Comic Shop Review: Nostalgia Plus Richmond, VA

Hard to miss it from the outside

I had the pleasure of travelling to Richmond, Va recently and visiting Nostalgia Plus was one of the highlights of my trip. This is my kind of comic book store. Full to the brim with one thing, comics.

The brightly lit shop is chock full of books. The new books are well stocked so if you haven't been to the shops in a few Wednesday's chances are you won't miss an issue. The recent back issues bins are great too, Alphabetized and organized by the publishers. There were also a good deal of older back issues.


The next most important thing I look for in a comic shop is the quality of service, and I found that to be very good as well. I was greeted upon entering, and despite it being a Tuesday afternoon, when the new books for Wednesday are being sorted out, I was readily helped out. The shop owners, Martha & Marvin, were both on hand to point me in the direction of anything I was looking for. Martin in particular offered a wealth of knowledge on comics, and was ready to engage in friendly conversation.

Martha sorts out the new books for subscribers.

 In talking with Marvin I learned the store had been opened for 37 years. Making it one of the older stores in the country and probably the oldest in Virginia. It is probably the longest running store I have visited. Martha is the shop owner, who inherited it from her brother when he, "moved on to other things." Starting as a comics and cards store they phased the cards portion out and let comics take their full attention. Their passion for the product still shows. Even on a busy work day they had time to talk shop with a loud, nosy tourist.

This type of shop may not be for everyone. It is first and foremost a comic BOOK store. It is not a comic TOY store, it is not a GRAPHIC NOVEL store. They have trades, and some toys, and will order stuff for you, but mostly they have lots and lots and lots of comic books. You will find your self sorting through things, and maybe moving things to find books you want. I'm not sure what the limits are on rummaging, but the long boxes are stacked three high and run 21 long! There are tons of back issues here.

This leads to on of the problems in the store. The new comics wall is a a little too full. Having so many books in their metal framed holders made them a little hard to get out. Sadly when those same holders are more empty the books may sag over them and the bend a little. I don't know anyone who thinks they are getting a CGC 9.9 off the wall of their local shop, but still I do want my books mostly free of cover damage. I hate to dog the store on this, but it was a noticeable negative.

This store is a real gem. I found all the comics I was looking for, and few I didn't know I was looking for too. The owners were great, helpful and chatty. Reading some reviews on line I found some negative comments about customer service, but they are answered by the owner, which in itself tells you that they care about taking care of their store. I didn't find them to be disinterested or mean, quite the opposite actually.  After 37 years in business Martha and Marvin know their stuff. I will definitely be back and am telling my friends to visit too.