Fantom Comics — Local services in Washington

in short: really cool store with a frustrating return policy - store credit only

Bought a board game here for my friend's secret santa exchange, only to find out he already had it. It turns out the return policy is store credit only, which is quite frustrating for me, as I'm neither a comic book reader nor a board game player. I understand the policy for comic books, but in the age of online shopping, I really ought to be able to return a brand-new unopened board game and get my original payment back - I feel I lost out for shopping local and not on Amazon. If I had known about the policy prior to purchasing, (perhaps the owners could consider posting a sign?) I probably wouldn't have made the purchase.

That being said, it seems like a cool store. Plenty of unique comics (keep in mind, I'm not a fan and only perused) and related toys/games, including offerings for all sorts of interests (childrens' books, female superheroes, even a cool AOC comic!). It also seems like a popular community fixture as well, as there was a big group for trivia the night I visited. Based on my limited exposure to the world of comics and board games, this seems like an awesome venue to both...

I am from out of town and decided to have a look in the store after a long day of sight seeing....

I walked in and was surprised to find the staff standing around talking really loud and over the top of each other. Wasn't too nice of a experience.

The store is small and poorly laid out. The only single issues that were out were the issues from last week, and they were all on shelves below the counter(around waist height.) They were messy, and in no order which made it impossible to look for what you were after. I didn't see ANY other single issues around.

I walked around to the left side of the store to look at the rest of the TPB's only to be told that I couldn't go to that side of the store as they had that weeks books out which couldn't be purchased. I understood that but they still wouldn't et me go look at the TPB's and was told that if I wanted to look at anything, they could hand them too me from across the room.

I was pretty disappointed to not be able to even look around the whole store. If they are using floor space to check orders etc they should do it AFTER HOURS, and not inconvenience...

I am mainly interested in comic books. Fantom Comics is a great little neighborhood comic and card game shop near Dupont Circle.

Easy to get to via Metro or Bus. On the south side of the street above the Subway.

Three short flights of stairs to upstairs store. Friendly staff and cheerful decor.

Primarily CGC card games and trade paperbacks. A small board game selection also. Weekly books and recent releases along a full wall, major publishers and some smaller groups.

A small table holds about eight short boxes of recent comic releases. Nothing more than the past few months' of books prices at cover price. No other back issues. A few incentive covers are on the wall and in a short box near the register at the front.

The back wall holds local artist books/zines and small press/vanity press books.

The trade paperback/ hardback section is well stocked as has a lot of variety. Typical classic mainstream titles are here, but also many small press and unique books difficult to find in person.

I love to visit comic stores and hope that Fantom Comics continues to find success in the future. Thank you...