This Newbury Comics Location is Closing in January

Newbury Comics, which is still a wicked good time for lovers of music and pop culture, is closing a location before the end of the month.

The Facebook page for the Newbury Comics Saugus Store announced on Monday that their last day open will be Saturday, January 27. The message reads, in part: "We want to thank all the great customers that have shopped at our location over the years (13+ in the Square One Mall). We hope you will continue to shop at one of our other 29 stores." You can read the rest of the announcement below.

You'll note that they refer to the 13+ years they've had a storefront in the Square One Mall. But I remember shopping Newbury Comics in Saugus before they moved into the Square One Mall. Back in the mid-'90s, they had a shop in a strip mall just north of the Square One on the southbound side of Rt. 1, in the same plaza where you had a Stop & Shop and a K-Mart.

That was the closest Newbury Comics to where I grew up, on the Greenwood side of Wakefield. So that was my go-to shop. I bought countless records, tapes, and CDs there. Smashing Pumpkins imports on vinyl. CD samplers from a little independent label in Sacramento called Darla Records. The debut Foo Fighters album on cassette tape on the day it dropped in July of '95.

If you dig into the comments on the Facebook post, it looks like the store closure has less to do with Newbury itself and more to do with the dire state of the Square One Mall. Whatever the case may be, everything is 40% off until they close up shop on the 27th. So get there and take advantage if you can. I might just pop by after I get off the air today.

Free Comic Book Day 2022 swoops down in its cape and cowl to save the day on Saturday, May 7. So what's it all about?

Well, the name pretty much sums it up: it's a day where you can visit your participating comic book shops and get some free comic books. But it's also more than that. Free Comic Book Day 2022 is a celebration of all things comic book-related. And much like Record Store Day, it's a chance for you to support local business by striking up a relationship with your local shop.

Some shops will dole out the free books and leave it at that. But others, like Jetpack Comics in Rochester, NH turn Free Comic Book Day into a city-wide celebration.

So take a scroll through my list of local shops, then stroll down to the one nearest you. You watch every damn super hero movie that hits theaters, it's high time you started getting into the comics that spawned them. Excelsior!