text: All About Books Comics is like philosophy and Phil Collins postGenesis contributions to music I know I am supposed to give a shit but I do not Try as I may I just cannot get excited about it nnAABC has everything a good comic store should have indepth yet intuitive store layout boxes upon boxes of back issues nice tidy displays of action figures and busts a big sign on the front of the store professing their accoladesnnAnd that is itnnTheres no playing or reading space of any kind No television The radio usually plays smooth jazz or some other music substitutennAnd unless you are willing to strike up a conversation with the guy in the Amoeba Music tshirt who so looks like he is already judged your worth as a person by the time you have made it to the graphic novels section there is really no one to strike up any conversation with Unless you need help looking for something here is a hintalphabetizationnnYes AABC is a good comic book storeby standards set ten or twenty years ago These days I expect more from my comic book store nnMaybe it is because of the integration of trading card players into geek culture Or maybe it is because the internet has replaced basic human interaction and I crave more face to face time with other nerds like myself nnOr maybe it is because it is fucking degrees outside and I need a place to gonnBut me personally I like a comic book store with some atmosphere and hospitalitynnSure not having any playing space to play or read cuts back on the Yeah I think I can get it one more game in before my mom comes to pick me up crowd but let us call a spade a spade you used to be that fucking kid And so did I nnMaybe it was not our local comic shop but it was the mall the movie theater perhaps even La Biblioteca We have all been there we all had parents who did not want to spend the weekend with us and as annoying as the spectacle of sad and fail is to behold we have no real place to pass judgment nnAfter all we are the ones buying comic books and action figures we will never take out of the box And the shops can afford to carry such ridiculous fare from all the income they get hosting MagiYugiMon eventsnnBut wait if AABC does not cater to such a crowdhow do theywait whatnnIn my reviews of other comic book outlets I have referred to AABC to All About Crooks Comics nnThis is not a mere clever nickname given by the funddeprived AABC has a reputation for ripping off those poor and unfortunate few who come across a rare or vintage back issuepiece of memorabilia and bring it in hoping to get a reasonable price for it nnI cannot prove from firsthand experience as I am not a collector I am a reader I do not keep my books in bags and with the exception of a set of JTHM I got for Christmas from Misty S I do not even have any recent single issues I just wait for them to come out on trade paperback nnI know The horror The horrornnBut I have had a lot of friends who have griped to me about going back to AABC and finding the same book they sold them a few weeks ago on sale for or perhaps even times the amount it was bought nnGranted this is a common occurrence in all Used New businesses remember that commercial for Gamestop where the guy mentions that he is selling his copy of Random First Person Shooter for bucks Yeah that never fucking happens That guy would be lucky if he got and that is including the extra that his Gamestop card would give him if he was smart enough to sign up for one in the first place nnBut if AABC does not really buy into the whole trading cardclicking miniature figures craze it makes you wonder where the profit comes from Especially when there is a Samurai on Indian School th St an Atomic Comics at th Dr and Peoria Stalking Moon on Greenway and Hero Comics on TBirdnnMaybe AABC primarily services serious buyers who do not have the time or patience for all the hubbub and tomfoolery to be had at the other trendier locations Maybe it is those same people who gave this place all s except the one who admits they only come in to buy gift certificates nnMaybe that is where AABCs niche lies and we should accept that certain people want certain things out of the places they give their patronagennWho knows You have probably stopped giving a shit about what I say ever since I admitted I only buy trades nnBut do not lie you have got a friend who spouts nothing but quotes from Plato and Socrates and every time he walks away everyone in your group is all I just want to kick that guy in the fucking balls nnUnless that friend is younnYou ass