Fanboy Tales of Old - Comic Shop of Prophecy

Once upon a time in 1980 something, a place called HEROES WORLD advertised in the comics I read.I would fixate on the retail store noted at the bottom of their ads. Was this place real? Was there a store just for all things comics? Over time, their retail store list expanded. Yet, they were places very far away.

I started to hear rumors of other comic book shops that existed. I discovered one in the yellow pages that was distant but close enough. It was in the sketchy parts of Yonkers, NY.

I knew my folks would never drive me there just for comic books. So I planned a secret journey on my bicycle. I rode 3 hours one rainy summer morning to get there. It was tucked within a depressed looking strip mall. There was a hand painted poster board sign in the window reading "Old Books and Comics"





Even though It looked low rent, I grabbed the door handle and opened it expecting a secret Willy Wonka room of wonder. It was a nightmare. A dark creepy space with mountains of old magazines that was a paranoid, compulsive hoarder's basement. The door stopped moving halfway blocked by a pile of junk. I stepped inside and saw a shadowed figure emerge from a corner. I got freaked, spun on my heels and left.

I rode home and stopped by the local news stand, buying the few lame comics I normally didn't just so the day was not a total loss. I went to bed dreaming of a HEROES WORLD near me and the special place it might be. Was it a fanboy land of OZ I imagined?

Weeks later, a local newspaper story noted the new stores coming soon to the White Plains Galleria. My brain almost popped out of my skull! One was HEROES WORLD! The galleria was a regular family shopping trip every so often. The dream became real.

To be continued soon.