Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Biff Bam Bust

Well, my friendly local comics shop, Biff Bam Boom, went out of business.

That's very disheartening.

I was really happy today 'cause I was done with finals and I just finished my last day of school, but when I got to the store all the shelves were empty. The owner, Tony, was at the register, presumably to break the bad news to his customers. He told me what was up. We quietly exchanged words and expressed regret over the turn of events. I thanked him for providing such an awesome service for so long, and he thanked me for my patronage. I wished him a good life. We went our separate ways.

I'm feeling pretty emotional about this for some reason.

Tony also told me that the only other comics shop in town had gone out of business three months ago. The nearest place now is in another state.

So now I have three options if I want to keep up my comics habit. I can get someone to drive me to Enfield, Connecticut week after week, which I really don't want to bother with because of the distance and travel time, not to mention the high price o' petrol. I can buy individual issues online, which will be more expensive because of shipping and handling. Or I can wait until the series I follow come out in trade paperback collections, which is less expensive but entails a delay of up to six months after the last issue comes out.

So, yeah. I'm kinda screwed.

Well.

So long, Tony. So long, Biff Bam Boom. Thanks for all the comics. Thanks for all the memories.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will,

A few notes on the Biff Bam Boom situation. Most Excellent Comics on Allen St didn't go out of business - they moved to the mall in Enfield (a bigger, better location - a great store!). There is also Bob's Hobbies in Forest Park (right near my house). Also you might want to check out www.dcbservice.com - they have flat rate shipping for monthly orders ($5.95 I think) and they have a very good reputation as well.

Go to www.secretidentitypodcast.com to hear some great comic podcasters from right here in Springfield, including me occasionally. They actually do most of their podcasts live at Most Excellent on Thursdays or Fridays.

Will Staples said...

Woah, how did you find my blog? It's cool to hear from another Springfielder.

Re: Most Excellent, Tony just told me they were gone, which is all I had to go by. I'm glad they're still in business. I do all my traveling on the PVTA, though, so I can't get to Enfield.

I've never heard of Bob's Hobbies; I'll probably check them out.

And thanks for the link, I'll check that out too.

Cheers!
Filby