Southern California Comics

It was long ago but I still remember that unique scent of comics.  Boxed up sitting in plastic bags the scent when you first step into a comic book shop is inescapable.  House of Comics on Broadway was the first comic book shop I visited.  My mom would get her hair done a few businesses away while I wandered down the rows of cardboard boxes filled with comics.  Comic Kingdom on University Av was the next shop I visited.  I found it in a ad in a comic book.  I could bike there and it was bigger.  Golden State Comics off of Adams Av was next.  It was the closest and an easier bike ride.  This was the first place I became a subscriber so I wouldn’t have to go on new comic day every week.  Comics Etc which started on Miramar Rd next to an outdoor go-kart track was next.  It later moved to a spot inside Newbery’s at the Mira Mesa Mall.   I was a part time employee there for a few years manning the cash register and picking up comics every Friday at the distributor.  It was awesome picking up comics from the comic distributor Diamond.  They had great deals on comics and graphics novels that were damaged but perfectly readable.  This was as far down the publishing chain as I went.  Last was the Comic Gallery which I first visited at the Ralphs shopping center which is now the Hmart shopping center.  The shop closed and I started going to their location on Balboa next to a sewing place.  They had a cool rewards system for frequent buyers.