Anybody remember Passaic Book Center? 0

[twmjr]

Seeing the Robert Bell thread reminded me of some other old school comic shops/dealers. Passaic's was the first comic catalog I ever ordered, their catalog #12, in 1974. I got several more of their catalogs in the 70s, and bought a bunch of books from them.

[ciorac]

I certainly do. I purchased from them via the mail in the 1970s

[GoldenPRGuy]

I spent hours in the basement of that place digging through boxes of Archie comics. Good times! (thumbs u

[comicstock]

I bought from them many times myself back in the 70s.

A few of their price list covers done by that well-known comic artist Ron Chicken.

[Jayman]

I spent hours in the basement of that place digging through boxes of Archie comics. Good times! (thumbs u

 

That basement with that weird trap door that looked like it was made from half a normal door was a treasure trove of goodness!

Loved the books hanging from the ropes strung across the room held with clothes pins too! (thumbs u

[comicjack]

The location was seedy but the contents was amazing.Piles of goldenage for the taking back then if you knew what to look for.

[Robot Man]

Never got there. Sounds like Cherokee or Bond Street Books in Hollywood years ago. Just boxes and boxes of SA and GA books to paw through...

 

I believe I did order some stuff from them via mail order back in the day.

[Jayman]

The location was seedy but the contents was amazing.Piles of goldenage for the taking back then if you knew what to look for.

 

Yeah, Passaic still is a bit rough. I remember my first trip to the PBC was by bus and me and my friend brought our switchblades just in case! Years later I traded my Necronomicon there for an Ironman vs Subby that I still have!

[Marty Mann]

My sons bought a lot of early bronze age comics from their catalog...

 

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7644/17141319186_4a7d253062_z.jpg' alt='17141319186_4a7d253062_z.jpg'>IMG PASSAIC BOOK CENTER_0002

 

mm

[Sqeggs]

I certainly do. I purchased from them via the mail in the 1970s

 

Me, too.

[jimjum12]

The location was seedy but the contents was amazing.Piles of goldenage for the taking back then if you knew what to look for.

 

Yeah, Passaic still is a bit rough. I remember my first trip to the PBC was by bus and me and my friend brought our switchblades just in case! Years later I traded my Necronomicon there for an Ironman vs Subby that I still have!

 

Necronomicon ? are you talking about the replica of the "actual" book (limited edition) or the Giger art (thumbs u book ? GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

[AnkurJ]

Saw them at local shows where they sold silver and bronze age Marvel books for $1 each (low grade). I was about 17 so it was a great buy for me! Visited their store once, and saw an abundance of adult magazines and little old comics. They took me in the back with all of the back issues. Place was PACKED! Haven't seen them at shows or visited the store. What happened with the place?

[Jayman]

The location was seedy but the contents was amazing.Piles of goldenage for the taking back then if you knew what to look for.

 

Yeah, Passaic still is a bit rough. I remember my first trip to the PBC was by bus and me and my friend brought our switchblades just in case! Years later I traded my Necronomicon there for an Ironman vs Subby that I still have!

 

Necronomicon ? are you talking about the replica of the "actual" book (limited edition) or the Giger art (thumbs u book ? GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

It was the replica that came out before the Giger version. I would have kept it too if it was a first edition (leather bound), but it was the second print. The one that mentions Son of Sam in the preface. There was a 1st, 2nd and 3rd print of this book as far as I know.

[quicksilver]

They took me in the back with all of the back issues. Place was PACKED! Haven't seen them at shows or visited the store. What happened with the place?

 

Eddie from Passaic gave me my first really big deal - 10000 mostly high grade bronze age and Warren mags for a dollar and a quarter apiece - on credit no less. He ended up selling loads to Gary Dolgoff as well as me, finally shifting the bulk to some new fangled internet type dealer I was told, then sold the building off too.

 

I certainly owe that guy a lot.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

Never got there but I believe they had the whole Archie line in the seventies. Back then no one was too interested in those.

[Ameri]

Doe anyone know if a Rudy or Dottie worked with Passaic? They used to run a bookstore in Brooklyn (My Friend's Bookstore) in the 60's and 70's and Rudy told customers he was co-owner of Passaic.

[otherworldsj33]

I heard that too, about them being co-owners. Does anyone know if that was true? I went to Passaic only once, in the early nineties. Even then, I picked up a lot of nice books at very reasonable prices.

[*Bronze age fan*]

I used to go there years ago. The strings across the ceiling with the comics hanging from clothes pins was classic. Always found cool comics on my trips to that store. Good times.

Edited October 1, 2015 by *Bronze age fan*

[Larryw7]

Never went there, but I ordered a lot of back issues from them.

[geofan]

This was the place that got me hooked on vintage comics…

 

My cousin Mike lived in Passaic and I was invited to to his 10th birthday, well it turned out that Mike was just starting to get into comics and for his birthday my uncle took us to The Passaic Book Center where he bought Mike a box of 100 coverless comics for $5…and since my birthday was a week later he gave me my present that day by buying me a box of comics too…

 

I remember the first few issues of the justice league lots of the legion issues of Adventure comics some richie rich and casper books from the 50's and 60's…which weren't that old at the time, I believe this was sometime around 1968. After this trek to the store I was hooked and would get my dad to take me there at least once a week. I can still smell the old musty smell of old newsprint…what memories!