WARP NINE COMICS SHOP

We've been sticking close to home during the pandemic with my wife or I really only going out to resupply on essentials. With that in mind, my son really hasn't been out to a store in quite awhile. So when I suggested we head over to a comic book shop to pick up some stuff to read over the long Fourth of July holiday weekend he we very excited to get out of the house.

The two of us drove over to our favorite local comic book shop, Warp 9 Comics in Clawson, Michigan. We made an appointment for a time slot to stop by as the building has occupancy restrictions as part of Michigan's coronavirus health regulations so besides the friendly staff at the store we had the place to ourselves to browse around. My son and I also wore masks during the visit but that didn't damper our enthusiasm to be experience a bit of normalcy again doing something that had just a few months again been something routine we often did together.

He was very happy to find a new issue of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham on the store's shelves. He's been a fan of this character since seeing the animated film Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse which featured a Peter Porker cameo. This was initially billed as a five-issue mini-series that began last December. But Issue 5 which he bought during our visit is described as the Spring Finale? My son's really hopes that means this Spider-Ham series was popular enough to keep the story going!

I picked up for myself during our visit to the comic book shop a special one-shot issue of The Walking Dead titled NEGAN LIVES! While The Walking Dead comic book series came to a surprising conclusion in 2019, its publisher wanted to do something special for retailers who are struggling due to the coronavirus impact on the economy. So The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman released on July 1 this story that wraps up some loose ties from the ending of comic book series.

The goal of this comic book is to help get people back into comic book shops. Negan Lives #1 will not be available digitally and will be available exclusively at comic book shops. Plus 100% of the revenue generated from sales of Negan Lives #1 will go to the stores selling it. Most comic shops are locally owned small businesses that depend on foot traffic to stay afloat so it is nice to see a publisher making a specific effort to do something special to lend them a hand.

Negan Lives #1 gives readers a glimpse into what has happened to one The Walking Dead's most popular characters since he was last spotted in The Walking Dead #174. The series ended with issue #193 without any definitive answer to Negan's fate. Issue #174 had Negan confronted by a vengeful Maggie, still heartbroken and furious over the murder of her husband Glenn, from back in The Walking Dead #100. It left readers with a cliff hanger on Negan's fate which is answered in this new 36-page black and white coloring book.

When was the last time you visited a comic book shop? If it has been awhile and you are interested in getting back into the hobby, click here to locate a store near you. We are going to be relaxing this holiday weekend reading some comic books. Hope you have an enjoyable Fourth of July too!