Alternate Universe — Local services in New Haven

The store is pretty much the same as i remember from being a kid....Not a bad store. Still love stopping in for a quick browse and buy. But as i don't live near by anymore I haven't been in for 5 years or so. Used to shop here weekly, but this recent visit turned me off from the store all together. The owner was very presumptuous and felt the need to tell me about not taking the books out of order. Mind you he didn't even greet me as i walked in and and as he tells me about keeping the books in order i hand him a book misplaced and he seemed annoyed i did so and walked away. Though i understand where his grievances were when having to deal with such problems. I made a purchase and proceeded out, I said have a good one and he just sat there like he had a problem with life. As a kid I always thought this place was cool and the store was somewhere i went every week. I always thought the owners were very preppy and didn't like blacks, even though a co owner is black and they are located in new haven; a city full of blacks, he seems to not like blacks....thats fine and his own personal issues but that was a very unsatisfactory trip there and will likey skip it next time around just to not have to deal with feeling like im an unwanted customer.....it was like my money wasn't good enough. Overall id say the spot hasn't changed much and thats not necessarily good or bad, I love comic shops and visit them often, especially when i travel, and being from new haven i make this a stop every time im in town, i think ill skip...

Great little shop. The owner does a decent job making the most of the small space he has. He also does a decent job being rude, which gives you that authentic comic shop experience you've come to expect.

I was on limited time so I took a quick look and didn't see what I wanted. I asked the owner if he could tell me if he had the book. I told him I wasn't sure of the title, but I think it was called House on the Lake. He typed something on his computer and told me that was the correct title and that he did have it. Being that I already looked and didn't see it, I asked if he could tell me which wall it might be on. He let out a sarcastic laugh and said, "Uh under H?," in a tone that suggested I was silly for asking.

Literally every comic shop I've been to organizes their newer books by publisher, then letter. He organizes his shop by letter, which is fine, but I didn't realize that, and I don't think it's silly to ask where a book might be. It also turned out he was wrong. He did correct himself and say the book was actually under N since it's The "Nice" House on the Lake. It wasn't there and I didn't want to bother asking anything else for fear of a condescending response. I ended up spending about 30 bucks in his shop, but in hindsight I should've just walked out. Whenever a store owner is condescending to you just walk out. They don't want your business. I'm new to the area and trying to find a good shop to go to regularly. I will never be...

Shops like this are the reason brick and mortar shops are going out of business. The biggest thing hurting physical comic book stores are the rude and condescending people who usually work there.

During the pandemic I switched over to online only. I was feeling nostalgic for a real comic shop and stopped in. That's when I realized. The experience, I remembered so fondly, was never that great to begin with. Shop owners/ employees are usually not very nice or helpful. They always seem annoyed you're in the store. It's usually this backwards experience where I'm trying to be really nice and get the staff to like me when it should be the other way around.

I don't understand how they stay in business. When you think about it every other store you go to the staff is looking to make sure you have a good experience to ensure your business in the future. Comic shop owners act like you need them more than they need you. I guess us comic geeks are usually shy and kind people so we just put up with it. I won't be anymore. From now on I'll do all my shopping online and I hope all mom and pop comic shops with rude staff go out...