Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Comic Shops, Volume I

In the 1970's, the only place I knew of to get comics was the 7-11 a few blocks away.  There I could get my fix of Green Lantern, Batman, and the Fantastic Four.  If I had extra allowance I would throw in some Spider-Man.  We left Omaha for another town, and my comics mysteriously vanished in the move.  Chalk it up to some elaborate scheme involving international terrorists led by some elite sniper named Helmut.  It's been many years, but I will have my revenge.

Anyway, when I was 20, a guy at work and I were talking comics, and I was reminiscing while he was talking all about his collection.  At the time, I was heavy into NBA basketball (don't ask me why), and could understand his fanaticism.  He asked me if I had heard of Dragon's Lair.  I hadn't.  In my head I was thinking, "Dude, I don't want to join some quest or anything."

We went over to the Dragon's Lair on Blondo in Omaha.  Life as I knew it got radically more expensive.  Comics everywhere.  New comics, old comics, 25-cent comics, and big giant comics that collected entire stories.  I decided then and there I would risk being single for the rest of my natural life.  Fortunately, my then-girlfriend has since married me, and is STILL with me today.  Do NOT tell her how much of a mistake she has made.  Seriously.

Heaven
I lived in Omaha for years, frequenting Dragon's Lair a minimum of once a week, and spent literally thousands of dollars.  That money is represented in the form of long boxes stored in a remote location where Helmut and his band of nefarious killers will not be able to get to it.

If you are reading this blog, you are either a comic fan, my wife, or some friend or family member who is looking for material to make fun of me with at some point.  If you are a comic fan and are in the Omaha area, I cannot say enough good things about Dragon's Lair.  They now have two locations, and both are excellent resources for all of your comic needs.

If you are looking for something you need, ask for Craig out in the Millard location.  Sadly, after 22 years, I do not know Craig's last name, and if I did, I wouldn't post it here, but a nicer guy cannot be found.  Having moved away, I now frequent another store (I'll review that one in the next installment), but if I am missing anything, or am looking for something, Craig and Dragon's Lair have never let me down.  They have even held stuff for me until I came back to Omaha for a visit. 

I love the shop I go to now, but Dragon's Lair is on my list of things to do when I am back home.  Every time I am back, I will buy something I do not need, just as my own goofy way of saying thanks.  Thanks to Bob at Blondo for the hard work and great place to go read about super-heroes.  Thanks to Craig for always taking the time to talk to customers.  BIG thanks to Craig for introducing me to Mike Grell's run on Green Arrow.  I got to meet Mike Grell a few years ago, and that was excellent.

Go spend money there, now!

Dragon's Lair Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dragons-Lair/53352592547
Dragon's Lair website: http://www.dragons-lair.com/

1 comment:

Marcus said...

I miss Dragon's Lair SO MUCH!!!! In my college years, I hung out there so much that I helped unload the truck every week. My reward...getting to touch the comics before anyone else. And that, my friend, was more than enough for me.