January 16, 2016

Visited #KnightsComicsAndGames in Henderson, KY. Aside from comics they carry a bunch of FFG products and other board games as well as MtG and 40k. They also have a store cat, which I thought was amusing. I had a conversation with one of the employees about how frustrating #GamesWorkshop is and how #AgeOfSigmar killed their fantasy scene. After mentioning that I'm traveling for work he said that my best bet for pickup games is either MtG or X-Wing. I already figured that was the case, so since I'm not interested in doing MtG again I picked up the X-Wing starter set.

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January 16, 2016

Visited #ComicQuest before turning in for the night. It was four minutes away from the Imax theater that I went to see The Force Awakens in 3D at and was open till 10, so I figured "Why not?" It looked like they were in the middle of some construction, but it is probably the biggest comic book store I've ever been in. They have tons of merchandise. Comics, action figures, board games, etxc. People were playing MtG, of course.

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January 17, 2016

Stopped in #TheGamingGuild after church. Small store with a focus on card and board games. Some Games Workshop products and RPG items as well. Half the store was dedicated to tables and they were in the process of getting ready for a MtG team tournament. In the short amount of time I was there two teams showed up to register only to be told that all 15 team slots had been pre-registered for, but they were welcome to wait and see if any of them didn't show up. So it seems like there's a bunch of Magic players in the Evansville area...

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January 17, 2016

Last nerdstop for the weekend. #BookBroker was a weird place. Aside from comics they had some boardgames, CCGs, tons of action figures a lot of sports cards as well as used: CDs, DVDs, books, records and video games. When I was walking through the paperback section I realized that most of them were Harlequin-type romance and then in the last row there was an old lady shifting stuff around. There was an upstairs with some more books and records as well as tables with the (of course) ubiquitous MtG players. Also there was an old lady sitting in a corner looking at books while the MtG guys were playing. Odd place, but interesting.

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March 31, 2016

Stumbled upon #RollTheDice in Murfreesboro, TN on my way from Home Depot to my hotel. It's a big store, but it isn't jam-packed with stuff. About half the store had product in it and the other half was dedicated to gaming space. There were people role-playing (Pathfinder I think) and two guys playing Magic. It was weird to see such a large store with relatively little product in it, but it was spacious, well lit and clean, so I'm guessing it's a nice place to come in and play. They had boardgames, card games and a smidgen of RPGs. The only Miniatures were limited to a small selection of Reaper Bones.

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May 17, 2016

Stopped by #TheGuardtower in Columbus, OH and WOW! This place was amazing. Large store packed with stuff. Of course there were the standards (Magic, X-Wing, Games Workshop, Bones, board games, etc.), but then they also have a healthy stock of Infinity, Malifaux, Dropzone Commander, terrain, card game and board game accessories, and they even have small selections of newer things (Dungeon Saga, Guildball, etc.). So. Much. Cool. Stuff. There was also a large game room in the back with lots of tables and a painting area in the front of the store. According to their events calendar it appears that they have healthy gaming groups for several games and they're open till midnight most nights. Pretty cool place.

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December 1, 2016

Stopped in #DragonsLairComics in Omaha because I saw tonight was their #KingsOfWar night. The store was small, but jammed with stuff. Lots of comics and a great range of games (GW, Privateer, Mantic, Reaper, board, card, etc.). Since it was a small place the gaming area was also small. There were two games of Kings of War being played so that was nice to see. Overall a really cool place.

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December 5, 2016

Stopped in #TheGameShoppe in Omaha tonight. This was a great store. Massive assortment of boardgames. GW, Privateer Press, Infinity, Malifaux, Kings of War, Guildball. RPGs, CCGs, accessories. Very clean and professional and a large area in the back for gaming. The really exciting thing was seeing five games of Malifaux being played. They apparently have a good sized group that plays every week. Had a good conversation with the guy running the place about old GW games and all the choice available to gamers now.

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January 4, 2017

There appeared to be a store or two close to my hotel, so I decided to take a two mile round-trip walk to check it out since I'm trying to be more physically active. While trying to research this place online I became confused and when I arrived there I was also confused.

On the way I discovered that #FrankfortKY needs a better sidewalk system... Upon arriving at my destination I saw that the shopping center had #MoonlightComics on the sign, but the store I saw was labeled #MoonlightGameCentre. Upon walking in I saw the center of the store filled with a large amount of folding tables and chairs. To my right was a small selection of #UsedVideoGames and across the room was a small selection of #Boardgames, some #WarmachineAndHordes starter sets and paints, and a fairly complete selection of #XWingMiniaturesGame products all below suggested retail. The walls and display cases of the entire other half of the store were filled with cards. #MagicTheGathering and #YuGiOh I presume, since I didn't take a close look and those were the only two games with events on the calender. I didn't spend much time there since I was trying to find the other store that Google Maps indicated was in the same shopping center.

I didn't find it ...or did I?

I decided to go old skool and call the number for #TTDCardsFrankfort. The woman who answered was kind enough to explain the situation and expressed frustration about Google Maps not updating their listings despite reaching out to them repeatedly. Moonlight Comics became Moonlight Game Centre which went out of business, so #ThroughTheDecadesSportsCardsAndGaming (which is a store from Louisville) took over that location. They must sell a lot of cards because the store is pretty big and has lots of space to play.


