Book Store Tour – California Stop #2: MELTDOWN COMICS

The next stop on my California Book Store Tour is Meltdown Comics on Sunset Boulevard (est. 1993).

First thing you notice when you walk through the door is that this is one serious comic store: It’s huge! Which is a very good thing. The choice of titles – be it single issues or collections, was brilliant, and I hope I have the chance to have a proper rummage through their shelves and racks before I leave for New York next month. The store’s light and open, too, so it’s also a pleasant shopping experience.

I Googled Comic Book Stores with my LA zip code, and it suggested Meltdown as one of three closest to where I’m staying. Meltdown just happened to be closest to where I was headed on the day, so off I went. If I hadn’t been searching for DC Comic’s New 52 titles, I probably never would have stumbled across this store.

The reboot of so many titles has been the perfect opportunity for me to get (back) into the comic medium, and with so many titles to choose from, I wanted to find somewhere that offered as many of them as possible – Meltdown has almost all of them, but I think there are a couple of titles that have completely sold out, now. Regardless, they had all the titles I wanted to try, so I was more than happy.

View from the front

Comic Bins

Not only was the choice excellent, but the staff member on duty was really helpful and friendly (I’m sorry, I didn’t catch her name – short hair, dyed purple-pink). As someone who is relatively new to the wider world of comics (having rarely strayed from my Marvel/X-Men comfort zone), I really appreciated her help in selecting some of the New 52 that might suit my tastes and her willingness to run all over the store to help me find stuff (apparently, I’m terrible at navigating comic stores…). On my second visit, all the staff were very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. If I lived in LA, this would definitely become a frequent stopping point. There’s no pretension, here, just a love for comics and related products and interests.

Meltdown offer a wealth of events at their location, too: from signings to “Meltdown University” (which hosts events about writing, drawing, producing and much more). On Wednesday 28th, the writers of two DC Comics’ New 52 titles – I Vampire and Blackhawks – were on site signing their debut issues, and were kind enough to have a quick chat:

Josh Fialkov (I, Vampire) & Mike Costa (Blackhawks)

Location, location, location…

7522 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046

(Click to enbiggen – I hope)

Opening Times…

Meltdown is open every day 11am to 9pm, but on Wednesday it’s open 10am to 10pm (comic release day, it would appear).

So, if you happen to find yourself in the Sunset Blvd area, I’d definitely recommend dropping in: a great selection, friendly staff and pleasant atmosphere.

Purchased at Meltdown: Game of Thrones #1, Neil Gaiman’s Stardust, and 10 DC New 52 (Batman, Batman: Dark Knight, I Vampire, Resurrection Man, Demon Knights, Grifter, Suicide Squad, Blackhawks, Men of War, and All-Star Western)