Midtown Comics

Midtown Comics

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the License Express of the Department of Motor Vehicles in Manhattan which focuses on giving mostly drivers licenses and vehicle registrations. It did not take long for me to get my license.

On the way back to the train home, I stopped off at Midtown Comics, one of the larger comic bookstores in Manhattan. Like many comic bookstores it occupies the second floor of a retail building. I hadn't been by this store in a very long time. It is two floors of comic books. The stock seems more focused on graphic novels now than comic books.

There was a very large alternative comic books section. I was not very impressed with their science fiction books section. Their graphic novels section was really fantastic. I had a chance to look at a number of books. The one that initially interested me most was Fogel's Underground Comix Price Guide printed in 2007. Unfortunately, the book cost $39.95 which was a little expensive for a trade paperback. It lists most of the underground comics.

However, it was also oddly focused on sex comics like Omaha and Cherry Poptart which I really don't consider to be very underground. The most expensive items listed were Robert Crumb's early works, and the East Village Others Gothic Blimp Works which is the first of the underground comics in New York.

My favorite new book in the place was an illustrated oversize version of Frankenstein drawn by Bernie Wrightson who is possibly the best of the horror comics artists alive right now. http://www.wrightsonart.com/

I spent quite a bit of time looking through the new books. There were a few other books which were kind of interesting. Will Eisner, A Life In Pictures, a book of autobiographical comics and The Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe A-Z. There was also a book called How To Make Web Comics by Scott Kurtz, Kris Straub, Dave Kellett, and Brad Guigar which looked interesting.

As usual when you visit a comicbook store or bookstore, I felt obligated to buy something. I bought copies of Steven King's The Stand which has just been put out as a comic book. The art is fantastic and it is very true to the original book. I also asked about the Starship Troopers CGI animated series because they had a very large collection of animated movies.

Midtown Comics has a nice website. It was interesting seeing both the store and the website. http://www.midtowncomics. The store is as clean and well organized as the website. The staff were helpful and attentive. They were willing to answer my questions.