Mike Ferrero, owner of the oldest comic shop in Philadelphia, Fat Jack’s Comicrypt, has died. Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci, who worked at the store as a teenager and described Ferrero as a “second father,” posted the news on his Facebook. “The police did a wellness check and he was dead,” Barrucci wrote. “He died alone.” The store had been struggling for years (see “Original Art Sale, GoFundMe, to Benefit Fat Jack’s”), and the Center City location closed down in May 2024. Founded in 1976, Fat Jack’s was an integral part of the Philadelphia scene and regularly hosted signings by nationally known creators including Neal Adams and Tom King.
Warren Jaycox, owner of Galaxy of Comics in Lake Balboa, CA, died unexpectedly on December 28, 2024, the store announced on Facebook. The store will continue to operate during its normal hours for now. “Warren loved this store, and each and every one of you who helped make his dream a reality for the last 15+ years,” the post said. “We know he impacted so many people with his kindness, his passion, and his generosity. Through all the ups and downs of owning an independent comic shop, we all stayed loyal to him because he was loyal to us.” In a 2022 profile by Jim McLauchlin (see “Business 3 x 3”), Jaycox talked about how he got his start in bookstores, started managing a Golden Apple store after seeing an ad on their website, purchased Galaxy in 2008, and expanded his store when his next-door neighbor’s business was shut down b the police.
Comicopolis, a Santa Cruz retailer that sells comics, graphic novels, and board games, reached out to the community for help in November, and the community is responding. The store posted on Facebook before Thanksgiving, asking customers to remember them and spread the word. “We’re only a small family business so your support is hugely meaningful to us,” the post read. “When you buy from us you’re not making someone richer, you’re putting food on our table and allowing us to pay the bills, rent, and to keep the store open.” Co-owner Troy Geddes, who wrote the post, told Lookout Santa Cruz that customer traffic was down 20%, in part because of the relocation of a transit stop, closures and reduced hours of businesses nearby, and construction in the neighborhood. However, he said, more people have been coming in since he posted on Facebook, and he’s looking into either renegotiating the store’s lease or moving to a new location.
The Comic Shop in Oswego, NY, also posted to Facebook asking for more community support. Among the factors contributing to the store’s woes is the declining profitability of Magic: The Gathering cards, which the store stopped selling altogether in September.
Bob Ficarra, owner of Metro Entertainment in Santa Barbara, CA, has raised over $3,500 on GoFundMeafter burglars stole $10,000 worth of Pokemon cards early in the morning of January 2. Ficarra told NewsChannel that the burglars appeared to know what they were looking for, quickly grabbing single Pokémon cards worth between $50 and $500 apiece. Ficarra is pessimistic about getting the stolen merchandise back.
A flurry of robberies has hit the Jacksonville, FL, area. Mythical Mountain in Jacksonville was hit on December 31, 2024, according to Action News Jax, with burglars breaking in at 2 a.m. and clearing out the store’s shelf of high-value graded comics. Then Cowabunga Comics in Green Cove Springs, FL, was robbed on January 6 in what News4Jax reported appears to be the fifth in the string of burglaries in the region; as in the Mythical Mountain burglary, most of the stolen items were graded comics.
The vintage comic and video game store Level Up Entertainment of Mays Landing, NJ, will close its doors for good on January 26. “The biggest thing was it was our costs going up and our margins going down,” co-owner Gregg Mester told NJ Advance Media; sales were down in recent months, including November and December, while costs keep going up. The store moved into its space in the Hamilton Mall in the early 2010s, but with the loss of anchor stores, including Sears, the mall is now mostly deserted.
Troy Connor, owner of the newly opened Table Games, in Richmond, IN, told the Palladium-Item that the demand for cards has been strong in the area. Connor was previously co-owner of Blast from the Past, a vintage video game store, but he went independent because it’s not easy to play tabletop games next to 60 arcade machines.
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NBC Palm Springs reports on the brand-new game store Big Deck Energy, located in Cathedral City, CA.
Black Rose Gaming, which carries a mix of tabletop and video games, has done so well in the five months since it opened that the Temple, TX, store has already moved to a larger location, owner Jacob Sprinkle tells KCENTV.
A new comics and game store Adventures in Ink, will open its doors in Leander, TX, soon, according to Community Impact.
Travel Portland posts a roundup of game stores in Portland, OR.
Source: ICV2
