Timmy’s Washington Comic Crawl!
You may have heard the term "Pub Crawl". It's where you and a buddy (possibly several) start your night off at a bar, then you drink and move onto another bar. Then you drink, move on to another bar. Then you drink and move onto another bar. 2 weeks later you wonder why you're broke and have several weird voicemails. Well, a comic crawl is kind of the same thing, only difference, less booze & more money spent. Oh it's called a crawl in both instances because you end up on your knees. In the pub version, it's because you're too drunk to walk, in the comics it's because you're 39 years old, and your begging your wife for forgiveness because you spent WAAAAAAY too much money! But I had fun.
This past Saturday, my buddy Chris Murray wanted to travel to the west side and hit up a couple comic shops. He asked me if I wanted to go, and since my wife was out of town with her friend, I figured, "Why Not!?!?" When I informed Chris (my friend, not to be confused with my brother, also named Chris) that I really have only been in our Yakima comic shop, Ron's Coin & Collectables, he was all about introducing me to a "comic crawl". We hit up 5 different shops over on the west side. Two in Tacoma, two in Federal Way, and then the one in Ellensburg. Let's just say, I had a blast! Here's some pictures of our crawl.
Our first stop was in Tacoma, a pretty awesome little place called Atomic Comics! It's comic shop located on Steele St. in Tacoma, kind of part of a strip mall. They specialize in all things nerdy! I picked up a Batman puzzle & a Red Sonja comic! I ALMOST picked up a brand new, 1989 Batman action figure... the same one I had when I was little and the toy was released. But, it being our first stop... I didn't want to go into debt so early in the day!
Our 2nd stop was at Stargazer Comics, located in on 6th Ave A, in Tacoma. This store is like a Doctor Who Tardis... looks small on the outside, but man it's huge & packed on the inside! I scored a pretty sweet Joker graphic novel (thick comic book collection) and a couple "floppies" (single comic books).
Our 3rd stop took us to a strip mall in Federal Way, where I dropped the most money. Action City Comics & Toys, might be one of the smaller shops we visited, but they had what I was looking for. A DC Comics Zatanna statue that was at a jaw dropping low price, as well as a series of Nightwing graphic novels that I never knew existed. Thank you Action City, I will definitely be back!
Our 4th stop before we started to make our trek back home was at Fantasium Comics & Games on 336th St. in Federal Way. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures from inside the store, but they were all about the safety of their staff & clients, and about table top board games! This was also the shop that I bought the most items, thanks to a nice discounted table. Here's a pic of Fantasium treasures!
Our final stop of our Comic Crawl as we made our way back home to Yakima, was at Central City Comics located on 4th Ave in Ellensburg. It's neat and I'm a little saddened, that this place is so close to us, but yet this was my first time being here. I guarantee it won't be the last! If you're into Funko & figurines as well as the rest of the loves that my nerdy culture craves, make sure to stop into this place. My surprise find... vintage Battle Armor Skeletor toy from He-Man & The Masters Of The Universe! After 30+ years... my Battle Armor He-Man now has someone to fight!
We're already planning our next comic crawl, this time to the east side of Washington state! That'll happen just as soon as my wallet heals and I get permission from my wife!