.

Know the Ratings

Online ratings are a great resource for finding a store, but you have to know what to look for. It’s important to look at customer ratings and their average rating. This will give you an idea of how satisfied the customer base is with the store. It’ll also let you know if they’ve got a lot of bad reviews or if their customers always walk away happy.

Know the Competition

If you’re able to find out where the competition is in your area, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about where to shop. While you don’t want to go in guns blazing and start picking fights over who has the best shop, you do want to make sure that you give more than one shop a try before becoming a regular customer.

Key Things to Look for When Evaluating a Comic Book Store

Selection

You want to make sure that the store has a good variety of titles to choose from. At the very least, you want to make sure that they have a couple of issues in each series you’re interested in reading. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to find 3-4 titles that interest you in a single visit to the store.

Staff

You want to make sure that the staff at the comic book store are knowledgeable and willing to help you find the titles you want to read. The staff should be willing to answer questions and help you find a title that appeals to you. It’s okay for staff to provide recommendations, but avoid a store where the staff tells you what you should and should not like.

Availability

When it comes to a comic book store, you want to make sure that they’re able to get the titles you want. If the store is unable to order new issues regularly, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere. Also, your time is valuable, so consider the travel time to visit a store. If the store is too far away or has limited hours that don’t work for your schedule, weigh the value of your inconvenience against what you get in return.

Final Words: Should You Find a Comic Book Store?

If you’re looking for a place to get into comics, this might be a great place to start. However, it’s important to note that comic books are a very niche genre. If you like superheroes, you may find that you’re better off trying to find a gaming group or another fandom that shares your interest. If you are one of the many people who are looking for the next best thing, and you’ve tried many other fandoms and are just looking for something new, then comic books may be for you. Be aware of the local scene, and make sure that you find a store that fits your needs.

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