My Comic Book Journey, 2025 Update

    Last year, I did a series detailing every place where I ever got a comic book, as well as many place where I saw comic books, but didn't get any.  Today, a week after "Free Comic Book Day," I am providing an update to that series. I've been to some new places, some old ones have changed, and I realized that I missed some things the last time around.  Without further ado, let's start off with some new locations. 

• Barnes & Noble, Fayette Mall, Lexington:  Barnes & Noble has had a large store on the east side of town for years, so I was surprised when they opened up this smaller version at the mall, especially since Joseph-Beth Booksellers is not too far away.  I don't know about the main store, but this outlet did not carry comic books.  They didn't carry any magazine or any sort of periodicals either.  However, they did carry graphic novels and manga. (They also had some RPGs, but nothing I collect.) I didn't buy anything when I went there last fall, but I did get some ideas for children's holiday books for my store.
• Super Hero Creamery, Huntington Mall, Barboursville:  I was surprised when I went to the mall two months ago and saw that this unique store had opened.  It is part comic book/collectibles store and part ice cream shop.  The decor was reminiscent of Superman's "Fortress of Solitude" with its cold, light-blue design. I didn't look inside it too much.  I was a little disheveled after having a pile of sheet sets fall on me to go in.  I also was still keeping hope out for local comic book stores would be opening back up after the February floods, so I didn't want to spoil anything I thought I would be getting. As my next entry will show, I was wrong.

    Next, let's update some local stores, and we'll see what has changed.

• Page-3 Gamezone, Pikeville:  As I have mentioned in a previous post, Page-3 got hit hard in the recent flooding.  While the main level wasn't hit too bad, the lower level where they kept most of their comic books was devastated. I was finally able to make it in there a week or so ago while they were operating on a partial schedule as they are cleaning up. I finally found out that they had halted all comic book shipments until they could fully re-open. I thought they would just find a way to hold them off-site or something.  So, I now have over three months of comics to collect from somewhere else. There's a chance they can still get most of these books back, but I am very doubtful. The other local store with comic, The Gaming Co., was hit harder than Page-3, and there is a chance they won't re-open.  Their entire unit was destroyed at Weddington. Many businesses have already moved. (I was thinking about offering my store as a go-between soon after the flooding, but I didn't want to come off a self-centered, so I didn't mention it or the empty units at my shopping center. I hindsight, this wasn't the best move.) The e-bay store in Prestonsburg isn't a great option either, as they didn't have a wide selection when I noticed them years ago.  I'm looking to go to Huntington next week to check there, before looking at Cavalier Comics at Norton soon after, and then Lexington next month.  Taken together, I should be able to get most of what I'm missing, before I have to resort to waiting until the graphic novel collections come out and buying them directly through my store.
• Walmart, Pikeville:  I have recently noticed that this Walmart has stopped selling comic book collector bundles.  They have also has a smaller selection of trading card games.  They still have some manga and non-comic book graphic novels, so I'm keeping it blue for now.  I haven't checked at other Walmarts lately, so I don't know if this is a trend or not.

    Now, onto the errata and an entry I missed the last time.

• Kroger, Stanton:  As I'll mention in my current series on eating out, I usually don't stop in Stanton to shop.  This is the only other place I've been to.  My first visit was soon after it opened, or at least soon after I found out about it.  It had a wide variety of products, and I wound up buying some things.  I think they may have had comic books, but I'm not sure.  They did have magazines, but I didn't get much of a chance to look at them, especially since I had looked at a lot in Lexington already that day.  When I went back years later, the variety had greatly decreased.  They definitely didn't have comic books, or magazines either.  In fact, the place had become a little shabby.  I didn't buy anything that day.  I may have gone one more time, without buying anything, but I haven't been back since.

    And with this, my update is over.  Come back Wednesday for my regular post as I return to My Culinary Odyssey.  This time around, I will be covering Whitesburg and Hazard.  See you then.