A Look Inside Comic Book Shops on Long Island
Superheroes are famous for their flashy colors, super-human abilities and fascinating stories. Long known for their adventures on the printed page, they’re seeing an ever-growing rise in popularity due to their exploits on the big screen. Names like Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Panther have become household names. Before, only the likes of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man have achieved such status. Their stories all started in the pages of comic books. Now, shops that specialize in these books are found all over Long Island. Here’s a rundown of where they’re in action.
Golden Memories Comics
Golden Memories Comics in Selden has been around since November 1991. The owner is 73-year-old Vincent Viverito, a long-time comic book reader and a veteran of the U.S. Army. He is accompanied by his constant companion, Boots, a black cat with green eyes and white fur across her chest. Vincent brings her with him every time he goes to the shop. They’re stationed on chairs Vincent found at the dump but they’re ready for action the minute a customer enters the shop.
“I always read comic books when I was a kid,” Vincent says. “Matter of fact, I grew up in Selden. The candy store I used to buy comics at, the building still exists down the road.” When Vincent settled down and started working for the U.S. Army, comic books took a back seat. “After about 15 years, I got back into it and when I retired, I wanted to do something for myself. Have some fun,” he says. Vincent was already selling comic books at comic shows in the tri-state area. And his time in the U.S. army also helped as he specialized in organizing and putting projects together. “It was easy to put a store together.”
Vincent calls his shop a “pop culture store” — with comic books, toys, posters, statues, and other odds and ends filling the shelves. His regular customers come in every week to pick up new comic books, typically on Wednesdays because that’s when new issues come out. He calls his customers “the heart of the store” — from 11-years-olds to men who are older than he is. “It was something they grew up with in their childhood,” he says of his older customers, “and they still enjoy it.”
‘It was easy to put a store together.’
— Vincent Viverito, owner of Golden Memories Comics
The outside sign of his shop is stylized as “Comix Toys” with a ball of fire between the words. He doesn’t have a sign that announces “Golden Memories” because, he says, “if you put Golden Memories out there, you’re going to get a lot of different interpretations of what it is. For some people, they might think it’s antiques or old photos. By specifying comics and toys, you know right off what we are.”
The previous tenants of the building was “Game Crazy,” a video game shop owned by Hollywood Video which has since gone out of business. “The store was already set up. I didn’t have to do anything.” Vincent laughs. “They put hundreds of thousands of dollars fixing the store up. All the shelves, everything.”
Vincent has seen the shifting popularity of comic books over the years. When he hears predictions that “the comic industry is dying,” he doesn’t worry. “I’ve heard that for 30 years now. Matter of fact, it even goes before that. There was a time in the mid 1970s where it looked like the industry was finished. It was difficult to get the product. It wasn’t being sold like it had been in candy stores and such.”
Vincent starts going through a drawer below the cash register, trying to find an old magazine to show how comic books used to be sold back in the day. “I know they’re around here somewhere,” he says as he sifts through his old books.
Unable to find the books, he continues:
“They were called fanzines. They were magazines and you put an ad together and you sent it into the magazine. You got the magazine monthly and you would buy and sell through that magazine. This guy, Phil Seuling, was doing that, but he was concerned that it was getting harder. The industry was having problems. So he created the direct market. The way comics were traditionally distributed was just like a newspaper. People would go to different retail outlets and sell them the magazines. The problem was the profit margin was very low, that’s why stores stopped carrying them.”
Vincent continues the history lesson. “Phil created a system where he would buy the comics from the publishers; Marvel, DC, whoever, and sell the comics to comic shops. Your profit would be 50% rather than the small profit from that other system. So that became the main way for the distribution of comics…specialty stores that were set up to distribute comics.”
Places like Golden Memories Comics. Vincent smiles. — “And that saved the industry,” he says.
Another obstacle the industry has faced is digital comics. Some believed it would spell the end for shops like Vincent’s but he knows what comic book collectors want. “People that come in to buy the comic want to have the comic,” he says. By having the book physically, you can send it to the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), the leading company in grading comic books, trading cards, and other collectibles. While it is not necessary to CGC-grade every book, it does preserve the condition and value. Based on a 10-point system, the higher the grade, the higher the value. For example, The Amazing Spider-Man #38 features the second appearance of Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man’s iconic love interest. A high grade for the book can go for more than $700 but Vincent’s copy scored a 2.5, resulting in the $100 price tag.
Other milestone books that hold high value include the first appearance of a character or the 500th issue in a series — distinctions that make getting them graded more appealing.
Vincent points to the top shelf behind the counter, where he displays CGC comics he has had professionally graded and are ready to be sold. “You can’t CGC a graphic, something you find on the internet. You can’t. The real collector still wants the comic. The casual reader…just wants to read. They don’t care about the paper product.”
