Before my freshmen year of high school I had never opened a comic book or manga in my life. In fact, it wasn't until I lost my key and got locked out of my parents' house one day that I, upon wandering down Elysian Fields, discovered our neighborhood comic book store, Crescent City Comics. Though now the lot is a semi-level slab of concrete, back then it was a second-story brick suite that sat nestled above Young's dry-cleaning. Having been one of those kids that got a $3 allowance per week, I was thrilled by the existence of a place where I could actually buy my own books, and rent my own videos without having to consult a panel of siblings and parents. What's more so, the guys who ran the place were, and are to this day, some of the coolest people I have ever met. Always glad to have a random conversation, they never complained about my constant hanging around their store, or my frequent request of "May I use your phone to call my mom?" There was even one occasion when I showed up having been drenched from head to toe in a sudden downpour, and the owner lent me his coat to wear home, saying "Don't worry about it. You can return it with your next video." Needless to say, I became a regular, and a comic book reader. Sadly in Katrina, as was true for most things in my neighborhood, everything came to a halt.
After work today I decided to take a detour down S. Claiborne and Napoleon to a certain newly-opened storefront on Freret. There I was quite pleased to see an incredible stock of every variety of comics, manga, t-shirts, and even an old friend whose beard has a bit more gray in it than I remember. It turns out that post-Katrina Crescent City Comics has begun running local art nights and even their own periodical: Antigravity. It also surprised me to find out that some of their personal stories had been featured in Josh Neufeld's graphic work: AD: New Orleans After the Deluge.
If it weren't for Crescent City Comics, I'm not sure that I would have ever taken up comic making as a craft. For this reason, I would like to send out a big "THANK YOU!" for just being your awesome selves. I would also like to invite all who ever visit New Orleans to pay a visit to those who run a comic store the way it should be run.
>Clears throat<
In conclusion, rock on Chicken-on-a-Tuesday, Ponytail man, Weezer-hat guy, and Al... whose nickname I have sadly NO recollection of.
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