I have had an extremely hard time coming across comic books as of late. As far as I know, only two stores carry them in my area: a comic books shop, and a gaming shop.

I distinctly remember being a kid and walking in to just about any given grocery store, book store, or drug store and having a large selection of comic books to chose from. Now everywhere I look comic book sales are extinct. Even Barnes & Nobel has stopped selling monthly titles (you can still acquire graphic novels).

It’s really hard for me to make it to the comic book shop, too. Many times I make my wife do the dirty work because they close at 5pm tuesday, thursday and friday. Saturday and Sunday I’m usually too busy to make it there. Monday’s they are closed and on Wednesday they’re open until 6pm, unless business is slow and then they close early.

The gaming shop is pretty much useless for comic books. They have a few on the rack (mainly consisting of old Connan issues and a hefty supply of Dork Tower) but they are in bad shape. The other issues are kept behind the counter because they’re special order only.

Things are different these days. Is it because I am no longer living near Chicago and this area is full of inbred aliterate hicks? Or is this a trend being seen throughout the country?