Red Shirt Comics
Red Shirt Comics has been located on Main Street in Port Jefferson — about a five-minute walk from the Port Jefferson Bridgeport Ferry terminal — for the past six years. On this Tuesday evening, the owner, Joshua Darbee, is playing Magic of the Gathering, a trading card game featuring mystical characters, with his regular customers at a table in the front of the shop. The 42-year-old owner is wearing a navy blue long-sleeve shirt under a brown Star Wars shirt. His hair is combed to the right side, he sports a full beard and glasses. “I’ve been reading comics as long as I’ve been able to read,” he says. His favorite character is Spider-Man, whom he describes as bright, inspiring, and resilient.
Joshua opened the shop with the help of an IndieGoGo campaign that raised almost $3,000. The name Red Shirt Comics comes from another sci-fi show with “Star” in its name: Star Trek. “I was watching an episode of Star Trek and something occurred to me,” Joshua recalls. “All the guys in red shirts, they’re the guys that do the dirty work. They have to lay pipes and run wires and install toilet mains. They’re the everyman and that is what my customers are. They’re everybody. Everyone is welcome.”
Inclusiveness is part of Joshua’s motto, making sure everyone feels comfortable. A regular named Tyler walks in. The squeaky door acts as an alert and Joshua turns to greet him. “What’s going on?”
“How are you doing?” Tyler replies.
Within seconds, the men are talking about new comics.
“Tyler, did you want issue two of Nightwalkers?”
“That’s actually what I was looking for,” Tyler says.
“Alright, I have it up at the front for you.”
This level of customer service is something Joshua is all too familiar with. He worked in retail for 20 years, holding a manager position at Golfsmith for 12 years. He also worked at Toys R Us and Borders Books.
With his love for comic books and knowledge of the retail space, Joshua was confident enough to open his business. “I wouldn’t have even thought to make the attempt if I didn’t have the background…It’s important I know my regulars.”
Why do customers keep buying the books?
What makes them so appealing?
“Because they love story,” Joshua says. “I mean, it’s the universal truth. Everything that society has is derived from the earliest stories. We created language specifically to tell story, not to describe our day, not to educate ourselves about the world around us. We can do that with a series of grunts. We have survived out in the jungles, out in the woods, just pointing and grunting as early cavemen did. Cave paintings proved that we wanted to tell stories and that’s the reason we needed to communicate, to express how we feel,” he says. “We wanted to share our experiences with one another.”
‘It’s more than just reading. It’s sharing.’
— Joshua Darbee, owner of Red Shirt Comics, on collecting comic books physically
Joshua is dismissive of digital comics, saying “I don’t think digital anything is good. When people ask, ‘why collect comics?’ I tell them ‘you get to walk into the store. You pick this thing up off the rack. It’s brand new. It’s just printed. This is a piece of that character’s life. It’s like walking into Spider-Man’s living room, walking over to his photo album and ripping out the latest page of all his most recent memories. You get to have a piece of that character’s life in your hands. It’s more than just reading. It’s sharing.”
Joshua offers one piece of advice for anyone trying to read comic books: “just pick something up and read it. My first issue of Amazing Spider-Man was #348. I didn’t worry about the other 347. I just went into the store and I bought #348 and I thought, ‘I like this guy.’”
And he goes back to playing Magic the Gathering with his customers.
Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles
Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles is located on Main Street in Bay Shore, on Long Island’s south shore. The 32-year-old owner, Kevin Dempsey, has been a comic book fan all his life. As a kid, Kevin would read the likes of Batman and Spider-Man alongside cartoon strips like Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield.
As he got older, comics would take a backseat for school and saving money. He went right into the job market after college but was having difficulties finding a job. His father said, “why don’t you open up a comic shop?” which at first Kevin thought was a joke. “After thinking it over and looking at the finances, it seemed plausible,” he says.
One of the first steps Kevin took in figuring out his comic shop was the name. With so many comic stores in business, what would standout from the others? “I was shooting around a few ideas with family members at a restaurant,” Kevin says. “We were thinking about Forbidden Planet in the city and thought that was a good name. We wanted to shoot for something that was more sci-fi-ish because we felt if we chose a fantasy-style name, people would associate us with card games and tabletop. Lost Planet happened to be one of the names and after looking around, we saw no other shop in the world used it, so why not?”
‘Comics aren’t just superheroes anymore.’
— Kevin Dempsey, owner of Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles
Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles has been open since August 2016, offering toys, trading cards, and of course comic books. Kevin can be found at the front counter on the left, on his computer counting inventory or shipping out orders from his website.
