let the awesomery begin!

i did the bestest thing ever yesterday! i was stalking art baltazar (on-line, which is totally legal within proper boundaries) and noticed that he would be at one stop comics. what better way to kick off my review of all chicagoland comic book stores than to visit the creator of my alter ego?! i have to admit i was pretty nervous. what if he didn't remember me? what if he was no longer cool? or, horror of all horrors, what if he no longer thought i was cool?

luckily, after the tiniest bit of totally direct-unsubtle-pointedly-obvious reminder of the time i demanded a job with DC to rectify their subscription service, he exclaimed "oh yeah - subscription girl - you're awesome!" we then spent the next 40 minutes geeking out over each other and exchanging autographs (his on comic books, mine on credit card slips). it was by far the most fun thing i've done since moving to chicago. trading comic book lore and love with a pro (and he has a sidekick - who was also pretty rad) and getting personalized on the spot drawings has to be one of the bestest ways to spend a saturday afternoon. not to mention that it's astoundingly flattering to be flattered by someone you totally respect and admire (tiny titans is the cutest thing to ever be cute!) gah, it was so much fun!

crap - i almost forgot to tell you about the comic shop! they have a pretty flashy webpage that's very easy to use. register and then you can purchase and preorder items from the site. walk up to the store and the first thing you'll notice (if you're me) is the neon batlogo.














you walk in, and you're immediately hit with a wall of comics. the hallways are narrow so that the greatest possible area of space can be filled with comics. above your head to the ceiling are lots and lots of action figures. by far, this store had the best selection of trades and graphic novels i've ever seen outside of amazon.com. very impressive. what i was not impressed with was the fact that the monthly issues were all mixed up together. there were marvel comics touching DC comics. just, eww. and the alphabetizing was far from perfect. that being said, there was a very wide selection. unfortunately, it appears that unless you're looking for the most recent issue or something from their massive selection of back issues, you'd be pretty much out of luck.

either way, i give this place a 4.5 out of 5. the owner and employee are very easy and fun to talk to and it's right across the street from the ridgeland stop on the greenline. go czech it out!