Post by Mark Sieber on Feb 2, 2020 21:34:28 GMT
Bender's is a comic book shop in my area. Back in the 80's I used to go there constantly. Once a week if I could. I wasn't a comics guy anymore at that point, but Bender's had a pretty good horror section. I would buy my Fangorias there. I saw my first issue of Cemetery Dance on a shelf at Bender's (it was the Rick Hautala special). I discovered Deep Red Magazine at Bender's. Film Threat. They used to carry new horror paperbacks and I bought a lot from the store.
Years went by and times changed. The Internet drastically altered the way we all shop. Bender's stopped carrying horror merchandise. I think I was the only one buying the stuff, anyway.
I never completely stopped going, but I have slowed way down. There almost never seems to be anything new there. At least for my tastes. They make their living with comics. I do stop in from time to time, and this morning I dropped in and bought a couple of books. A nice trade paperback of Volume One of The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch, and a hardcover of the classic Peter Haining anthology, The Ghouls.
You can get lost in Bender's. It's a stuffy old place, with junk everywhere. Old toys, ancient magazines, books, old comics. Pretty disorganized, but that's part of its charm. I've taken some of my horror friends there, like Jim Marshall and Jason Cavallaro.
I had a dream on Friday night. About Bender's. In the dream I realized how long it had been since I had been to the place, and I was unutterably sad. I woke up with a strong urge to go again.
When I go I feel the need to buy something. They are obviously struggling. Online shopping, the decline of the newspaper (which was one of their biggest sellers),and other factors have taken a toll on the store. So, while I cannot do a whole lot on my own, I do try to throw them a few bucks.
Years went by and times changed. The Internet drastically altered the way we all shop. Bender's stopped carrying horror merchandise. I think I was the only one buying the stuff, anyway.
I never completely stopped going, but I have slowed way down. There almost never seems to be anything new there. At least for my tastes. They make their living with comics. I do stop in from time to time, and this morning I dropped in and bought a couple of books. A nice trade paperback of Volume One of The Complete Stories of Robert Bloch, and a hardcover of the classic Peter Haining anthology, The Ghouls.
You can get lost in Bender's. It's a stuffy old place, with junk everywhere. Old toys, ancient magazines, books, old comics. Pretty disorganized, but that's part of its charm. I've taken some of my horror friends there, like Jim Marshall and Jason Cavallaro.
I had a dream on Friday night. About Bender's. In the dream I realized how long it had been since I had been to the place, and I was unutterably sad. I woke up with a strong urge to go again.
When I go I feel the need to buy something. They are obviously struggling. Online shopping, the decline of the newspaper (which was one of their biggest sellers),and other factors have taken a toll on the store. So, while I cannot do a whole lot on my own, I do try to throw them a few bucks.