The Comics Rack

Comic Memories Pt. 2

   Wonderworld Books was the joint venture of Richard Kyle and Fred Patten and, if memory serves me right, they opened the doors sometime in 1972 or 1973. Both Richard and Fred were well known in comic fandom for their informative, and literate, articles on the comics being produced in the US, Europe and Japan (in fact, it was Richard who first coined the term "graphic story"). In order to branch out further, the duo decided to open a store that would feature a full line of comics from around the world and then to continue to write in about the comics in Wonderworld: a magazine that not only discussed comics, but also offered selected volumes from the store stock for sale via mail order. The basic breakdown between the two was that Richard ran the store, Fred handled the mail order (including the comic subscription service) and both had a hand in the magazine.
   My first encounter with the actual store occurred in the summer of 1974. I had been receiving my comics via the subscription service for a number of months when suddenly the shipments stopped. After waiting a couple of weeks, I called only to find out that Fred had contracted a serious case of pneumonia and that the mail order end of things was on hold until he got better and could get caught up on the orders. A couple of more weeks passed and still no comics. Since the time was approaching for me to go to Cal State Long Beach to register for the fall semester and since Wonderworld Books was in Long Beach, I called and made arrangements to pick up all the books that had been pulled for me on the day I went to the University to register.
   The phrase “shock and awe” has been over used a bit in recent years, but I can think of no better phrase to describe how I felt upon entering Wonderworld Books for the first time. Today, comic stores are pretty much taken for granted, but in 1974, there were only a couple of stores that catered to comic fans. Through The Buyer's Guide, we knew they were out there, but for people like me who lived in the sticks...well we had to make due by haunting news stands, convenience stores and the like. So, finding a store that catered to my interests was pretty much a fantasy come true.
   In one section were all the current comics and they weren't in spinner racks, but were up on shelves with the covers all facing out instead of stacked up at random (only Marvel, DC, Archie, Charlton and whatever Gold Key had become in those days). Next to them were the Warren mags and the Marvel black and white magazines. Look to the left and there were fanzines of the time, like The Comic Reader. Over on the right were the undergrounds (Zap? Slow Death? Skull? What were they?). And then there were the foreign comic collections: Hugo Pratt, Druillet, Herge; Disney strips in Italian; actual manga in Japanese; some translated material about this guy Asterix (who?). On another rack were reprints like the Flashback series and behind the main counter were the EC Portfolios that I had read about and, and, and...
   By the end of my visit, I was in a sort of daze. I had 3 months worth of comics and magazines all stacked up in a box, some assorted odds and ends that I had taken off the shelf and a father who thought I was out of my mind (he had driven me down to the University and then taken me to the store...heck, he even paid!). Most importantly, however, I had found a place to hang out in my off time where I could discuss, and learn about, comics, movies and genre fiction.