Stopped by my old comic shop after 5 years and felt like a stranger

I went into Cosmic Collectibles in Portland last weekend for the first time since 2019. The whole back wall where they used to have all the long boxes sorted by publisher was just Funko Pops and T-shirts now. The guy at the counter didn't even ask if I was looking for anything specific, just stared at his phone. I get that shops gotta pay rent but it made me wonder, do any dedicated comic shops still feel like a place to hang out and dig for back issues for an hour anymore?

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jennifer_west524mo ago

Right, because nothing says "welcome back" like a guy who treats you like a ghost haunting the $1 bin. Guess I'm just an old relic with my reading glasses and a stack of issues nobody wants anymore.

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patkelly4mo ago

felt like a stranger" is a perfect way to put it, I went back to my old shop and the guy working there looked at me like I was a ghost haunting the back issue bins. Guess I'm just one of those old dudes now with my reading glasses and a stack of 90s X-Men.

1