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Congrats to Brian Heater of the Daily Cross Hatch on starting his new job as an editor at über-popular tech blog Engadget today. Just to show what a dedicated blogger he is, in his week between jobs instead of lying around playing Red Dead Redemption, like we would, he took a few days off to go to Philadelphia and decided to visit a bunch of comics shops and write about them. Although there are a bunch of fine shops, the most intriguing — to us — is Locust Moon, which is based on the “New Model” of comics shop:

Inspiration for the store, he adds, came from Isotope in San Francisco and the sadly-departed Rocketship in Brooklyn—both stores with indie focus that weren’t afraid to stock mainstream books, as well. And Locust Moon, like its predecessors, offers a pretty healthy mix. Stevens, it should be added, is pals with Meathaus co-founder, Farel Dalrymple, who drew the store’s logo and helped paint the Blankets-esque front desk. The original pages from a Stevens/Dalrymple collaboration are framed on one of the store’s wall.

Also of note: A fish tank full of Snorks toys and a giant aquatic frog. A few sheets of paper taped next to the tank keep track of which fish have been added, eaten, or succumbed to other fates. Stevens explains that they were written by two little girls who love Sandman and visit the store on a regular basis.


Well done, Brian! Next how about trying those cheese steaks?

In a separate post, Heater notes that with his new job, his Cross Hatch-dedicated time is likely going to decrease and the site is looking for contributors to carry the torch.

If you’re still on-board, we’d love to see your work. We’re primarily looking for reviews at the moment—people who know webcomics, mini-comics, and assorted small publishers. We’re also always on the lookout for news writers, people who follow the industry, who are capable of writing pithy copy a few times a week.

1 COMMENT

  1. Wow, this blows my mind. He covered a LOT of ground.

    In 2006, there was a comic shop just to the south of City Hall, tho they had t-shirts up front and mainly traded in novelties. Not a great shop, but I got a job near it just as CIVIL WAR and 52 launched and that started a spiral that, thousands of dollars and many posts on THE BEAT later, I am finally out of. My comic book collecting is back under control now.

    I am just sort of stunned that anyone would travel here to check out our retail life. He really went to town with it, too.

    Glad he got a photo of a cat at Fat Jack’s, tho. That’s really the key feature.

  2. Locust Moon leans a little heavier on roll playing games than i like, and it has the faint negative “comic shop smell”, but it is heads and shoulders over any other philly comic shop in terms of indie and non-diamond selection and employee knowledge.

    it’s generally the shop i go to.

  3. Brave New Worlds in Old city is definitely my shop of choice. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and know me by name [even when I’m too poor to visit more than once a month these days!] Having said that, I’m a little embarassed that I didn’t even know Locust Moon existed. But then, University city isn’t really my neck of the woods. Certainly willing to visit though the next time I go to the Rave movie theater on 40th and Walnut.

  4. “In 2006, there was a comic shop just to the south of City Hall, ”

    I recall a shop called Green Onions on Walnut Street, south of City Hall … I thought it disappeared long before ’06.