Black-Owned And Operated Comic Shops That Will Level Up Your Fandom

The boom era of comic book adaptations has continued in 2021, bringing the long-awaited Zack Snyder cut of Justice League, Black Widow, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home to the big-screen (or whatever screen you choose, in some cases).

As for television proper, we were blessed with WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye, Sweet Tooth, Invincible, and several others.

Watching these superheroes and super-villains onscreen, and in live-action and animation can and often does inspire fans to seek out the comic books that inspired these stories. Though there are many bookstores for these fans to give their money to, those stores usually aren’t owned and operated by minorities, and any comic-book fan who isn’t an able-bodied white man isn’t always made to feel as welcome or appreciated when they come through the door. Nor are they likely to find as many curated options from indie creators of color who are trying to get some much-needed exposure. That’s why we wanted to create this list, highlighting some of the best and most celebrated Black-owned and Black-operated comic book stores across the country, giving you an opportunity to seek them out and spend your money there while discovering stories from both familiar and all-new characters and creators.

Since it first opened its doors in December of 2015, Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse has gained media attention for being the first Black-owned comic-book store on the East Coast owned by a Black woman. “I want to be very proactive and conscious to make sure we are carrying diverse titles,” stated Ariell Johnson, the store’s owner in a 2016 interview with CNN. “The smaller stuff, the independent stuff, the more diverse stuff that you really have to look for and I think it’s worth it. Seeing people representative of you can be important in your development and your self-esteem.”

In addition to shopping Amalgam, you can also help support operations as the shop continues to weather the pandemic via their GoFundMe.

For those fans who love tabletop games as much as they do comic books, Challenges Games And Comics has a large selection to choose from. Games such as Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, and Magic: The Gathering can be found next to the usual Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men books. And the store’s owner, Tony Cade, is never not busy, getting into the comic book publishing space as the founder of Terminus Media (here he is talking all about that effort with Bleeding Cool in 2014) and conventions as the promoter of The Atlanta Science Fiction and Fantasy Expo.