Coolest Comic Shop in Squirrel Hill

UPDATE: Copacetic Comics has moved out of Squirrel Hill and moved their web pages. Some of the links below may not work.

It’s one of those things I try to find when I move someplace. I use Google Maps and the phonebook to find them and then I visit them all.

But somehow, I missed one and it was only 4 blocks away!

And it’s a great comic shop, too! It’s 3 blocks from Forbes in Squirrel Hill, next to the Police Department on Northumberland between Murray and Shady.

Oh, and it’s called Copacetic Comic Company.

I visited the first time, on Thursday, just to check out where it was. I went there right after work and checked it out. I was very impressed. I bought a bunch of comics I hadn’t picked up yet anyplace else (in part because some were new, like Osamu Tezuka’s Buddha: Devadatta, vol. 3 in trade paperback), not always at my regular comic haunts (like Krazy Kat — 1931-1932) or strange things, like McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern issue #19. I was impressed and decided to visit again.

I brought Robin along on a Saturday. She’s my ultimate comic store critic. She hasn’t been too happy with any of the shops in the area and generally leaves before I do. When it took her over 15 minutes just to enter the store, past the small shelf and box outside, I knew that it was a great place.

And the thing that makes it great: the selection. I don’t mean selection like Barnes and Nobles does; I mean selection as in each book was selected by someone who knew what was good and what wasn’t and (more importantly) what will be good. It’s obvious the instant you enter the shop; Someone carefully chose what should and shouldn’t be in the store.

The store is a tiny place. It looks like someone’s mud room had had it’s walls covered with book shelves and filled with comics. A chair sits in the corner (comfy of course) near the front window. I don’t think I could actually sit for very long with that many books to look at.

The inventory consists of various books, trade paperback comics, some DVDs, CDs, and a few other odds and ends. As I said before, it is obvious that everything has been selected because it’s good and interesting. The store stocks a bunch of local and self-published comics in addition to the more normal kind. I usually ignore the front window in a store, but Robin pointed out that two of the comics that I bought were actually in the window. Next time I go, I’ll check out the window display first.

And if that weren’t enough, here’s the part that makes this comic store great: everything is cheaper than cover price. It’s strange; like discovering that the Tooth Fairy not only exists, but lives down the street across from Eris. If a book doesn’t have a price, it’s 10% off the cover price.

So, if you have a hankering for a good comic store, then head on out to Copacetic Comic Company.

Ciao!

Copacetic Comics Co.
3138 Dobson Street
Third Floor
Pittsburgh, PA
15219