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Best Shops to hit in Los Angeles?
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32 posts in this topic

Have to be in La this week for work, staying in Burbank, any suggestions for must hit stores? Love Golden age but when out of town I will check out any comic shops out there. Looks like House of secrets is within walking distance to my hotel.

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

Phillip

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1 hour ago, PKJ said:

Have to be in La this week for work, staying in Burbank, any suggestions for must hit stores? Love Golden age but when out of town I will check out any comic shops out there. Looks like House of secrets is within walking distance to my hotel.

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

Phillip

Don't go to House of Secrets. They are all kinds of scuzzy. Best to just take a walk in the mountains there in Burbank. But if it's comic stores you want, it's kinda not great. Gotta a car?

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14 minutes ago, NoMan said:

Don't go to House of Secrets. They are all kinds of scuzzy. Best to just take a walk in the mountains there in Burbank. But if it's comic stores you want, it's kinda not great. Gotta a car?

I may have a car one night, although I try to walk or take subways when in the larger cities like NY. 

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52 minutes ago, PKJ said:

I may have a car one night, although I try to walk or take subways when in the larger cities like NY. 

I understand the urge to hit an-out-of-town comic shop, but, well, not much in Los Angeles. No GA. Anywhere, really. Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks is near you and best, I find. Ask for Carr.

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Just now, NoMan said:

I understand the urge to hit an-out-of-town comic shop, but, well, not much in Los Angeles. No GA. Anywhere, really. Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks is near you and best, I find. Ask for Carr.

Thanks, I don't expect to find anything special, usually end up grabbing like Gi Joe issues or something like that but do like to see other shops while out. I did very well in Alabama one time for GA so not always a bust.

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1 minute ago, NoMan said:
3 minutes ago, PKJ said:

I may have a car one night, although I try to walk or take subways when in the larger cities like NY. 

I understand the urge to hit an-out-of-town comic shop, but, well, not much in Los Angeles. No GA. Anywhere, really. Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks is near you and best, I find. Ask for Carr.

strong agree on not much going on in LA for comic stores.  You're probably better off hitting up some yard sales or garage sales.  Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks is fine, but not a WOW store or anything.

LA in general has too many people, too many tourists, too much focus on movie/tv comic media in recent years, too many people working irregular hours, too many people with money (yes I know also plenty of people without) for there to be any uncovered gems left in the greater LA area.  There's some good stores (friendly and knowledgeable) and some GREAT paraphernalia on occasion, but the actual comic game is lacking....

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22 hours ago, NoMan said:

I understand the urge to hit an-out-of-town comic shop, but, well, not much in Los Angeles. No GA. Anywhere, really. Earth 2 in Sherman Oaks is near you and best, I find. Ask for Carr.

Agreed. 

Also, Legacy in Glendale, though their back issues are wanting.

Emerald Knights in Burbank is decent.

 

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37 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Any old cheap 10 centers? Not really looking for big GA keys just odd old stuff.

No. I can't think of any store in SoCal that stocks anything decent except Jamie's (SoCal Comics for you newbs.)

There's Torpedo in Vegas, but you'll have to pay through the nose.

Has Dolmayan stocked Big Red's old store....?

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1 hour ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

No. I can't think of any store in SoCal that stocks anything decent except Jamie's (SoCal Comics for you newbs.)

There's Torpedo in Vegas, but you'll have to pay through the nose.

Has Dolmayan stocked Big Red's old store....?

I haven't been there in a couple year, but J&J Comics in Fountain Valley had a pretty good selection of books when I last visited.  

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2 hours ago, RockMyAmadeus said:

No. I can't think of any store in SoCal that stocks anything decent except Jamie's (SoCal Comics for you newbs.)

There's Torpedo in Vegas, but you'll have to pay through the nose.

Has Dolmayan stocked Big Red's old store....?

Yes, but only SA and newer. Not many keys or big books. And VERY pricey. I wouldn’t go out of my way to go.

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Golden Apple on Melrose and LaBrea (I think technically West Hollywood, but really southern Hollywood) isn't bad.  Small shop but they have some decent wall comics and back isssues.  Guy that works there Joe will talk your ear off about G.I. Joe since he runs a podcast called "Joe on Joe."  So if you aren't into A Real American Hero don't mention it.  I am so there you go.  :)  Also it's kitty corner across from famous Pink's Hot Dogs.  Power up with a $4.50 chili dog and cruise Golden Apple.

