Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Book History
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3311:
We then drove to Blue Diamond, Spring Mountain Ranch, and Red Rock Canyon. To end the day, we stopped in at the 'Velvet Underground' Local Comic Book Shop (LCBS) in Las Vegas! Why this LCBS out of the 10 that I'm aware of in the area? Well, I asked a question last week on my Facebook Member Page, Fan Page, and Group Page, as to what 2-3 LCBS in the Las Vegas Metro Area that my Facebook Friends or Fans would recommend! This 'Velvet Underground' LCBS was one of the two top vote getters! So realizing that we would be ending at the North end of Las Vegas yesterday... I planned to exit out of Red Rock Canyon onto West Charleston where this LCBS is located. It is a loooong way from Red Rock Canyon driving on West Charleston to drive East toward the I-15! So I would recommend coming up the I-15 and driving West! We were driving in the dark, so I overshot it, as Tina saw the street number, but not the LCBS. Turning around, I came by the address again, and turned in. The 'shopping center' is an L shaped area, with the top of the 'L' facing the street. Not well lighted at night, and the LCBS is at the back of the center. It stayed open till 6PM on Tuesday. I saw the lights for the LCBS, drove up close to it and parked. The top left photo shows the exterior at night. The rest of the shopss in this center are varied in nature. I took a few pics of the exterior... Tina took a few pics of me at the front window, before we went in. Walking in, I was 'floored' by all the foliage! That was very intriguing right from the start! (2nd photo top left.) I have been to a LOT of LCBS in my days... but this was truly a 'Unique LCBS'! Steven Riddle incorporates his other business, (Crafting this foliage), into his LCBS. It added a lot of 'Flavor' to this LCBS, which is 3300 square feet. The third photo at the top left shows that the whole LCBS is immersed in this foliage, and makes for a pleasant visit while inside the shop. But YOU don't go to a LCBS for just scenery, right?! The fourth photo at the top left shows just some of the 'Silver Age' comics that Steven has for sale. The fifth photo at the top left is the section that Steven is using to film his new videos about his LCBS. The latest video was on Vampirella, so I couldn't help but ask Tina to take a photo of me in the area! (Thanks Tina and Steven!) At the top right is a photo of Steven (The Riddler) Riddle and myself. Near the bottom right of this blog post is a photo of 'The Riddler' incorporated into a display, which is 'play' on the Riddler name. Due to industry corporate policies, Steven can no longer advertise with the 'Riddler' signage. Steven has had this LCBS for about 20-21 years. Due to information gathered from Facebook Friends, including Patrick Okano, who we met there with his wife Diana, (Hi!), I was able to piece out the history of this LCBS. It seems that Steven first started his LCBS 'Velvet Underground' in a warehouse space over near the Fantastik Indoor Swap Meet. From what I gather that 'little garage' like structure was 'way cool'. Steven moved the LCBS to this location, and had not, until just 3 months ago moved into the 'internet age'. A good friend gave him a laptop, and now he has a Facebook Fan Page for the LCBS, and his web site is a YouTube video display type of site. I enjoyed visiting the LCBS, and so did my wife Tina. The 'pros' of visiting this shop are a good selection of comics from the Silver Age to current Modern Age. The LCBS has a good decor with the foliage inside, making for a pleasant shopping experience for both Tina and myself. The 'Cons' are that the shop is a little hard to find in the evening when it is dark, and that the boxes and boxes of back issues are not indvidually priced. Which makes it hard for the traveler with a time limit to fully enjoy the selection. We were there from 5 - 6 PM last night, (Tuesday). However, as I thumbed throught the back issue boxes, I found the selection to be varied and worth the trip for someone visiting Las Vegas with a little more time. Plus Steven mentioned that all I had to do was pull individual issues and he would price them fairly for me. Tina also noticed the varied selection of new comics and magazines. The staff that was there last night was attempting to finalize the Diamond order, and Steven needed to finish it before the evening was through. Thus I decided not to ask too many specific questions on back issues, and just enjoyed seeing his LCBS as a first time visitor. I also want to thank Claudia, who took the time to orient me to the shop, while Steven was helping other customers. All in all, I would agree with the Facebook Friends of mine that suggested that this be one of the two-three LCBS that I should visit in the Las Vegas Metro Area! Thanks Friends! Plus many thanks to Steven Riddle, who would have loved to show me more of his LCBS, etc. A gracious host! YOU can find his new Facebook Fan Page here. YOU can find his new web site at YouTube here. Special thanks to Patrick and Diana Okano for meeting us at this LCBS! Happy Holidays to all reading this blog post during the last days of 2010! Michael D Hamersky, of 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics' - my New Facebook Fan Page, and Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing - my Facebook Group Page which is under the 'virtual umbrella' of 'Facebook Comic Con'! Plus of course this blog, ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com! --------------
My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,310 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog! BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app! We currently have over 2,100 'Followers'! Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! And for those of YOU that haven't yet...I would appreciate it if YOU would!!! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
Holidays Note: The online store is closed till the 1st week of January 2011. So none of the listings are showing at this time. http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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Tina and I had a great day yesterday... Traveling to Pahrump to do a wine tasting at the Pahrump Winery, but that's another blog post for the future!
Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.
My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! 
Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, I would have liked to have sent you a Friend Request. However, I have reached the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages 'limit' already, so I have now added on a personal Facebook Fan Page of my own! 
Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review!
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