While attending UAF, I loved going to the Comic Shop. For me, it was a type of haven. I had learned about it from a classmate of mine who was a co-owner (we were both taking conversational Japanese--which was business related for him) and visited for the first time the summer when I also worked in Chicken, Alaska. It was during the time of the famous Death of Superman run, as well as Star Wars: Dark Empire (which is no longer canon). For me, I was hooked on Marvel's new 2099 universe (primarily Spider-Man). The store also carried Dungeons and Dragons books and figurines, as well as a wide variety of geeky memorabilia. I thought then that it would be the best place in the world to own.
When we toured Fairbanks again this past spring, I made certain to visit the store. It was where I left it; although it had clearly expanded into the stores that had been next to it. If anything, the place was even more amazing. The boys and Katrina were all quite impressed by it as well.
This week, I visited the main Bosco's establishment for the first time (I have been to the Dimond Mall's branch a couple of times before). We were looking for Dominion expansions. While we did not find the ones we wanted, we found a wide variety of other unexpected joys that not only put us in the mood to play D&D again, but also made me think again about the old idea of running such a store.
Soldotna has a similar store (Hobbies, Crafts & Games) which is a nice place (even if missing the Oxford comma), but it is significantly more limited in selection and is completely missing the comic book aspect. I find myself looking at various open spaces, wondering how a comic shop might fit in, but I don't think it would be quite practical here. I know that even in higher population areas, these sorts of stores can be difficult to keep in business. Still, that doesn't stop me from daydreaming from time to time.