Comic Envy — Local services in Asheville

I'm a huge comic fan, but I always felt intimidated to meet and interact with others in the comic industry and fandom (for whatever reason). Maybe because I felt I may not be knowledgeable enough about certain things, or maybe it's because I'm a very open-minded person and some comic fans can be otherwise.

However, Allison at Comic Envy has completely flipped that narrative around. After moving to Asheville, NC from San Diego, CA, I had quite a few options of local comic shops. After trying each one out, I kept coming back to Comic Envy because of the experience Allison gave me every single Wednesday (despite it being further from our house than some of the others).

Allison is very easy to talk to and she has lots of knowledge across the comic industry as a whole. She never makes it difficult or intimidating when talking about comics as she wants to make it as easy as possible for you to navigate her store, but also become a comic fan in your own right! She has great recommendations and even if she has opinions, she never treats those opinions as facts, which is what I really appreciate about her.

Plus, she's a huge X-Men fan, and one of the first diehard X-Men fans I've met in-person (I'm a huge online community nerd). I'm always looking forward to new comic book day because I know that Allison has my stuff prepared, she knows what characters and variants I would like best, and she remembers things we have talked about in the past, which means she's paying attention.

My husband and I agree that Allison must have a huge memory because every time she's talking to one of her customers, it seems like they're old friends. However, she can easily read the room and understand what type of person you are. So if you're someone who may not be as sociable as me and would like your space, she'll pick up on that and respect it. She definitely caters her customer service to each person who visits the store.

I hope Allison and Comic Envy stay in business forever because it's my little, personal getaway once I'm off work and I'd like to say that my husband and I have made a wonderful friend in...

I absolutely adore Comic Envy and the owner, Alison. Disclaimer, I am not personally a comic book lover (blasphemy, I know). My family is a variety pack of nerds and she keeps all of our interests covered. She is an encyclopedia of fandoms. Even though we label this a comic book store, it is so much more.

My 12 year old has practically grown up in that store and Alison always takes the time to hear what she is reading, graphic novels or just basic nerdy novels or shows (get the 3 of us going on being Whovians). Alison gives great recommendations on what new series I should start her on.

My 17 year old is simple in comparison. Collector's edition hardcover shojo manga or something that is old and nearly impossible to find, she likes the classics.

The kid's corner is a really fun spot. Summer is coming and I know where I'm taking my kids first for some screen free entertainment. I know there will be lots of inclusive and imaginative books for them that will keep them entertained and instill open-minded values.

I personally love that I can subscribe to manga releases (and collector's edition rereleases) the same as others do for comic books. Did you know you can do that? I don't pay any more for new releases than corporate bookstores charge, I can keep my money local, and I don't have to think about it at all. She will hunt down collectibles and all sorts of things for me. We don't have an anime/manga specific store here in Asheville, but it's always a treat to see what goodies she has in stock.

It's become a regular family outing to go pickup our reserved items and browse, not to mention larger events like Free Comic Book Day. We have frequented this store over multiple locations and multiple owners. I think we have the perfect...

The owner Allison is extremely rude and unfriendly. I used to be a regular and had spent a lot of money at her shop but her unprofessional and mean behavior not only towards me, but also towards other customers made me never want to step in her shop again. She doesn’t greet me when I walk into her store and on several occasion I’ve heard her actually berating and yelling at customers over their pull boxes while I’m shopping in her establishment. She constantly price gouges her customers charging quadruple, or higher for a new release comic that isn’t a variant or anything special if she thinks it is a key even though she is supposed to charge cover price for new releases when it isn’t a variant or a ratio. No other comic store in this area rips off their customers like she does. There are plenty of other good comic book stores in this area that have friendly owners and who treat their customers fairly, but sadly Comic Envy isn’t one of them. I wish she had never bought this comic book store cause the former owner was super nice...