Students looking for their weekly comic book fix need go no further than University Comic Warehouse, a short walk across Central Avenue from the Communication & Journalism building.
It's a laid-back shop, opening around noon most days. Inside, the store is decorated only by posters advertising the comics that fill every shelf.
New issues of old favorites arrive every Wednesday by the cash register just inside the door. A few steps from these, the entire current run of mainstream comics - titles from Marvel, Image, DC and Dark Horse - lines the wall, arranged alphabetically by title. Toward the back of the store you can find graphic novels, and tucked in the far corner, University Comic Warehouse stocks its range of independent comics.
A lot of comic book shops are staffed by the stereotypical "Comic Book Guy" - made famous by "The Simpsons" - but not University Comic Warehouse. Most days, customers can find owner Mary Brazell sitting quietly at a table in the center of her one-room shop, surrounded by her vibrant superhero friends peeking out from the covers on the shelves.
Brazell makes customers feel welcome and helps them find the comics they came in for. Often, she can also be counted on to suggest a few titles that might slip under the radar.
When asked what her favorite comics were, Brazell simply answered: "Everything."
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Though she appears to be a mainstay on Central, Brazell runs a business in a volatile industry. Literary entertainment is often one of the first to feel the effects of an economic downturn and usually the last to benefit from the recovery. It is no mean feat for Brazell to be able to say that she has been in business in the exact same location since 1991.
One might think that business would have improved lately, as movies based on comic books have made records at the box office. After all, now everyone has heard of Superman and seen him on the silver screen. It turns out, however, that the big names draw less attention than the lesser-known titles surfacing in Hollywood.
"When Hellboy came out, we had a lot of people come in for that," said store employee ShaneˇMcKay.
He also said that when the "Watchmen" trailer played in front of "The Dark Knight," sales of "Watchmen" graphic novels went up noticeably. More movies of this kind should do more for University Comic Warehouse's business than another Spiderman or X-Men movie would.
Some of Brazell and McKay's favorite comics today include "Locke & Key," by writer Joe Hill, "Kick-Ass," by Marvel scribe John Romita Jr. and vol. 2 of "The Amory Wars," by writer and musician Claudio Sanchez - who will be doing a signing at the store on July 30.
The bestsellers are more typical fare, Brazell said. Marvel's cross-comic "Secret Invasion" series, detailing a Skrull invasion of Earth, and the current Batman storyline sell out fast.
The shop will hold copies of titles for customers, and there is also have another, larger store from which copies of popular and rare comics can be requested, should stock have run out at the Central Avenue location.
University Comic Warehouse is a great place to keep up with all of the latest comics, and the friendly staff, as well as the UNM student discount, make it a joy to shop there.
University Comic Warehouse
2116 Central Ave S.E.
Open Tuesday-Saturday
