I haven’t done one of these in a while, but I recently made a list of comic stores that I’ve been to that I never reviewed, so look for more LCBS Spotlights spanning the East Coast in the coming weeks!!
I’m a simple man who likes simple things. Honestly (ok, maybe not so honestly). Every year for my birthday, I like to pick a quiet theme and do just that without any bells, whistles, or ricketaracketa. For the past few years all of my birthdays have revolved around traveling somewhere new with the hopes of spending some decadent birthday money. That’s why, this year on the weekend of my birth, I decided to travel to one of the few comic book stores in Boston that I had never been too. While looking online at the store, it looked like a pretty happening place with lots to look at and spend my money on things I didn’t really need.
Unfortunately, I ended up spending about five minutes in this store before ultimately going home. So, Boston area comic book fans, follow me after the jump to see why I didn’t enjoy my time in Somerville at Comicazi.
As I said, I think that all the images on the site for this store are a tad bit misleading. Like some kind of teen girl, a lot of angles are used to give the impression that the store is pretty hoppin’, as if there is more space than there actually is as well as being able to have lots of customers inside with things to check out. As it turns out, Comicazi is a very small store that is closer to a hole in the wall boutique shop then a comic shop worth the length of train riding I took to get to it (passing at least 5 other stores on the way). In all honesty, I think the store’s total size was no bigger than my college dorm when I lived in a single during sophmore year, although this certainly has more stuff in it.
The setup is this: on one wall, you have all the trades split between Marvel, DC, and then genre. The opposite wall has toys, both in their boxes and not, and further down there is the new releases and some releases from a couple of weeks before. Then, in the very very corner, there is a small glass cabinet with a couple statues, mostly busts. On top of every shelf you’ve got some fun and rare toys as well as a couple hardcover comics and things you might not find elsewhere. But that’s about it.
Usually, I judge stores based on five sets of criterium: new issues, back issues, trades, extras, and customer service. In terms of new issues, extras, and trades, the store does all right. I looked for a couple new issues that week (July 21) that I knew were hard to find or selling out just to see, and my chances of finding them were 50/50. There weren’t a lot of the more rare independent releases, but there were a good deal of the big comics. But beyond that, with back issues you’re completely out of luck. I’ve heard from store managers that sometimes they don’t like to and won’t bother with back issues. Back issues are a hit or miss product, because most people these days prefer getting trades. This is why a lot of smaller stores don’t want to have back issues, and that’s fine. But even Newbury Comics, which is a record and DVD store, has one or two long boxes in a corner.
The trades are probably what would sell this place to someone. They’ve got a wall worth of trades, and it’s a reasonably good selection. One thing that I will note is that there are only a few “hard to find” trades here. As far as Marvel and DC go, the selection is pretty standard. Nothing I don’t already have in single issue or trade itself, but enough for the average reader to come in and enjoy. When it comes to smaller publishers, it’s an alright selection. You’ve got good books like Fear Agent on the shelf, and I was surprised to actually find some Godland and Jersey Gods on the shelf as well. Those are trades I don’t find too often. But when it came to my personal list, I found nothing.
Continued belowThe “extras” category is alright too. I don’t really care to buy someone’s used toy, but I can see why someone might want to, and the prices are cheap enough. The amount of in box action figures is pretty good too, but the selection isn’t very outstanding. It’s basically what you could find at any comic store, without stocking a lot of the more hard to find older series. Even the statues aren’t very entertaining, and aside from a fun sort of nostalgic feel to some of the toys, there wasn’t much here for me.
What killed me though was the customer service. Most times when I go into a smaller shop like this, I find that the guy or gal behind the register wants to chat with me about comic books and what I might be interested in purchasing. I was very surprised to find here that the guy behind the register didn’t even look up to see who had walked in, and instead spent the majority of my time in the shop on the phone or just chilling in the corner. I get the feeling that this might be one of those shops where you have to “earn” the friendliness of the shop keep, which comes with repeat visits, a pull list, etc. Considering I don’t want to feel like I have to do work just for a guy to talk to me in his shop, I found the inherent behavior and body language quite off putting, and despite my being the only person in the shop at the time, it just felt rather awkward, at which point I just left.
I suppose that Comicazi is probably better suited as a personal store than a casual one. I reviewed a comic store called Legends quite a while ago and said that what made it good is that it worked as a personal store, where one can set up a pull and come back to the same tiny shop each week once a good relationship is created with the shop keep. However, I got such a vibe off of the guy that was sitting behind the counter that I don’t even know if I’d want to bother, personally.
Now, it’s highly possible that I went to the “wrong one.” Some comic book stores have multiple stores, like New England Comics or That’s Entertainment!, and while some locations rock, others fizzle. If you don’t go to That’s Enterainment! in Worcester, you’re in for quite a rough visit. However, I went to the store noted as Comicazi Prime, so I expected much more. In the end, an awkward trip to the comic book store is one that will assure that I don’t come back. I don’t want to go to a comic book store to stick out like a sore thumb and be ignored, and that’s what going to Comicazi felt like. With an about average selection of merchandise for me to browse through and no other redeeming qualities, you probably won’t see me ever going back there unless I have to.
Stay tuned next week as my travels lead me further around the East Coast in search of the perfect comic store!
