Urban Discoveries Baltimore

Lately, it seems as everyone’s a nerd.  Maybe it’s just that after high school everyone worth knowing is up to their ears in geeky passion because living any other way is a little sad.  Beyond that, though, it seems that high school geek culture – the culture of D&D, Lord of the Rings and sweating any time a girl looks your way – is relevant now.  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and The Brief Wondrous Live of Oscar Wao, two novels steeped in comic books and science fiction, bookended the decade with Pulitzer Prizes.  During the summer, you can’t spit without hitting a superhero movie or their newly dedicated fanboys.  If high school cool cost you key knowledge in the battle for adulthood geek-chic, check out these Baltimore comic book shops to get caught up.

Amazing Spiral, formerly Comic Kingdom, has one of the largest collections of graphic novels we’ve ever seen.   Located in the Rotunda directly across from the Rotunda Theater, Amazing Spiral is chock full of new releases, back issues, t-shirts, action figures, and real live books without all them fancy pictures.  In fact, if you’d like you can trade in regular, non-comic books in exchange for store credit.  Check with the store for details, but if you can’t trust the City Paper’s four-time Best Comic Book Store winner, who can you trust?

Graphic Novelty and Alliance Comics are Baltimore’s two newest sources for geekery.  Both opened this past fall, Alliance Comics in Federal Hill (904 Light Street) and Graphic Novelty in Fell’s Point (1712 Thames Street).  Graphic Novelty holds a special place in our heart, name dropping Doctor Who on their webpage (which, if you haven’t seen the new series, OMG!) and Magic the Gathering booster drafts.  Alliance Comics is no joke either; they’re holding a New Year’s Sale and Celebration December 30th with nearly everything 50 percent off.  And while they may be new to Baltimore, they’re familiar with Maryland; their store in Silver Spring has been in business for 13 years.

Atomic Books in Hampden (3620 Falls Avenue) isn’t quite a traditional comic book store, but it isn’t a traditional bookstore either.  If you’ve ever heard of an underground comic that no one else seems to have or heard of, check the shelves here.  It’s not a guarantee, but the odds are decent.  Last time we were there they had complete runs of classic Peanuts, Dennis the Menace and Dick Tracy on the shelves.  All of those were hardcover, gorgeous and lovely, and only managed to hold our attention for three minutes before we discovered something else that we just had to have.

Where’s your favorite spot to buy funny books in Baltimore?

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