Bookshelf

When it comes to comics, I’m cut from a different cloth in that I gravitate towards Asterix and Tintin. Sure, it may have something to do with growing up overseas.
I’m guessing there are other comic book /​graphic novels stores in town — but this is the only one I know.
As you would expect, it’s a bit worn out — and is quite eclectic in layout. Frequent clients may very well be those coming with bags of coins — but plastic is accepted as well.
I just picked up two Asterix’s that I had in French, but not in English (Son of Asterix and Magic Carpet). Both were Hachette (not Dargaud) — and they felt VERY new (not the card-​stock paper of the ‘70s.
If comics are your game, then I suspect this is a MUST destination for you. I can’t imagine them not having what you’re looking for.

This is one of the best local stores to find old sci-​fi and fantasy books on the cheap. He also carries tons of cool comic books and graphic novel series that you can basically only find online like the Philip K. Dick series. You may have to have a conversation with the owner, but I don’t know why everyone complains, I think he’s hilarious! And very nice if you play into his rants.

Ugh! What an awful place. Hot and unkempt.
I walked in and asked the older fellow behind the counter if he had any silver age Marvel comics. He responded (in an unpleasant tone), «The market for those is like Hillary Clinton: fat and ugly.»
Unsure whether that meant he did or he didn’t, I sought clarification. He then proceeded to tell me that he didn’t have any because no one wanted to buy those and began a bitter screed, decrying «kids today.» This wasn’t a wistful or nostalgic musing, but a bile-​filled rant.
His stock was extremely limited and I left without engaging him in conversation again.
I leave Tallahassee tomorrow, but will recommend The Secret Headquarters as the best of the comic shops in Tallahassee. The Cosmic Cat people were very nice but their shop was cramped and disorganized.

Great used science fiction and fantasy book section. There’s always many new titles to hungrily hunt or drool over. And one truly interesting experience awaits you inside…

I’ve been coming to the Bookshelf since I moved to Tallahassee since 2006 and it’s my favorite comic book/​book store in town. Tom is knowledgeable when it comes to used books and comics. He has a great selection and if he doesn’t have it he can track it down. He also has a great pull list service if you want your comics waiting for you every week. All in all a great local store in town. Stop in if you are looking for comics or books and say hi to Tom the owner who is behind the counter every day.

I always stop in while visiting Tally since they have by far and away the best comic and scifi/​fantasy collection in the area (which doesn’t say a lot but see what it will be like when it’s gone). They don’t have an especially robust rotation of used books but they do have a wide inventory of new comics and collectibles.

I gave this place two stars for nostalgic value. See – I came here as a kid and often left with an armload of Asimov and Edgar Rice Burroughs and Stephen King. Most visits, when my mother wasn’t looking, I’d casually walk by the vintage Playboy table to get a peek or two at some airbrushed woman in an American flag bikini. Judging from some of those women’s hairdos, I’d say The Bookshelf owner apparently collected every single issue dating back from the 1200s.
Unfortunately, the only thing that has changed about The Bookshelf since the days of my childhood is my own perception of the place. The building itself is dingy and hot, with oscillating fans stirring the air, which always stinks of whatever fast food the owner is devouring behind the counter. While his appetite has not diminished, his waistline certainly has. The Playboy table is still there in the corner, but now I find those cardboard boxes full of used smut more like a tragic symbol of social failure than of alluring forbidden fruit.
So – If you are looking for paperback novels commonly found on grocery store checkout racks or comic books, then you might find something at The Bookshelf worth checking out.
However, you should come prepared with headphones and an ipod. Perhaps some loud heavy metal. Why? Because you might accidentally enter into conversation with the owner, who will undoubtedly force you to listen to a cynical right-​wing political commentary. Once, I asked how he was doing – just to be nice. I didn’t care at all, actually – and, a propos of nothing, he blamed the decline of his bookstore and the economy at large on someone named «Osama Hussein Obama.»
For a real indie bookstore, try the Paperback Rack!