This strip made me a little teary eyed as I assembled it. I decided to name the cheese shop after comic shops that no longer exist in Arizona.
The first one “AAA Best Cheese” is named after the comic shop (AAA Best Comics) that I worked at during my teenage years. The owner, Ken Strack, passed away when I was about 23 years. old. He was a great friend (best man at my wedding) and is truly missed.
The second shop is “Atomic Cheese,” named after a chain of stores in Arizona (Atomic Comics). The owner Mike Malve still plays a roll in the local comic culture scene, even though his shops no longer serve the community.
Take care,
-denny!
Hi! My mind was wandering, and some stray neuron made me think of AAA Best Comics and its owner Ken. I used to work there too, my name is John. If this is who I remember it is, aren’t you the guy whose parents owned the former video store that was on 59th and Olive? My parents used to have a pawn shop. Me and my ex used to come in there and rent vids from you guys.
Anyhoo, I’m really, really saddened to discover that Ken passed away. He died when you were 23, so this must have been quite awhile ago? Sometime in the mid 90s? I don’t mean to be morbid (or perhaps I do), but what did he die of? Was it a heart attack? Wow, really so strange. A friend of mine saw him at a Kay-Bees toy store in the early 90s (92? 93?). I was convinced I’d run into him one of these days…
That’s was the intended reference. I use to help out a AAA Best Comics all the time before Ken passed on. I miss that place and Ken!
Oh, yes I got that. I was talking about a Google search that brought me here originally.
So was it a heart attack? Ken didn’t believe in exercise and I remember him always with a cigarette in his hand. So he must have passed away in his mid 40s? Wow, that’s so young.
I too have fond memories of working/buying comics from there. It always blew me away the selection he had there. Sometimes he would break out with these boxes of books of stuff I had never heard of before. Lots of books from the 70s and 80s and at cheap prices too. Sometimes I got stuck working with his mom on Sundays. That wasn’t too fun, she was kind of a meanie. Possibly because like Ken she had little patience for fools and I was quite the little fool. Oh, and the constant loop of “Sisters of Mercy” he had going on his CD player. LOL! I don’t think I’ve listened to that group since.
Funny you should mention Atomic Comics as that was one of my most vivid memories from working at AAA. The owners of AC came down there once and Ken had me fetch a certain box from the back. It turned out it was full of all these old Sgt. Rock comics in really nice shape. Those AC guys dropped some crazy amount down at the time (like $1500). Really blew my 19 year old mind away. Good times!
Sad to see all they had some issues with an accident at one of their stores and had to close down. I read a car rammed into the place in mesa and they didn’t have insurance. I heard Stalking Moon closed up a couple of years ago as well. I guess the internet and places like eBay have really killed the storefront market. Sorry to see them go!
Not sure why I couldn’t see your whole post until now.
Yeah Ken passed due to a heart attack. Kinda sucked, I was really good friends with him. He was the best man at my wedding. He was like a second father to me.
As for all the stores closing, not sure if it’s ebay or them just not keeping up with the times. There are still quite a few amazing stores in the valley (Jesse James Comics, Drawn to Comics, Samurai Comics, All About Books and Comics, the list goes on and on.)
But these stores all have to handle customers and their products differently than in the 90’s. It seems to be more about the quick sale, than sitting on the books and selling them for full value.
Great to hear from you.