Comic Shops, Volume II

Greetings, fine people of the internet!  Last time we (I) talked about Comic Book stores.  Specifically Dragon's Lair in Omaha.  Since I no longer live in Omaha, I have to find someplace that will keep my addiction alive.  Here in central Iowa, you may assume I am talking about crystal meth, but it's a comic blog, after all.  

When I moved away from Omaha, I went to Amarillo, Texas, and found a nice store, Big Apple Comics.  Great store, and had everything I needed being away from home.  From Amarillo back to Omaha for a short time, and then off to Bloomington, Indiana.  We lived there for only a year, and I cannot remember the store's name.  A search on the internet shows a downtown store called Vintage Phoenix Comic Books.  I think that was the place.  I remember it being dark.

In 1999, we finally settled in West Des Moines, Iowa.  Naturally, my first task was to find a suitable comic shop.  Apartment hunting and groceries could wait.  I found Dragon Fire Comics in Clive, Iowa.  The Des Moines area consists of Des Moines and about 693 different towns that all hang out with Des Moines...Clive being one of them.  I went there for years, and they closed up.  Little did I know that Mayhem Comics and Games was just down the road.

I am not sure what was first, the Ames location or the one in Clive, but I think we should all just be happy they are there.  I have not been to the Ames location because I don't live there.  Pretty simple strategy, really.  I don't frequent comic stores in Pakistan or Tibet, either.  I cannot begin to tell you how glad I am I frequent Mayhem.

Stolen logo from the internet

Let's start with the store.  Spacious, CLEAN (which is why my wife will go in with me), and just full of new comics, trade paperbacks, and a decent stock of back issues keep me interested.  They have a TV set up in the shop that always has something awesome on, whether it is a comic or sci-fi film, it is always just nice to hear it as I shop.  

Let me stop right here for a minute for one of my typical sidebars (I will keep this one short): whoever came up with "syfy" (cable channel) needs to be beaten within an inch of their life.  I'll gladly help.  The channel is fine, but don't get all cutesy with your channel name.  

Sorry.  Back to my favorite place in central Iowa.  If you are a gamer, which I am not, there is a HUGE game room attached to the store, and there is always activity there.  They do have a wide selection of games, from Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, a lot of other RPG's, and a ton of different board games.  In short, it doesn't get much better than this.  Magic is actually a great game, and I play it on my Xbox360 with my good friend Marcus.  I have to be honest, I'd like to play at Mayhem, but my problem is I am not that competitive and do not care at all if I win or lose, I just like to play.  Some of these guys look like they take their gaming pretty seriously.

Okay, so we have established that the content of the store is varied and extremely awesome, what about the service?  Sadly, I only know one name, Jeremy.  He is super nice, approachable, and will chat with you.  While I may not know the names of the other guys (or gals) that work there, they have always been great, and that is much more important than anything else.  Service keeps me coming back every single week, and the service is 7 out of 5 stars.  

I have been going there since Dragon Fire shut down, and will go there as long as I am able.  This store gets it right in every aspect, and am glad to be able to give them my hard-earned cash.

On Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/mayhemcomics and on the web you can find them at http://www.mayhemcomics.com/ so visit the links, and more importantly, visit the store.  

Next blog: Nightwing!