GARFIELD RIDGE — This is a place where neighborhood kids get lost in the worlds of superheroes, monsters and warlocks.
In the lounge of Top Cut Comics, a fantasy nerd’s paradise at 6390 S. Archer Ave., you’ll always find some kind of game unfolding, whether it’s Yu Gi Oh, Dungeons & Dragons or Magic: The Gathering.
“This is something the neighborhood desperately needs,” said Jimmy Ballard, the store’s owner. “They’re cutting programs at schools and putting kids on the streets. If you kicked a kid out of here they’d be devastated.”
Ballard, a 42-year-old father of two, started hanging out at comic shops in 2002, when his son and daughter got into Pokemon — a Japanese card game centered around fictional creatures called Pokemon, which humans train to battle each other.
The Ballards got pretty good at the game, practicing every week at their neighborhood shop: Collect-A-Card N’ Comics, a local haunt for comic book fanatics and gamers.
In 2006, Ballard won Second Place in the prestigious 2006 Pokemon Trading Card Game World Championships in Anaheim, Calif. His son, James, took fifth place in the 10-and-Under division.
“I’m all about the chess element of the game,” Ballard said. “I don’t care about the characters.”
After his big win in Anaheim, the owner of Collect-A-Card N’ Comics got a job in Texas and decided to sell the business. Ballard took over.
Today, the store carries all the top comic titles from DC, Marvel, Image and other big publishers, as well as trade paperbacks and graphic novels.
Ballard does more than half his business in gaming, selling dice, boards and cards.
On any given day, you’ll find dozens of kids and teens packed into the game room for weekly sanctioned tournaments. You can find a complete listing of Top Cut's tournaments and card events on the official website.
Top Cut Comics is open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays.
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