gmanca

Yup, that's the one; I got it confused as it was the first Space Cat, but it was called something before at that spot when it was on the Montgomery Wards side. Wasn't it called Capitol Comics and Cards?

Legends is "fairly" new in the sense that it opened around 99-00.

Ha, awesome! Yeah, this is the one that was near the Mira Mar Bar and I think Stoddard's but it could have been a Chinese restaurant. Only got one chance to go there before it closed around 93 as it was a pain to get people to take me there with the parking/street situations. Picked up my first Marvel Masterpiece car there, the '92 version of the White Queen.

How about going to the Berryessa Flea Market? They used to be great for cards and some comics as there were two regular vendors, one on the side of the new junk retailers and another in a portable that was in the used junk section.

mrhan

I think it was called Capitol Cards and Comics. Space cat is still on Bascom but I haven't been there since the early 90's. Someone told me they have an online site. I haven't checked it out yet.

I haven't been to the Berryessa Flea Market in years. Are there still people selling back issues there? I remember meeting Lee from Lee's Comics at the flea market before he opened his stores. He still has a store on El Camino in San Mateo and one off the Rengstorff exit on 101; next to Costco and In-N-Out Burger. His back issue section isn't as good as when he was on Alma near Stanford U.

Navinabob

Yep. He died suddenly around '95 and she folded the shop a year or two later. That was my first comic shop... I used to play Gauntlet in there all the time as a kid.

mrhan

The first comic store I ever went to was the Comic Collector Shop in downtown SJ; way back in '76. It was hands down the best store ever. Bob, the owner had the best back issue selection. He had stacks and stacks right in the middle of the store. They were out of order and you could literary spend days looking through thousands of books. None of them were bagged or boarded. Even up to the early 90's there were brand new mint SA and BA books in the stacks. You just had to find them and the best part was he never really looked at the price guide. He would just pull a price out of the air and it was usually way below the guide. He was sort of a dick; though, he hated kids and barely tolerated us college students because we had cash to burn. Back in the 80's I tried to haggle the price for a mint Batman #251. He wanted the astronomical price of $5 for it. I said I would give him $3. The A-hole pulled it out of my hands and placed it on the shelf behind him and said he wouldn't sell it to me. Jerk. Now, I know I fucked up 'cause that book is worth a lot these days. After he passed away his wife tried to run it but eventually closed it down. Most of my GA, SA and BA books were from there.

gmanca

Wait... was this shop on the corner of a street in the heart of Downtown, near an empty lot or something? When I was 4 in 1989, I remember my brother taking me somewhere with a shop like that, a long counter on the right and a huge comic section to the left, but I could never find it again.

davidh777

Yeah, and since I don't game or buy floppies (especially when traveling), I like the trade selection just for finding something that will last me the trip home.

I remember the Comic Collector's Shop! My friend and I were trying to finish the Avengers-Defenders saga and he found Avengers #118 in one of the random stacks. We didn't live close so it was a treat to go there.

Glad to hear others remember it too.

mrhan

There was a parking lot across the street after they tore down the building that sat there and renovated San Fernando St. It used to be a one way street back in the 70's. The store itself was between 2nd and 3rd; across from SJSU. The city had it all renovated in the 90's. No more pimps, hookers or porn shops. It's all been replaced by restaurants to attract a higher end clientle.

I thought I was the only one besides my friends that remember that store. As kids we use to venture out there on the bus. It was really seedy back in the 70's. There was even a grindhouse theatre around the corner that only played blaxpoitation and kung fu flicks. All the bums were usually in there sleeping it off while we watched a movie. Good times.

igman36

Doug passed away?!? Sad. His store was my 1st comic book store I went to loyally at least once per week when I was about 11 or 12. I am proud to say I was his very 1st customer too! Cosmic Comics will always hold a place in my heart.



I remember meeting Doug for the 1st time at Mickey's which was a miniature/hobby shop a couple of blocks away. Mickey had just bought a few moving boxes full of old SA and BA comics. I was eyeballing a FF Annual (Don't recall the issue #) when Doug grabbed it and bought it from Mickey. I was bummed as I was mulling over buying it. I even told Doug that. His reply "You can still buy it. I am opening a comic book shop up the street in a few days. Come see me. I'll hold it for you" He said with a grin.



Needless to say I was there on opening day and bought the comic! I then went on to visit that store over and over for more then a decade. I even played AD&D in the back room with Doug and a couple of my friends. Doug and his wife were both artist as well so I would get them to customize metal figures for me and paint them. BY FAR the best job I have EVER seen to this day! When I sold all my AD&D materials about 5 years ago after they sat on a shelf unused for years, I held on to all my custom ones.



Man....the good ole days.....sigh



Do any of you happen to know any other information about Doug or his wife? Last name perhaps? I wish I remembered myself but, even after knowing them for all of my teen years and into my 20s I don't recall ever even asking for a last name. I would love to talk to his wife again. I would probably mail her one or two of the figures she worked on so she can hold it and remember Doug and good times. Over the years I have done many Internet searches to find any information on them or the store and this is the 1st time I actually found a mention of Cosmic Comics on Google.



