Lost Comic Book Shops of Toronto

Way, way back, in the early Eighties, 

there was a comic book store in The Beaches, here in Toronto and it was called, 

"Queen's Comics & Memorabilia"

This is an advert that they had printed in the pages of a local fanzine, "Gratis", issue one, in 1979.

"Gratis" for anyone who's interested, seems to have been fairly short lived and may have only lasted for four issues.  The publishers appear to have been, two young men from Scarborough, Scott Hutchinson and Jim Shedden.

Queen's Comics & Memorabilia, was also sponsoring a Comic Convention:

As this advert, in the same issue of "Gratis", proves.

The store it self, was an unusual mix of comic book stuff and music related items.  Thinking about it now, it's nearest relative, that I visited and knew about, would have been Now & Then Books, of Kitchener, which, because of the owner, Harry Kremer's eclectic taste, stocked a lot of odd stuff.

Although, even Harry streamlined the operation, somewhat, when he moved out of the old Victorian House, at 103 Queen Street South and across the street into a "proper" storefront location.

Back to "Queen's Comics..." and where it was located, at 

1962 Queen Street East, which was a clone, of this building, which still exists at 1964 Queen Street East.

If my memory isn't completely faulty and please remember, this was almost forty years ago, I recall that "Queen's Comics" 

actually occupied both addresses for a time?

Whatever, you get the picture and back then, The Beaches was an almost sleepy backwater, not the bustling Yuppie haven that it is today... so the shop fitted into that environment, of Hippies and Surfer Dudes, perfectly.

Later on, they moved the store up onto Kingston Road, close to where Victoria Park Avenue crosses it and that was where it eventually ended its life but I have no idea when.

While I am on the subject, does anyone remember another eclectic comic book and book emporium, 

"Unknown Worlds" 

that resided at 725 Danforth Avenue, just east of Pape Avenue?

This is the only proof of its existence that I have.

This is what the address looks like today!

It was an unusual place, with its walls lined with paperback books and the comics, in bins and on a rack, in the centre aisle of the shop.  I shopped there, from 1989 until 1994, when I left Toronto, for a couple of years and went loose my shirt, in Elliot Lake, Ontario.

The comic book business was in turmoil at the close of 1994 and into early 1995 and even the venerable distribution arm of The Silver Snail, Andromeda Distributions, declared bankruptcy at that time and closed its doors.

That seems to have been when "Unknown Worlds" closed, too.  I wasn't around to witness it but I do remember being puzzled, in the summer of 1995, on a visit to Toronto, by not being able to find the store.  I eventually enquired about it, at the office of a local politician, somewhere in the vicinity and they told me about the store's demise.

Just because it was the centre spread, in that first issue of "Gratis" and because I have a soft spot for it, 

here is the Franc Reyes drawn advert for 

The Silver Snail,

from 1979.

and finally, the back cover to "Gratis" issue one, which was from the young Wonder Kid, of the Toronto comic book and Science Fiction scene, at that time, 

Kevin Davies.

Kevin was also an organizer of the convention and as an artist, went on to paint the hoarding sign for Bakka Books, when it was still opposite the Silver Snail, on Queen Street West.

I borrowed this from another web page:

 Kevin Davies was a busy Toronto fan for many years… he still goes to the odd convention, has how own game design/art business, and announces on Facebook that he
has the odd guitar gig at a local pub or restaurant. Kevin chaired the very first convention Yvonne
attended, GVSTAcon, GVSTA standing for Georges Vanier Star Trek Addicts, a club at Kevin’s high
school.

So, there you have it. 

Two comic shops that "used to be", or even three, if one includes "Now & Then" of Kitchener, which pretty much died when the owner, Harry Kremer died... oh, yes and of course Andromeda, the distributor.

The Silver Snail is still with us but it has been relocated, to a second floor location, just north of Dundas Street, on Yonge Street, since 2012 and is now owned and operated by no one I know! LOL