Collected Comics & Games: Keller — Local services in Haltom City

I wish there was more passion from the staff to help. I wish there was more passion from the staff for the thing that brings them there each day. But if it's not the owner, nobody else seems to care. I've been going to Collected for nearly half a decade because 1) it's my local comic shop and 2) keeping the direct market alive keeps comics alive.

I'll ask for a recommendation because I'm tired of the Big Two and nobody ever has titles they can recommend. If I buckle down and go for recent stories from the Big Two, they're usually missing issues from the arc (that's normal and understandable) but that's where it ends. No offers to order copies or suggestions for how I can get my hands on them. Instead of buying some issues then and paying for some later, the staff seems content in me buying nothing (which isn't normal or understandable).

I don't want to go to Amazon or eBay cuz comic stores across America are closing so often but for the life of me, I don't seem to be creative enough to put my money in the hands of my local direct market retailer. So going through the motions, I'll buy my kid a manga and some merch but both are so overpriced that I don't feel compelled to get those going forward either. Recently bought a pair of My Hero Academia Bakugo foam gauntlets for $40 that my son loved. Wore them the entire day he got them, including to Walmart where the same gauntlets are sold for $20.

Walmart introduced me to titles by Allegiance Art, like Nora's Saga. So I go through AA for their titles. I now roam through Kickstarter and crowd-funding sites for promising comics and pay the creators directly. I go to the sites of my favorite creators like Faith Hicks and Joe Benítez (among many others) to buy their work directly. Collected was such a great store when I first showed up but despite the years of me buying something every pay day, I don't think there's a single person on the payroll who can tell me my name. If others enjoy this set-up, to each their own. I'm not going to trash them for having their own tastes and opinions. But I can't see myself spending money on comics there, despite many...

The most organized and well-kept comic book store I've ever been to. Unfortunately that's its biggest downfall. The best part of going to a comic book store is searching through the dollar boxes and finding a hidden gem. There are no dollar boxes at the store, and everything is alphabetized. Very few comics are actually priced so you can expect that 30 plus minute wait upon asking the price of more than 10 comics at a time. They sell two to four dollars above what the market value is. But once you have waited for 30 plus minutes they kind of have you in a bind, because are you really going to waste all the time you just spent finding these comics and waiting for them to be priced? I spent $70 here and felt like it was the biggest waste of money I have ever achieved in my comic collecting years. Ultimately this store is great for finding a specific issue that you don't care if you have to pay the extra few dollars for. But for us general comic collectors and browsers, this store is equal to a commercialized tourist...

I've been getting back into comics since around July and this store has everything I need.

The owner and all the employees are very genuine people and are always willing to help if need be. If they're missing a comic you're looking into, they'll call one of their few stores to see if they have a spare copy. Give them about a few days to a week and they'll call you back when that copy arrives.

You can be put on a list to where they hold new comics for you and or you can just pre-order them.

This shop now has a $2 comic bin, you can find some treasures in there.

Lastly they do bids on their Facebook page which is great and I recently started using it.

For new comic people, don't be intimidated by the selection. They have everything you need, new and old, and all genres. Everything is in alphabetical order. Employees are always willing to help.

So for me, my experience here has been...