Jeremy Wins Life

I hadn’t planned on writing two posts, because I thought I didn’t think I’d visit two comic shops. But when I found out that a second comic shop could be better or just as good as Portland’s treasured Casablanca Comics, I had to take a look and see for myself.

Coast City Comics
656 Congress St.; (207) 776-1719
www.coastcitycomics.net

Coast City Comics was a surprise because usually I’d be satisfied with a store like Casablanca in my town. I am not sure if it is quite necessary to have two comics stores within a few blocks of each other in a small city like Portland, but one thing for sure is that Coast City Comics is bringing the competition.

Only in its third month since opening, Coast City Comics had me at “hello”. It has a good natured-friendly vibe to artists, not just comic readers. I felt welcome on a whole other level. Yes, there were comics, but there were also illustrations visible in the store window, t-shirts designed by local artists, and mini-comics from the burgeoning scene of creators in Portland. This store felt more like a hub where artists could share their work and be discovered by the regular Joe.

I already covered Casablanca in a previous post, and if I were to compare the two, I’d say Casablanca is that really cool older guy who has sold comics to you your whole life. Coast City Comics is your best friend from college opening a comic store with all your favorite stuff you used to love (and still love!). And the metaphor isn’t too far from reality! Coast City Comics was opened by Gerald von Stoddard, who also happened to be behind the counter during my visit. He spoke about the new opening and we traded a few words about the Disney/Marvel news. It was like catching up with an old friend where the comics talk always somehow made its way into the conversation. He also pointed out that some of his closest friends were also the artists behind the T-shirts I was perusing through (and bought!). (more…)