Sadly, Meltdown Comics on Hollywood closed down.  But they were about half toys and half comics.  Cool store though.  Back room performance space was where they filmed Comedy Central's "Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail."

 

Edited by lordisam
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22 hours ago, Fiddy said:

I haven't been there in a couple year, but J&J Comics in Fountain Valley had a pretty good selection of books when I last visited.  

I went to J & J today per your suggestion. Glad I did.

Super “old school” shop. Run by an older guy named Jeff. Had a loud bird in a cage, classic rock playing and every once in a while old Jeff took a hit off his pipe. Friendly old character.

I went in and told him I was looking for basically anything with a 10 cent cover price. Of course he said he didn’t have much so I started browsing his packed and random stuff. Lots of the usual funny animal stuff but a few gems mixed in. Saw a couple boxes up high with some old Jungle and Jumbo bagged books attached to the front and pulled them down. Nothing I needed but nice to see old comics in a store. Lots of SA & BA which I didn’t look to much at. Coolest thing he had was a bound volume of the first 4 or 5 issues of America’s Greatest for $1200. Not a whole lot of GA and I spent several hours looking. Got a few winners and real friendly prices because I got friendly with him. 

Fun shop if you have the time. Tons of books. Don’t expect a lot of high grade keys but a box diver’s paradise for a guy like me. Prices started out slightly stiff but I talked him down on what I wanted.

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11 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I went to J & J today per your suggestion. Glad I did.

Super “old school” shop. Run by an older guy named Jeff. Had a loud bird in a cage, classic rock playing and every once in a while old Jeff took a hit off his pipe. Friendly old character.

I went in and told him I was looking for basically anything with a 10 cent cover price. Of course he said he didn’t have much so I started browsing his packed and random stuff. Lots of the usual funny animal stuff but a few gems mixed in. Saw a couple boxes up high with some old Jungle and Jumbo bagged books attached to the front and pulled them down. Nothing I needed but nice to see old comics in a store. Lots of SA & BA which I didn’t look to much at. Coolest thing he had was a bound volume of the first 4 or 5 issues of America’s Greatest for $1200. Not a whole lot of GA and I spent several hours looking. Got a few winners and real friendly prices because I got friendly with him. 

Fun shop if you have the time. Tons of books. Don’t expect a lot of high grade keys but a box diver’s paradise for a guy like me. Prices started out slightly stiff but I talked him down on what I wanted.

4E5E168B-5FC2-47CD-8F35-A5F29312E4B0.jpeg

E9280E49-7C08-4475-8E8F-43E9099B2E2D.jpeg

5AC0F0B5-89BA-47FC-8F53-81C23B73C75D.jpeg

0288C512-312E-43BB-897B-9F00BF22827E.jpeg

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Jeff is a good guy.   He'll work with you on the price of his books.   I've purchased a lot of books from him in the past.  He gets a little grouchy sometimes but once he takes a few hits from his pipe he mellows down quickly.

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13 hours ago, Robot Man said:

I went to J & J today per your suggestion. Glad I did.

Super “old school” shop. Run by an older guy named Jeff. Had a loud bird in a cage, classic rock playing and every once in a while old Jeff took a hit off his pipe. Friendly old character.

I went in and told him I was looking for basically anything with a 10 cent cover price. Of course he said he didn’t have much so I started browsing his packed and random stuff. Lots of the usual funny animal stuff but a few gems mixed in. Saw a couple boxes up high with some old Jungle and Jumbo bagged books attached to the front and pulled them down. Nothing I needed but nice to see old comics in a store. Lots of SA & BA which I didn’t look to much at. Coolest thing he had was a bound volume of the first 4 or 5 issues of America’s Greatest for $1200. Not a whole lot of GA and I spent several hours looking. Got a few winners and real friendly prices because I got friendly with him. 

Fun shop if you have the time. Tons of books. Don’t expect a lot of high grade keys but a box diver’s paradise for a guy like me. Prices started out slightly stiff but I talked him down on what I wanted.

 

I stopped at that shop a few years ago when I was in town for a wedding. There are a lot of boxes out on the floor, but I felt the good stuff was in the boxes behind the counter.

Unfortunately, probably b/c I was a new guy, anything behind the counter had to be asked for specifically -- no pulling it down and looking myself. I managed to rattle off some titles and scored a cheap Deadworld #10. Looks like a great store for locals.

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