I still remember the thrill I felt the first time I walked into a comic shop.
Before that, I had purchased my comics from those spinning metal racks in drug stores and grocery stores. The only back issues I had ever gotten came from flea markets and yard sales.
So when Alternate Worlds opened in Cockeysville, MD, all those years ago, I was there the first day. After all, it was only a ten minute walk from my apartment, even if I did have to cross York Rd, which was scary as hell to a kid of 13 (I think, my memory has never been great when it come to dates).
Concrete steps led down to the little white building that housed the store where I would spend much of my free time for the next few years. Box after box filled with treasures beyond my imagination. Before I had stepped into that store, I had loved comics. Afterwards, that love had become a life long addiction.
The store moved several years later. Not far, just across the street and around the corner, into one of those snazzy shopping centers. It gets more traffic these days. I haven’t been there in ages. Haven’t been back to Maryland in years.
I should stop by the next time I visit Baltimore. Maybe next year.
You should stop by, too, if you’re in the area. I bet Mike McKenzie still owns the place. Tell him Kevin Glover said hello…..
