Since 1985, Aftertime Comics has been in Old Town Alexandria on the end of King Street closer to the subway. It's a small store as you can tell from the photos, but they've always crammed a good assortment of comics and books into it. When I stopped in yesterday, I found some obscure stuff:
You Are Maggie Thatcher by Hunt Emerson and Pat Mills
Fandom: Confidential by Ron Frantz
Don Rosa Collection II: The Adventures of Captain Kentucky (Swedish edition!) by Don Rosa
This isn't stuff you could find in most comics stores, including my store, Big Planet. Joel Pollack, founder of the BP chain wrote in to say, "Aftertime is an amazing use of space. Great store, and you can quote me on that."
The address is 1304 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, 703-548-5030.
man, do I love comic book shops. They're always stuffed to overflowing with comics and other cool little items.
ReplyDeleteYes, me too. Chicago Comics was probably the coolest I've ever been in, but I like a clean well-lighted place like Heroes Aren't Hard to Find or Big Planet.
ReplyDeleteI've had mixed experiences with this shop. Sometimes it's a great spot for deeply discounted goods, many of them sought after.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I stopped by there yesterday, and the store was closed. At 1 PM in the afternoon, with a sign saying "will be back at 2." seriously? No one to cover? No employees available? Couldn't make it a quick 5 minute run?
That soured me on Aftertime. I prefer my comic book stores in the city itself (I'm a DC resident). While a neighborhood comic book store's ideal, this one needs a serious facelift and some employees who care a bit more about maintaining a cleanly appearance. The place looks dumpy, and I wonder how much these employees/owners actually care.