Grotesque Anatomy
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Big Brain Hits Big Time
Speedy blogger Kevin Melrose has already linked to this, but I wanted to give a shout-out to local comic shop owner Michael Drivas, who gets a nice write-up today in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The article does a good job describing what sets Michael's shop Big Brain Comics apart from the stereotype most non-comic-readers probably envision when they think "comic book store." For one thing, Michael's not afraid of the "Geek" label; in fact, he embraces it, stamping bags and T-shirts with the reclaimed insult in big red letters. (I have one of the "GEEK" T-shirts and I always get a lot of curious looks when I wear it out in public.) I have yet to visit the new store (it just recently relocated from one side of Downtown Minneapolis to the other), but the description in the Strib sounds appealing: "Giant wooden bookshelves outline Big Brain's exposed brick interior, while metallic air ducts and a mix of sophisticated and retro lighting fixtures hang overhead." Furniture isn't mentioned, but I'm sure Michael will have some comfy chairs for customers to plop down into at the new shop. That was one of the things that most impressed me about the old Big Brain: Who'd ever heard of a comic shop owner encouraging customers to lounge around and read comics? What did he think his shop was -- a library??
Anyway, congrats to Michael on getting such positive coverage in the local media -- complete with a sequential art story featuring him as the lead character, no less! (Unfortunately, the short comic isn't included in the online version of the story, but maybe I'll try to scan it in later if I have time.) And I look forward to visiting the new shop soon. The article said Big Brain doesn't deal in back issues, but I'm sure Michael will want to look through my collection of old Spider-Man comics. I have a feeling this one comic titled "Maximum Clonage Alpha" is really going to be worth something someday.
Speedy blogger Kevin Melrose has already linked to this, but I wanted to give a shout-out to local comic shop owner Michael Drivas, who gets a nice write-up today in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The article does a good job describing what sets Michael's shop Big Brain Comics apart from the stereotype most non-comic-readers probably envision when they think "comic book store." For one thing, Michael's not afraid of the "Geek" label; in fact, he embraces it, stamping bags and T-shirts with the reclaimed insult in big red letters. (I have one of the "GEEK" T-shirts and I always get a lot of curious looks when I wear it out in public.) I have yet to visit the new store (it just recently relocated from one side of Downtown Minneapolis to the other), but the description in the Strib sounds appealing: "Giant wooden bookshelves outline Big Brain's exposed brick interior, while metallic air ducts and a mix of sophisticated and retro lighting fixtures hang overhead." Furniture isn't mentioned, but I'm sure Michael will have some comfy chairs for customers to plop down into at the new shop. That was one of the things that most impressed me about the old Big Brain: Who'd ever heard of a comic shop owner encouraging customers to lounge around and read comics? What did he think his shop was -- a library??
Anyway, congrats to Michael on getting such positive coverage in the local media -- complete with a sequential art story featuring him as the lead character, no less! (Unfortunately, the short comic isn't included in the online version of the story, but maybe I'll try to scan it in later if I have time.) And I look forward to visiting the new shop soon. The article said Big Brain doesn't deal in back issues, but I'm sure Michael will want to look through my collection of old Spider-Man comics. I have a feeling this one comic titled "Maximum Clonage Alpha" is really going to be worth something someday.