Beside him are all the newest comics released from a variety of publishers — from superheroes of Marvel and DC to licensed comics featuring Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Newcomers deciding where to begin can find it challenging but Kevin believes anywhere is a good place to start. “It’s always going to be daunting to start off somewhere,” he says. “These comics have been going on for like 60-to-70-plus years. The best thing to do is pick up a book and go from there. Whether it be a graphic novel, comic book issue, anywhere is a good point. If you’re not interested in the mainstream heroes, there’s plenty of other genres to check out. Comics aren’t just superheroes anymore.”
Kevin’s philosophy on comics remains true as he carries books that aren’t from Marvel and DC. From the colorful characters of the Power Rangers to the dark and gritty world of The Walking Dead, Lost Planet Comics has a variety of books for people to dive into. Comic-book-based TV shows and movies do influence some customers to stop by the shop. “I have seen an increase in book sales, depending on the film,” he says. “When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came out, we saw an increase of Black Panther books. When Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came out, we saw an increase of Kang-related books. It fluctuates a lot.”
‘The best thing to do is pick up a book and go from there.’
— Kevin Dempsey, owner of Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles, on where to start reading comic books
Comic books as a category are Lost Planet’s number one seller but previously it was Funko POP’s, stylized 4-inch vinyl figures with big heads, smaller bodies, and no mouths. Funko gets official licenses to make POP figures of characters like Spider-Man, Batman, and other heroes. Kevin has seen a decline in not just sales for them in his shop but with the product overall. “I don’t think they’ve released too many new ones in a while,” he says. “And the ones they have aren’t impressive.”
As the industry continues to evolve with the movies and TV shows, Kevin agrees with Vincent, the comics industry isn’t going anywhere. “If it was, I wouldn’t be here after almost seven years,” he says. “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. We’ll play that card out when the time comes.”
Next Generation Comics & Cards
Two men are standing across from each other, faced in opposite directions. The sound of comics in plastic sleeves hitting each other resonates as they sort through the boxes. They’re preparing to sell the books at upcoming comic shows. Four to five dollars each, they’re older comics featuring the industry’s most iconic character: Superman.
Next Generation Comics & Cards is located on Carleton Avenue in Central Islip. The store has been here since late 2014. One of the men looking through the boxes is Michael Hall, the 47-year-old owner who has been in the comics business for more than 30 years. He started selling at shows independently before moving into a 300-square-feet shop on Main Street in Islip. He sold his X-Men issues #2 to #5 comics to cover startup costs. Eventually, he moved up into a bigger shop on Deer Park Avenue — until 2008 when troubles with the economy led to closure of the business.
‘Reputation is everything in this business.’
— Michael Hall, owner of Next Generation Comics & Cards
He had a buyer for the shop’s name, Next Generation. But Michael wouldn’t budge. “It means too much to me,” he says. “Reputation is everything in this business.”
He went to New York Comic Con — an annual convention to celebrate the comic book industry — in 2014. It was with new announcements, vendors selling new merchandise, and people dressed up in costumes to look like their favorite characters — a fan favorite activity of super-fans known as cosplay.
Michael noticed a shift in the industry. “There were families coming to Comic Con again,” he says. “There was talk of the movies starting up. It was back in the mainstream.” Within 90 days, Michael would sign a lease and open Next Generation in Central Islip.
The other man riffling the boxes is Jason Storer, 38, who’s been working at Next Generation for more than four years. He calls himself a “manager” but the roles at the shop are loosely defined. “We don’t really have titles,” he says. Jason used to go to Michael’s old shop when he was a kid — less for the comic books and more for the trading cards. Jason used to play competitively later in his high school years and eventually started selling cards on his own. That led to him working at Next Generation to help Michael with his line of trading cards.
In addition to trading cards and comic books, Next Generation offers toys, statues, and Funko POP’s. Customers can also sell their comics, cards, Funko POP’s, and other merchandise to Next Generation, which is why many customers routinely stop by. “It’s because they’re always looking for something,” Jason says, “With collectibles like comic books, trading cards, etc., one of the hardest parts is finding the item. So if you’re looking for a rare, obscure comic book, we may not have it today but we may buy it tomorrow.”
Jason calls the periodic prediction of the death of the comic industry laughable. Michael laughs at it, too. “I think the comic industry as a whole is doing all right,” Jason says. “There is some element of people going digital but at the end of the day, even with people who read regular books, there’s a lot of people who want to hold something and read it rather than put it on a screen.” Jason believes digital comics have a place in the industry while not steering customers away from comic shops. “It gives people a window into the world of comics,” he says. “Sometimes, that can expand their horizons into something that incorporates paper products.”