I would love to keep looking. Any information would help! Thanks guys!

igman36

I do remember the comic shop downtown as well. The counter was on the left though and the shelves of comics were on your right as you entered. I didn't recall the name of it though. The owner was a bit of a jerk. Zero customer service skills. I do remember him having a table with raised edges that sat across from the register with 10 cent (?) comics. They were unbagged and just tossed in there but there were some great finds. I remember picking up a LOT of old Barry Windsor-Smith Conan the Barbarians off of that table along with a ton of other SA and BA books. I only went there perhaps a dozen times before his rudeness turned me off from returning. That and the bus ride there was a pain for a kid who wasn't old enough to drive yet, lol. Perhaps after I kept coming in and hitting that table over and over again he started charging random prices. I don't recall paying more then a dime for anything off of that table but, I could be wrong.
I lived in San Jose at that time by the way after moving there with my parents from Sunnyvale.

mrhan

It was called 'The Comic Collector Shop' and it was between 2nd and 3rd on San Fernando St. Bob Sidebottom owned the shop and he was a dick but he had the best back issues stock around. He actually drew or wrote underground comics back in the early 70's. He's mentioned in this book.


http://books.google.com/books?id=hQb...bottom&f=false

igman36

You wouldnt happen to remember the owners full name over at Cosmic Comics would you? Or perhaps the actual address? I have spent hours skip tracing this information with zero luck due to the age. Any help would be huge!

igman36

Anyone? Maybe I need to post a cash reward for information. lol.

Navinabob

I'll see what I can do. Anyone know what is on the property spot now?

igman36

I used Yahoo to get a visual but can't jog my memory as to which one it was. I recall them having just one store front window to the left of the door. As you entered Murphy Ave from the train tracks side it would be on your right.

gmanca

Let me go look it up, last I remember it was some shop; yeah, it's a bookshop now, Leigh's Favorite Books. I believe that is the original location as I remember it being right near Stoddard's.

I too remember the one window on the left and the thing is they've remodeled that section several times since that place closed.

As far as the downtown SJ shop, did the counter on the left go all the way to the back? or was there like a counter that went from the left side of the door to the left wall? For some reason I have a memory of a shop with both configurations. I may also be getting it confused with a weird toy shop that was further in downtown.

mrhan

It's hard to remember what the storefront of Cosmic Comics looked like. I always drove there from 237 to Matilda, took that left between the mall and Town and Country; parked in the rear of the complex and used the back entrance. I do recall the Biker bar and Chinese or Mexican restaurant that was on either side but that's about it.

The original configuration of the store in SJ had the counter at the back wall. This was in the mid 70's when it first opened. Then in the 80's it was moved to the left side of store. The right hand side always had the new issues on the wall and piles with current back issues on the floor. In the middle it always had the tables with the SA and later BA books. When you first entered the store there were also a few of those rotating racks full of comics. Usually Key, Archie, or some other low volume publisher.

There was also a used bookstore next door called Woodruff and Thrush. If you drive by it today the sign is still there but it's now a coffee shop. The comic store is just a vacant front now. I remember me and my friends would go in there because they had some seriously old SA and BA books in the back next to the porn. We would check out the porn and buy the old comics. The owner didn't know what the books would go for and sell the comics to us anywhere from a quarter to no more than 50 cents. He was always saying they were taking up space because no one was buying them and he said the comic store didn't want them, either.

Are you referring to Space Cat on Bascom Ave? I think it's still there.

gmanca

Yup, looking at it now from Google Maps, it's got to be the place as I think that PF Chang's spot might have been empty or was a parking lot at the time I went. It fits the area of where we were in Downtown during that day. I'm sure the whole counter bit is from a jumbled memory but you guys helped me figure it out for sure. Sucks that it's no longer there though.

I've never been to the Space Cat on Bascom; by the time I found out about it, I had stopped going to buy comics from any old place as opposed to calling in ahead of time, which was a real lifesaver as my Dad hated to take me to these places and then when I came out empty-handed, he'd get annoyed.

mrhan

I'm looking at Google Maps right now. If you scroll to the right of PF Chang's; it's the spot right next to the Chevy Cavalier in the pic. The one with the 'Grill and Bar' sign. The last time I passed by there it was vacant. The address is 73 San Fernando St. If you go a bit more to the right you can still see the hanging sign of the old book store with comics I referred to in my previous post.

If your looking for back issues; Space Cat has a decent selection. They even have an online store.

Navinabob

Sorry IgMan36. I asked about in my comic shop connection to those that knew Doug and they all said after he died she sold everything went AWOL and never touched base since with anyone of Doug's old crew.

It is sorta understandable when someone dies to cut out as much of that life as you can.

Lemmy

I think we need a thread called "SoCal comic shops...where are they now?"

Unless, of course, none of those guys were impressed with 1960's Marvel Comics, either.

I was trying to be light-hearted there, folks, but, c'mon....over 25% of this thread (the most recent 25%) has nothing to do with the subject. Not trying to be rude, but I think a different thread for this is warranted.

davidh777

But this discussion would still be off-topic since we're talking about Northern California

fumanstan

Comics Toons and Toys in Tustin is having financial issues

Navinabob

Sorry for going off topic here guys. The OP topic had pretty much died off since most the comic regulars had given their two bits on the topic (people could have chimed in with Marvel comics from the 1960s views technically). But yeah, this should have gotten it's own thread or moved to PMs so that this thread could die off naturally.

Lemmy

Well, crap.

bloopbleep

I think what it is we grew up,I even read Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns a few months back and even they were bitter dissapointments and not as good as I remember them, give me Mark Twain or Charles Dickens any day over Alan Moore or Frank Miller.