#32: Midtown Comics
The Shop: Midtown Comics
Times Square, Manhattan: 200 W 40th Street
Midtown Comics made me love comics again. Way back in 2016, my fellow Story Pirate Eric Austin and I would hit this spot every Wednesday afternoon, a ritual before hopping on the extensive 2 train ride up to our afterschool gig at Bronx Arts Charter School in Hunts Point. My deep love of comics, long dormant during years of college pretending to like Sartre, had reawakened… and my wallet would never be the same. Despite the completely chromed out makeover of 40th street in the past few years, Midtown Comics remains the same. The only difference I can detect over years of patronage is way less pervy anime statuettes for sale (still not zero though). Midtown Comics doesn’t have the intimacy of a local spot like Silver Age or Anyone Comics. The staff run hot and cold and you would too after dealing with tourists and Times Square weirdos all day. What it does have is volume-- every single new issue that comes out each week is there at Midtown, usually with six different variant covers in stock. It’s super rare for something to sell out over here, unlike at any other comic shop in the city. Due to their massive stock, Midtown can be a bit visually overwhelming. I usually take three passes at the new comics wall-- one sweep of the eye level titles, one sweep of the feet level titles, and one sweep of the comics you have to reach on your tiptoes or flag a staff member for. As any touristy spot would, Midtown has a ton of toys and merch, making this a great spot to buy gifts for the nerds in your life. They also have a membership program-- $20 of free comics for every $100 you spend… don’t ask me how many times I’ve achieved this. Unfortunately, this store is rather inaccessible to folks with mobility issues, and the narrow staircase up to the main floor can be a bit of a hassle to negotiate with pushy midtowners moving in both directions.
What I got:
Phantom Starkiller #1
I bought this indie from Black Caravan comics on aesthetics alone.. that glow in the dark color is cool as hell and the inside looks like an evil version of a Space Ghost era Sunday morning cartoon.
Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #1
Say what you will about the Netflix show and Kiernan Shipka’s… divisive acting style, the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic that inspired it was cool as hell. Madam Satan hosts this gritty-ish anthology of Archie characters doing horror stuff as is their wont do in the post-Riverdale Archie world!
What’s the Furthest Place From Here? #1
This post-apocalyptic tale from Image comics tells the story of an adult free world run by anarchic teens. This premise may remind you of the Jimmy Neutron movie of our youth, but this extra thick first issue seems to take a darker tone.
Venom #1/#201
Ah, Marvel and its love of confusing issue numbering. This is actually issue 201, but the first issue under new writer Al Ewing, who previously wrote for Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m not a huge Venom guy but I never thumb my nose at a rec from my close friend and comics confidante Seth Finkelstein!
King Spawn #1
My attempt to keep up with Spawn thwarted by a hectic work/grad school schedule, I’m hopping aboard the spin- off train at issue 1 of King Spawn.
Batman Socks
This is not my first pair of Batman socks. It will not be my last, either.