Spokane, WA

My younger brother’s 18th birthday is coming up in the following month. His two favorite things are lifting weights and reading comic books. A strange combination, I know. But then again, no one’s ever really classified him as “normal.” He already has a gym pass to Gold’s, so I opted for something in the direction of comic books. It’s hard for me to keep track of he already has and doesn’t have, so I figured a gift card would be a wiser choice than randomly choosing some graphic novels and taking the chance he might already have them, or not like them. He usually buys his material at the Rocket comic book shop in the North town Mall, so I wanted to get him something different. So it could be a new, fun experience for him. I settled on getting him a gift certificate from Merlyn’s, a comic book and game shop on 19 W. Main, Spokane.

Merlyn’s is a comic book lover’s dream come true. My first impression upon walking in was, of course, “Holy cow! Look at all the comic books!” Rows of shelves and tables covered with boxes full make up more than half of the shop. I’m not a comic book expert, but from what I could tell it looked like there were a wide variety of genres. I was delighted to spot some Archie comics, what I’ve grown up reading and collecting. In addition to the massive quantities of comic books, Merlyn’s sells games and action figures targeted for a similar audience. The sell card games, Dungeons and dragons and Warhammer figurines (they also sell all of the paint and supplies to create game pieces), Star Wars, DC, and Marvel Superhero bobble-heads and action figures, etc.

What makes Merlyn’s an especially unique shop is the area they have reserved for gaming events. They have a few computers that can be used for an hourly rate solely for gaming purposes, and several tables for card games and WH games. Several whiteboards near the front of the shop advertise the upcoming events. They have everything form tournaments to 24-hour comic book days. Just glancing over the list of events I knew that I had discovered my brother’s new place of haven. The shop’s weekly hours are 10:00 a.m. ‚Äì 9:00 p.m. Wed. ‚Äì Sat. and 10:00 a.m. ‚Äì 7:00 p.m. Sun. ‚Äì Tues. Even if you haven’t looked at a comic book in years, I suggest stopping in for a quick reminisce of those days.