The Great Escape

2433 Bardstown Rd
Louisville, KY 40205
(502) 456-2216

You never forget your first and I can't forget The Great Escape. TGE is the best there is. This place, quite literally, changed my life. Before I discovered The Great Escape, I bought comic books off the spinning racks at Walgreens. Yes, it was haphazard and there was no rhyme or reason to what I was doing. I just liked the costumes, powers and stories.

When I was 7, after doing well on a spelling test, my dad took me on a 'surprise trip.' The destination was The Great Escape. I had never seen a place like this. An entire store made up of comic books, action figures, posters and more. I was transfixed. And hooked. I became a collector that day. I began to cultivate a taste for artists (George Perez), titles (The New Mutants & The Legion of Super Heroes) and authors (Chris Claremont). I discovered conventions, talked to other little kids who read comics, stretched my imagination, increased my vocabulary...and began to write. All these things were borne from my first trip to the Greatest comic store on earth.

As I grew older, I began to appreciate the books & music TGE sold. The staff (some of whom still work there) were always nice to me. That's right: comic guys who are nice to little kids! It's unheard of. They're knowledgeable, helpful, cool and friendly. The store is stocked to the gills. New books never run out and if you can't find an old book in the back stock, it doesn't exist.

After years of coveting it, I finally bought my Terra-era, pre-Judas Contract reveal, George Perez drawn New Teen Titans poster. It's one of my most prized possessions. After years of coming here, I still get the goose bumps of a little boy whose world is about to get a little brighter. The Great Escape is magic. Still.

The Zone

4121 Shelbyville Rd
Louisville, KY 40207
(502) 893-8654

Oh, Zone. I have finally had it with your broke-down ways. For years, my other comic geek friends would ask, "Why do you go to the Zone? That place sucks." I always defended you. But, I can do so no longer. You are rotten to the core.

I have had it with your lack of back stock.

I have grown tired of your haphazard hours and Three Stooges approach to customer service.

I am sick of you running out of books hours after they've been placed on the racks. This is not an every now & then problem. It's weekly. If I have to go to another comic store to purchase the books you ran out of, why not just go to that store initially?

And - Fox News on the TV? Really? I am already aggravated that you open up an hour (or more) later than the Greater Louisville comic store. I am already annoyed that 2 of the 5 books I want to pick up are already sold out. I am already ticked off by the fan boy 'tude. But, you want me to have a conniption fit by watching Ann "Is She the Live Action Gollum?" Coulter to boot? No. Not anymore.

Allow me to speak to you, comic geek to comic geek. I would rather eat Arby's for a week solid and have the Lost Smoke monster fly out of my @ss, than to patronize your wack store.