Jason is conflicted about the comic book adaptations in movies and TV shows. While they still go to the theaters to watch, he believes studios miss the mark sometimes. “They try to appeal to the general audience more so than comic book fans,” he says. “Oftentimes, they abridge stories or they merge several stories together. Someone who’s an avid fan of a particular character, studios won’t properly represent them in the movies. But the general public doesn’t know because they haven’t read it.” The Flash movie is a recent example of the studio abridging the story while appealing to general audiences by re-introducing Michael Keaton’s Batman.
New readers for comic books don’t correlate to movie/TV show releases either. Jason says, “it’s usually more of a speculation front,” which means people anticipate the comic book will become more valuable. “When they announce a movie is coming out, people will run out and try to buy whatever they can for that character,” he says. “People flock to whatever the announcement is. There is a correlation but it’s not necessarily what most people think.”
4th World Comics
One of the biggest comic book stores on Long Island is also one of the oldest — 4th World Comics in Smithtown, a family owned business that’s been around for more than 30 years. Terence Fischette took over the place in 2019 but it all started with his parents who bought a small shop in 1988 that had been in business six years. “My dad was a customer who would go in every Wednesday, get comics, and he decided to take a [risk] and buy it. He was an accountant, didn’t really love the suit-and-tie everyday thing and he wanted to switch it up.”
“He’s like a hippie at heart,” Terence says of his father. “He had long hair forever. Then he got the accountant job and he had to wear a suit and cut his hair short. He just hated that routine. He was reading comics his whole life and just loved it. So when he saw that ‘for sale’ sign, I think he saw an opportunity. Back then, like in the 1980s, comics obviously weren’t like they were now. It was risky, everybody thought he was crazy.”
Terence pauses. “Actually, I was born like a month before they bought it. I have a four-month-old son and I can’t imagine switching my career and doing all this crazy stuff.” He chuckles.
Unlike his father, Terence was not the biggest comic book fan growing up. “I didn’t really read them too much. I had like a little collection of shiny covers but I was more into sports.”
Terence got paid to work at 4th World Comics in high school but didn’t start liking comics until his late teens. “I think I was 16. My dad gave me Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore,” Terence remembers. “I read that and it kind of opened my eyes. Like ‘wow, this is more than just kid stuff and it could be adult.’ So that kind of got me more into comics and I started reading every Wednesday and the rest is history.”
Terence, now 35 years old, knew he wanted to take over the store once he hit his mid 20s. He calls it a “no brainer.”
“I ended up falling in love with it…meeting all the customers.” His father officially retired in 2019 but worked at the shop part-time, three or four days a week. With the advent of COVID-19, his father retired completely. “He didn’t really want to retire,” Terence says. “I didn’t want to take the chance.” Terence kept himself busy at the store. As restaurants and the world around them closed, 4th World Comics stayed open through the pandemic.
“It was a weird three months. I could be in the store but I couldn’t have any employees with me,” Terrance says. “I just did curbside pick up and shipping. It was kind of depressing. I shut the lights off to save money, so it was just me working in the dark for four hours a day. We have crazy loyal customers — people who moved like years ago and they started buying stuff from us online or they called the shop — to help support us during the pandemic. So we got a lot of sales like that too.”
‘It was kind of depressing. I shut the lights off to save money, so it was just me working in the dark for four hours a day.’
— Terence Fischette, owner of 4th World Comics, reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic
The sign above the shop says “Comics & Toys,” which are its number one and number two sellers respectively. The door sensor will alert the friendly staff when a customer enters. Immediately, visitors see a wall of collectibles and toys like Funko POP’s and action figures. On the other side of the shop, more expensive merchandise and high-priced comics are safe behind the counter. In the middle and back of the shop is where the comic books are — new issues, back issues, and trade paperbacks.
Terence believes in the industry’s future because of the comic-book-based movies and TV shows. “I love it. It’s awesome,” he says. “Some people just watch the shows but they end up coming down, always wanting to see where it came from and how it started. They’re just mainstream now which is good so I don’t see it going away.”
Terence echoes the word that many diehards use to describe how newcomers react to the comic book scene — intimidating. “There’s just so much,” he says. “We have a lot of new readers, the first time they come in and have no idea where to start. You see The Amazing Spider-Man, like 800 issues. Trade paperbacks are a good way to start because they reprint the books in order, so you don’t have to track down single issues. If you’re into character, I would start with that character and then branch out from there. And I would stick to newer stuff too because sometimes people want to read Spider-Man from the 1960s with Stan Lee and it’s really tough to get through. I would say stick to something from the last 5 to 10 years. It’ll probably grab you more.”
The Featured Comic Book Shops
Golden Memories Comics (Selden)
Red Shirt Comics (Port Jefferson)
Lost Planet Comics and Collectibles (Bay Shore)
Next Generation Comics & Cards (Central Islip)
4th World Comics (Smithtown)
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