Everybody likes to tell and read cool stories about comic stores of old.
In the 1960's and early 1970's I bought all my new comics at an early version of the 7-11 called Tote-Sum, in Jackson, Mississippi. I bought my back issues from other collectors and once-a-month flea markets. However, in 1977, the folks that owned Memphis Comics in Memphis opened a comic book store called The Star Store (Star Wars had just come out) in Jackson. That was the first time I had been in a comic book store, and it was a good store. It lasted until the early 2000's, when it fell victim to my Jackson-area store, called Action Island (opened in 1998).
However, the best LCS experience I have ever had was the first time I walked into More Fun Comics in New Orleans. A number of my collecting friends in the early to mid 1990's said "you really have to go down to New Orleans to see this awesome new store", etc. I put it off for over a year, but I finally made it down there and found the store. I walked in and it literally floored me. I had never seen a comic store like it. It was so big, it had everything, and in the foyer, there was a series of glass display cases with copies of golden and silver age keys in multiples. All over the wall were every silver age comic you could want and lots of GA and bronze as well. It was owned by Bill Ponseti and managed by Matt Nelson, two outstanding people. Both proved to be a gold mine for information and rare items, and both really shaped my collecting mindset.
In the stores that I have owned, I have always had it in my mind to try to recreate for first time customers and visitors that overwhelming experience of stepping in to More Fun the first time.
