It was a sad day for St. Louis comics fans when Star Clipper Comics closed down in January, but a happier day when owners of a local comics shop chain have resurrected the name with fixtures and employees.
Hoping to fill the void left by Star Clipper’s closure, Steve Unverferth and Tony Favello, co-owners of Fantasy Books, Inc., purchased the store’s fixtures for their Wash. Ave. store and even hired four of the Trujillos’ former employees. Unverferth and Favello didn’t have a name for their shop yet, but it was easy for Trujillo to see how this new store — a long, narrow space with hardwood floors that had formerly housed an art gallery and a dojo — could channel the spirit of its popular predecessor.
I’m told that the Fantasy Books chain doesn’t quite have the indie focus of the original Star Clipper, but hopefully some of the employees from the old shop can port over a bit of that sensibility. The new Star Clipper was set up with former owner Benjamin Trujillo’s full cooperation.
The new store opens in early April.
This is great news. I was enormously saddened when Starclipper announced they were closing, as it was the comic shop I visited every Wednesday (well, mostly Wednesdays). I’m hoping the local comics community will support the new owners and location as we tend to be a little reluctant to go downtown here in St. Louis. Good luck to all involved and I’ll definitely stop by when you’re open.
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