Double Midnight Year 1

The next few blogs I'm going to go over the first few years of Double Midnight Comics.

Back in 2002 there was a void. Voids need to be filled, so that's what 3 guys did. After a meeting at the Backroom (for chicken tenders of course) Chris, Brett and myself decided we needed to open a comic store that suited our needs. There were a few stores selling comics, but nothing that we would willing bring our significant others to. There were a few major things we needed to decide, what to name it and where to open it. We had tossed around Double Midnight Presents (based on Double Midnight Productions which was founded by Chris & Brett). We shortened it so the comics and collectibles part would be more prevalent and people would know what we sold. We had looked at a few places until we decided on the Maple Valley plaza.

The next hurdle we faced was funding. Where was the money going to come from? That's a long story I'll tell you in person... the only thing I will tell you is that friends do not always make good business partners.

We researched a little and found places that sold used fixtures and took advantage of some businesses that were closing and grabbed some good deals. My good friend Eric and his brother built the cash wrap for us and it's still standing after 7 years! I love traveling and seeing other stores to see what they've done, there's always something new to do at the store.

Looking back I realize I didn't know what I was getting into. I've learned a lot over the last 7 years. I had no idea what went into ordering comics, how to order games and what will sell and what won't (there's no magical formula). It's been great learning from other retailers (and I got to actually give my advice to others recently!).

It's interesting looking back and seeing the people that have come through our doors. Many friendships have been forged.

I still remember seeing the long boxes on the floor while we entered them into the computer, meeting our first customer (he was passing by and told us we'd see him every day, which didn't last the week), watching Linh, Carlton, Justin and Joe ransack out back issues (and continue to do so to this day) and sitting around trying to figure out who was going to close the store each day.

Stay tuned for year 2...