Happy 1st Year, Chapel Hill Comics

When I moved back to the Triangle from Greensboro, I grudgingly closed up my box at Parts Unknown and forgot all about comic books in the hustle-and-flow of the Big Relocation.
Every single time we’ve gone for a stroll down Franklin Street, though, I’m drawn to the big blue awning next to the Mediterranean Deli and Moshi Moshi. The one with the yellow text that says, quite simply, “Chapel Hill Comics.” I always have to stop in. It’s inevitable. The place is just too damn attractive.


I was going to write on how different Chapel Hill Comics is from the other comics stores I’ve frequented in my life. Sure, places like Parts Unknown, the Werehouse in Boone, and the late Capitol Comics of Raleigh have their geeky, dimly-lit, milk-crated-back-issues charm. To be honest, though, they’re not the most inviting environments to those who have never had a marathon D&D session in the parents’ basement, complete with swords hanging from shag-carpeted walls and maybe even a d100 thrown in for good geeky measure.
Anyway, I was going to write about how Chapel Hill Comics is like a Hansel-and-Gretel gingerbread house: bewitching to Franklin Street passersby due in large part to its bright and clean decor, stylish window display, and gracious clerks. A little research into the store’s genesis (reborn from the ashes of my old high school comic book haunt, which fit all the above descriptors to a ‘T’) turned up Alex Wilson’s great journal entry about the store and its move from Rosemary to Franklin, so I’ll just link to it and leave it there.
More or less, the store is a sight for sore eyes, and goes against the grain of your typical comics purveyor. And it’s celebrating its 1st year on Franklin with birthday cake and a really kick-ass comic book sale next Friday, March 24th.
I will be there with bells and whistles (and large amounts of cash money).


Comments

4 responses to “Happy 1st Year, Chapel Hill Comics”

  1. Will Staples Avatar
    Will Staples

    Man, I’m jealous. My city has two comics stores — one has friendly clerks but a measly selection, and the other has a decent selection but creepy nerds behind the counter. Both are located in run-down storefronts.
    Hope you enjoy the event there. 🙂

  2. It looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. We shall see.
    Anything you think I should keep an eye out for?

  3. Will Staples Avatar
    Will Staples

    Hmm. Tough to say since I know our tastes in comics are pretty divergent. Most of what I’ve been reading lately has been either four-color super-hero fare or shoujo manga, and I don’t believe you’re much into either.
    One (decidedly offbeat) mainstream comic I might recommend is Seven Soldiers. If you don’t like Grant Morrison, though, I’d say pass.
    You like Vertigo, right? If you haven’t already, maybe check out Y: The Last Man and Fables.

  4. I read a free pdf preview of Y: The Last Man and really enjoyed it. I’ve got just about every TPB listed on my Amazon wishlist.
    My problem is that I’ll occasionally hang out at Barnes and Noble or Borders for a couple of hours, lounging in their comfy chairs and just reading comic books the whole time. While I’m not actually patronizing the large, megabookstores, giving them my hard-earned lettuce, it does mean that I tend to not buy something unless I’m sure I’ll read it a few times.

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