Paradox Junction

* **Location:**110 S University Dr, Fargo , RRDMZ  58103
* **Type:**Comic and Gaming Shop.
* **P2 Rating:** 9:34:22

The business of brick and mortar retail has never been easy, but in the last century or so, in the face of drone delivery systems and electronic media, it has been obvious its a fading model. This has been especially true for specialty businesses like comic book and game stores, partially because of the easily accessible nature of what they sell and the generally tech-savvy clientele these nerdy pursuits attract.

Still, places like Paradox Junction still exist. The last brick-and-mortar comic book shop in Region 3 and the second largest in the Zone (second only to Galaxy Comics in Winnipeg). The former owner founded it by buying up the stock of the two previous comics and gaming stores (Paradox Cards and Comics and Comic Junction) in the mid '40's. Against all economic sense and much adversity, its still there, thirty years later.

The current owner, Heddy Ferguson, is a third-generation comic book aficionado and niece of the previous owner. She knows comics like she knows her first language and can play games you never heard of. In her spare time she writes comics that her boyfriend in Alexandria does the art for. While only known locally, her best known work is probably 'Hacked Sam', which has its own Fundeon account to help supplement the shop's income streams.

The shop carries a large selection of comics, ranging from MDC (Marvel-Detective Comics), North America's largest comic publisher (currently owned by Horizon), which is responsible for such franchise spawning intellectual properties as 'Overman', 'Kore, Queen of Hell' and the 'Neil the Ork Barbarian' adaptation, but also carries everything from imported big-name Aztlan ('Mecánica Prosolar', 'Hunahpu y Xbalanque'), Japanese ('Kawai Kuniochikurabu Renraku-gô' 'Ring of Fire: Chrysanthemum Chronicles') and German ('Karl Kombatmage') comics to smaller domestic imprints from both sides of the border (such as Obscure Publishing's 'Doc Wyrd' and Tardigrade's venerable 'Madcap' series from the UCAS side or Fireside's 'Mica Kapi' and 'Faster Than Light' from the Oceti Sakowin), all the way to local comics printed out from the creators' comms, which includes Ferguson's own 'Hacked Sam', as well as cult classics '4D Lives' and 'Reckless Hookers of Doom'.

They carry all the usual expected RPG's: The venerable Mazes and Monsters (originally called 'Dungeons and Dragons' before the Awakening and the Great Dragon Hestaby's lawsuit), currently in its 12th Edition, Canadia, Krieger's: The Hunger, Neil's Fourth World Adventures, ShadowDawn and Invisible Warriors. Rumor has it that Heddy has some limited release games that she only markets to regulars, such as the infamous (and likely fake) 'Polybius'.

Paradox Junction doesn't really offer anything you can't order online, but what it does provide is both access to the staff's almost obsessive knowledge of their subject matter and a place to meet and socialize for people that do neither particularly often or well. It has become the center of an odd little community that includes regular nerds from the corp enclaves in the Block, Craftpunks, Ergi and PvR enthusiasts among others.

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