n8soundcast

Posted by astrokitty75 (anonymous) on June 28, 2005 at 1:03 p.m.

Thanks to Miles Bonny for his top-notch interview and I dig the edit. I was really excited to have people want to interview me and help me get the word out about the new shop...since I haven't put any money into the conventional advertising arenas yet. We're in a neat, old building and I really dig it here...but at the same time it's really going to be an effort to get people to wander in here as much as they did at Mass. St. Comics. Astrokitty Comics is so much more than what we had going on there, though, and I hope people find us and support our experiment in redefining comic book, toy, and gaming retail store experiences. We have a URL now, too, and I urge ya'll to keep checking in with us at http://www.astrokittycomics.com for upcoming event info. and many of the features I discussed in the interview. Please let me know, too, what you think...do you like the new space/shop? Do you not? Let me know!

Joel

Posted by emilyhadley (Emily Hadley) on June 29, 2005 at 5:23 a.m.

I am excited about Astrokitty Comics, in the old Let It Ride space on 8th & NH. I don't know if he remembers, but Joel is the only comic book store employee that I ever spoke to about feeling uncomfortably female in a comic store, and he also listened empathetically to my complaints about being an indie/"girl comic" fan getting scoffed at by the die-hard Marvel/DC collectors.
After working in a shop (where I could pore over those unlabeled boxes and bins on my own), it wasn't worth the trouble of both explaining who Dark Horse and SLG were AND having my Kabukis smeared with fresh pepperoni grease by a clerk too busy getting an eyeful to take my requests (while surrounded by the usual lurkers). Disheartened, I think I actually handed a stack of comics to Joel once, asking him to find them new homes. Never having parted with a comic before, I didn't even try to sell them, just to avoid the commentary from the peanut gallery (selling CDs to one person is bad enough!)
Joel's commitment to creating a store where everyone can feel welcome to shop and check out new books and toys is one that is needed in every town. It's already inspired me to pull my comics off the shelf, and I felt my first twinge of regret for letting some go. Toys, comics, and graphic novels are art forms with so much artistic and storytelling diversity, from Neil Gaiman to Eric Drooker to Yuko Shimizu; virtually anyone can find something in the comic world that they will enjoy, and Astrokitty sounds like a good place to start exploring.
Thanks, Miles--keep up the n8soundcasts!

Posted by Mischka (anonymous) on May 10, 2006 at 6:56 p.m.

This is a way old article, but I wanted to comment that I agree with Emily, in that Joel has created a very "all-welcome" store. I have felt like the "odd-girl-out" at some comic book stores, and yet I can always find friendly conversation and respect at Astrokitty's. I'm happy that he makes it easy to support local business.