When I lived in Germany, I used a great comic service out of Berlin called Black Dog Comics. I sent Dirk, the owner, a list of the books I read and the indie writers I followed, and every three or four weeks, I would get a package in my mailbox with about a dozen comics. Not only did he get the few mainstream things I read, but he was able to get all of the indie books (and some of the back issues I missed).
Black Dog was great because I didn't have the time to manage all of my subscriptions... and he never missed a book, ever.
When I moved back to the city, I thought I would be able to visit my old standby, Comix Experience, every week or two, but the fates conspired to keep that from happening - which makes their subscription system impossible to manage as it requires regular visits to get the monthly order form and to send it in.
But when I visited James at Isotope, I was pleasantly surprised to get the sort of service that I had become accustomed to in Germany. Over the next few weeks, I funneled all of my regular books over to him, and since then, regardless of if I showed up once a week or once every two months, every book was waiting for me - including special orders, graphic novels and everything in between. On many occasions, I've picked up a number 3 of a series and asked if he could find the first two issues I missed, and like clockwork, the next time I came in, the back issues were waiting for me.
Not only is James a great shop owner and a Mac user, but personally turned me on to Jade (the multi-level bar up the street) and hooked me up with a shifter card for drinks at Sauce. James runs a comic shop that hardcore comic geeks and the occasional funny book reader can feel comfortable going to.
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