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March 21, 2017

In Wilson, NC it appears that the only game in town is #DreamDazeComics. Open less than a year so far they are the only comic and game shop within a 20 mile radius. The first floor isn't that large, but they have a nice selection of new books and back issues as well as a good amount of statues, toys and other assorted comic/nerdy merchandise. The trade paperback selection is limited and while they do have some quality board/card games they don't have an extensive selection of those either. One interesting feature was a dedicated kids section of comics that was set up like a fort, complete with a beanbag chair and second floor accessible via ladder. While the game selection was limited, there was a set of stairs that leads up to a gaming area with six tables, plenty of chairs and game library for people to play with. The events calendar lists a few nights dedicated to MtG and D&D with Wednesdays for Family Game Night and Thursdays for Heroclix. Overall it seems like this store is off to a fine start.


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Here's what I found around Fort Lauderdale, FL on May 9, 2017 so far.



Stopped in #DockingBayComics after work. Small store with one wall devoted to single issues, one wall to graphic novels and the rest of the store speckled with a nice selection of games, statues, posters, toys, etc (LOTS of Deadpool). The center of the store is filled with a few rows of tables and chairs, so they probably have a lot of Magic players. It was nice to see they had the #Guildball Kick Off set as well as a bunch of team starters. I noticed they had a copy of the #ShadowWarArmageddon rulebook behind the counter, so maybe they have that going on too.



#PhilsComicShoppe is a comic book store and that is pretty much it. Aside from a few statues and action figures we are talking about just comics. Barely any graphic novels. Comics. It was glorious. Back issue bins with books going back to the 60s at least.

While there a guy stopped in asking about selling comics and I though, "Oh here we go... Spawn #1? Death of Superman?" But no. First appearance of Kraven, first appearance of the Wasp, etc. He went on to say they would grade at best a 6, maybe a few at 7. That was a refreshing conversation to hear.

Also of interest was a few original paintings they had. The quality of which was good enough to inquire about. They were done by an artist named #DanReed who had worked in the industry before and was now living in Boca. Pretty impressive.



It was a pretty jarring transition going from Phil's to #PastPresentFutureComics. I walked around in a state of bewilderment and just couldn't understand what I was seeing. There was so much expensive stuff on display that it boggled my mind. I'll just give a rundown of what I saw.

#LifesizeStatues of: Silver Surfer, Hulk and R2-D2. A big selection of Gundam model kits. Large wall of comics and graphic novels. Back issue bins. Boardgames and RPGs. Action figures. A display case with #G1Transformers for sale. Large selection of Funko Pop. Lots and lots of statues including crazy-expensive ones. At least two large flatscreen TVs.

The store was large and spacious. The staff was friendly and asked a few times if I needed help.

I have no idea how a store like this can stay open, but they must be doing something right. That or money laundering.



I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

Less than one mile away from the last place on the same road is #TatesComics. THIS PLACE IS EVEN BIGGER AND HAS MORE STUFF...

Aside from all the crazy stuff the last place had, this has an impressive collection of vintage action figures.

They didn't really have any games there...because they keep the games in a separate store fifty feet away. It is also ridiculously large and well stocked with a whole lot of tables. There was a #YuGiOh tournament going on at the time.
Seriously... how are these places profitable? Mind blowing stuff here.

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May 12th on the way out of Fort Lauderdale

On the way to the airport I stopped in #LauderdaleComics. Since the storefront is right on a major road this is the best picture I could get, but they do have parking in the rear. This is another one of those fancy comic shops. A medium sized store, it is spacious and offers comfortable seating, so I guess reading in-store is acceptable. The interior has an industrial/futuristic vibe and they have an arcade machine set to free-play. While there are comics, graphic novels, and some back issues, there is a heavy focus on statues (ranging from affordable to cray-cray-spensive), action figures, and other assorted nerd-tchotchkes. The staff seemed friendly and the store was clean and well kept. While they did have boardgames it was not an exhaustive collection, but there were plenty of respectable titles among what they had available.

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June 20th while in Durham, NC



#UltimateComicsDurham is a solid comics shop. Spacious, clean, professional, and stylish. All their comics are bagged and boarded, and their trades are always 4 for 3. Nice selection of back issues, action figures, #FunkoPop, and statues. They also had pint glasses, t-shirts, and magnets. Only a few games, but they were all comics related. Of particular note was the selection of velvet paintings they had displayed in the front featuring longtime employees as the Justice League. A nice touch in an all-around classy store.



Upon entering #AtomicEmpire the word 'cavernous' may come to mind.This is one of those stores that makes you say, "Wow!"
Okay, so it's big and has a more than healthy selection of comics and games, right. Seen that all before on my travels. So what's the wow-factor? It has a snack bar. That serves beer. Bottle and draft. That's something new.
Alright, back to the normal details.
Front of the store is dedicated to merchandise. Back of the store is dedicated to tables. I saw two rpg sessions, a few X-Wing games, some Malifaux games, and of course, you guessed it, Magic.
Large board game section. The comics section takes up about a quarter of the merchandise section. Lots of various miniatures games. 40k, AoS, Warmahordes, Infinity, Malifaux, Mantic, Reaper, etc. Large selection of rpgs. And a lot of various nerd- tschotskes.
It does lack a little in the presentation department, but the staff seems friendly, it was clean, well stocked, and had ample playing space, so even if it isn't as pretty/fancy/stylish as some places I've been that doesn't make it any less impressive.

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