#75: JHU Comics
The best comic shop in NYC.
The Shop: JHU Comics
Kips Bay, Manhattan: 481 3rd Avenue
Some comic shops are for the Wednesday warriors. Some comic shops are for the retro-dads. Some comic shops are for the art freaks. But only one comic shop has it all: Jim Hanley’s Universe, the greatest comic shop in NYC. I’ve been going to JHU for years, hitting their former Koreatown location frequently when I worked on 32nd street. Since then, the location has moved a few avenues east but maintained all the charm. As alluded to in my opener, the selection here runs the range of comics with no stone left unturned— every caped adventure you can remember from childhood, alongside the horror villains, the slice of life indies, the weirdos, the kids stuff, the manga, and a whole shelf of Archie for the folks who are into that sort of thing (aka me). The shop highlights creators by dedicating a shelf to them. Jeff Lemire has a shelf, as does Lynda Barry, Dan Clowes and up and comers like Mahdi Khene. Aside from the selection, JHU’s second finest quality is the staff. Knowledgeable and friendly, the staff at this shop are always game to talk comics with condescension-free excitement. There’s always a lively conversation going on in JHU— I have been late to at least one rehearsal because I got drawn into a whole big convo with the guys behind the register. I haven’t made it to the shop’s Staten Island home base yet, but keep your eye out for my review book questers.
What I got:
Colonel Weird Cosmagog
I have been feasting on Jeff Lemire's postmodern superhero tale Black Hammer and its many spinoff tales. Lemire is masterful in peeling back retro-superhero tropes to find surprising emotional depth. This spinoff series focuses on my favorite character from the original Black Hammer: Colonel Randall Weird, an Adam Strange stand-in character whose paranormal adventures have completely shattered his sanity. The art on this series is absolutely gorgeous, thanks to the work of illustrator Tyler Crook.
Dissolving Classroom
I’m late to the Junji Ito train— and feeling guilty about it because all my horror/manga nerd friends sing his praises constantly. This collection of horror manga short stories looks extra gross and melty, so I had to pick it up.