Fortress of Solitude — Local services in Newark

Found this place via google search. Was excited with all the positive reviews, went in the shop with high hopes. Upon entering I noticed 2 employees, one at a front desk which she was on her cell phone and another in the far back sitting in front of his computer. No one greeted until I said hello to girl at front desk. 3 things I noticed right away, the great selection of comics & collectibles, a dustiness that appeared as if it had not been cleaned since the first day it opened and the extremely high prices of the collectibles. Being an avid comic figurine collector I know prices for just about any toy line, and this guy definitely jacked his prices. None the less I kept walking down the store until I made it to the end of the shop, I turned to look down a corner that had more boxes of merchandise and was about to proceed when out of the blue the heavy shop owner who had been on his computer the entire time just grunted,"that's it" with a very rude tone. I turned to look at him because I wasn't sure what he said and again he just grunted,"that's it don't go any further" without ever looking up. Being a professional in a field where I deal with disgruntled people all the time I simply smiled to this person and jokingly said,'I'm sorry, I didn't notice the electric fence."... Finally this shop owner lifted his eyes with an angry demeanor and asked,"Is that supposed to be a joke?!", being baffled by his mysterious attitude I simply responded with,"Yea... it was only a joke.".... he followed up by puffing his chest again while glued to his computer chair and said,"This is NOT the place to be joking!"... Not sure what was up with this guy but instead of me exploding on him in front of my girlfriend I kept my composure and responded in a leved manner with,'Yes, you're right I am not in the right place to bring my business" and walked away while he just kept grumbling under his breath. I never take the time to write reviews but I've already gone out of my way to post a negative review on his facebook page & google. If you look up his reviews on facebook there are also other negative first time visitor reviews also complaining about this shop owners attitude. I'm sorry if this disgruntled shop owner couldn't get his daily fix of artery clogging foods from what I can tell, but never is there any justified excuse for an owner of a store to give someone an attitude in that manner. He couldn't be any more wrong about what kind of attitude you should have in a comic shop, it's a place reminiscing of our childhood and shouldn't be anything else other than a light and fun attitude. To further prove the un-professionalism of this comic shop owner after he blocked my post on his page he went on to respond to my review of his shop. Using misspelled words in his response that included,"acting like a tough guy", "out of league girlfriend" and "douche" directed towards me I don't see how anyone could pride themselves in a successful 34 years of business. Simply put this owner is not an adult shop owner but rather an overweight kid that can shave who decided to open up a comic shop. Like an episode out of the Twilight Zone we have a shop owner who puffs his chest out like he has a hardcore gym but couldn't be anymore delusional in the fact that he's surrounded by comic books and toys and feels the need to showoff in front of beautiful women. Either that or he must have been upset about his sandwich delivery forgetting to put peanut m&m's on his Italian sub. So here's to you tough guy comic book & toys shop owner, get yourself to anger management, switch from viewing anime porn or fast food commercials to business owner etiquette videos on youtube and try standing up more and greeting your customers. You'll be doing your much needed body a favor and while you're at it do your undeserving "appreciated" customers a favor and also knock down the prices of your dusty overpriced...

One of my favorite intimate comic shops. The young lady who works the opening shift is nice and welcoming. She isn't the biggest comic fan, she helps her dad out. She brings the balance to the store.

The owner is amazing, really nice guy. This is a place you can build relationships with. The place is small, intimate, and vintage like.. it isn't your big box comic shop like midtown comics or forbidden plant. The new comics are laid out on a table and not on a shelf. It works for the place.

If they don't have what you're looking for, the owner is willing to order it for you if he can. Because they take care of their customers.

Only thing this place is missing is better organization with new and old comics. (A shelf system) and hard to find action...

THE SHOP HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 37yrs. I HAVE BEEN GOING TO THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE SINCE THE FIRST OWNER WHEN IT WAS CALLED “ONE FLIGHT UP” IT HAS A GREAT VARIETY OF BACK ISSUES AND CURRENT COMIC BOOKS ALSO ACTION FIGURES AND ASSORTED STATUES AND MANGAS!!!!! JOSE THE OWNER AND STAFF ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL TO THE CUSTOMERS NEEDS AND WANTS. IF THEY CANT FIND WHAT YOU NEED THEY WILL DO THEIR BEST TO GET IT FOR YOU AND THE PRICES ARE AWESOME THEY DO NOT TRY TO RIP YOU OFF AND ARE ALWAYS WILLING TO MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE FAMILY NOT JUST A CUSTOMER. I HIGHLY TRULY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO COME AND ENJOY THIS AWESOME AND GEM OF A COMIC BOOK STORE IN NEWARK. WISH THE OWNER AND STAFF TO BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME!!!!!!...