Visiting local comic shops during Emerald City ComiCon 2012

   While attending Emerald City Comic Con 2012 in Seattle, WA, I took a couple side trips to visit some comic shops. My vacation was the week of the start of Avengers vs. X-men and it is awesome to check out local stores when attending a convention out of your area. On this trip, I was able to visit two shops: Golden Age Collectables and Central City Comics.

Gus, MODOK, and KryptoKid at Central City Comics

   Central City Comics is located in Ellensburg, Washington, about 2 hours out of Seattle. Ellensburg is a small college town with a long history and traditional downtown area. Central City is located in downtown and run by Gus and his dog, MODOK. The store is huge and is definitely the place to go in town for comics, gaming, and retail. Customers can keep a pull list and have their weekly issues, MAGIC booster packs, t-shirts, posters and more. MODOK hangs around in the store and is the star of many sketches from comic talent hanging around the store. Gus also has autographed photos, old collectables, and other memorabilia hanging all around the store. Sitting down with Gus, he said he wants his customers to be able to come in and find what they’re looking for, something new, and then come back the next week to shop again. You can see the perks of having a store in a small town when Gus is able to chat with customers on a first name basis and know exactly what they’re coming in looking for. This was a cool store and worth checking on if you’re ever in the area. You can find them on Facebook and their website at www.centralcitycomics.com.

   

Golden Age Comics at Pike Place Market

   Located in the shops under the famous Pike’s Place Market, Golden Age Collectables has a great selection of comics, sci-fi, and pop-culture merchandise. The shop proclaimed the “oldest comic store in the US,” is open 7 days a week. It’s easy to spot their little corner under the market by the crowd of pop-culture icon standees outside their door. Besides weekly comics, shoppers can find a selection of the most popular figures, statues, shirts, card games, posters, lunch boxes, and more. Everyone there are willing to help and quite knowledgeable. Check out their site and next time you’re in Seattle, grab breakfast at the market then head downstairs for comics goodness.

   Next time you’re out of town, check out the local comic shops and support the comics industry. Use www.comicshoplocator.com to find stores.

- By KryptoKid509, Martin Bright