QUEENS — To Queens comic book fans, this is no laughing matter.
The Comic Den, a beloved comic book store in Kew Gardens, which has been a neighborhood fixture for 25 years, will close at the end of January, the owners said.
“The new generation of readers is going online,” said Janet Vargas, who co-owns the store with her husband Luis, adding that the decision is not rent related. “We don’t have enough readers.”
Over the years, the store served thousands of fans of Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man. It also sold superhero toys and posters, which were all related to comic books.
Initially located on Lefferts Boulevard, across the street from Kew Gardens Cinemas, The Comic Den has been attracting customers from all corners of Queens, as well as from Brooklyn and Manhattan, Vargas said.
Some, she noted, have been coming to the store for more than two decades.
But in recent years, their sales have shrunk to “a drip,” she said, and four years ago the store had to move to a smaller location around the corner, at 82-64 Austin St.
“It’s like a dying hobby,” she noted. “It’s sad, but young people are growing up using all these new technologies.”
Vargas said the store is not the only one affected by the changes in the way people read, referring to Barnes & Noble, which recently closed its Forest Hills location.
The couple said that they are hoping to find at least a little cubicle somewhere in the neighborhood where they could continue selling comic books. But if that’s impossible, they will turn their store into an online business, the owners said.
“We don’t want to move to any other neighborhood,” said Vargas who lives in nearby Richmond Hill. “We've been here from the beginning. Moving somewhere else would mean starting from scratch."
The decision left comic fans devastated.
"It'll be a big loss for the community, especially on the heels of the Forest Hills Barnes & Noble closing," said comic book writer and novelist, Alex Segura, who lives in Kew Gardens.
“It was a much-needed meeting place for Queens comic fans."
The Comic Den, a beloved comic book store in Kew Gardens, will close at the end of January after 25 years in business. (Photo credit: Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska)
