 Junior sociology major Andrew H. Eanes (r) and Boone resident Scott Wheeler play in a Magic the Gathering tournament at Plan 9 comics store on Friday evening. Every Friday, Plan 9 holds tournaments open to the public for a small fee with prizes available. Photo by Holt Menzies
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by NIKKI ROBERTI
Lifestyles Reporter
Two years ago in October, comic book store Plan 9 opened in the Harris Teeter strip off U.S. Highway 321.
“The owners wanted to open a comic store in Boone because of our location,” Store Manager Erin R. Guffey said. “The other store in town closed so we made our move.”
Senior industrial design major Justin M. Allen is a regular at the store.
He said the main difference between Plan 9 and the old comic bookstore, Dragon’s Den on King Street, is the people.
“[The
people who work here], they’re very nice,” he said. “They are nicer
than the last guy [at] Dragon’s Den. He was kind of a cranky guy.”
Guffey said he didn’t want to become successful right away, so when he opened the store in Boone, he wanted to work slowly.
Since then, he said the popularity of the store has increased.
“We’re
constantly seeing new people and we’re constantly getting new
subscribers which are the core of our comic business,” he said. “It’s
coming along. And this is with very little advertising. We do mostly
word of mouth.”
Plan 9 offers a variety of products from comics to games, including some vintage items as well.
Currently, the most popular items at the store are the comics, graphic novels, WarHammer, and Magic The Gathering, Guffey said.
Games such as War Hammer and Magic, The Gathering are held in open-play or tournament form once a week.
“Any of
the stuff we do, anyone is welcome. Any time a [Dungeons and Dragons]
group sets up or somebody wants to run a campaign on something, I let
them know that anyone can join,” Guffey said.
Unlike WarHammer, the Friday Night Magic tournament has an entry fee of $5 dollars and the top four winners receive prizes.
Plan 9 has had as many as 25 people playing in the Magic tournament in one night, Guffey said.
Andrew
H. Eanes, a senior sociology major said he plays in the tournaments and
tries to make it to Plan 9 at least three times a month.
He said he enjoys the tournament for more than just the card game.
“There are people here. It’s kind of a social thing,” he said.
One feature at Plan 9 is the board of vintage comics behind the cash register.
The
price for the comics range from $20 to $2,000—the highest priced comic
being the first ever X-Men comic book signed by artist Jack Kirby,
Guffey said.
At one
point, Guffey said the owner had his own vintage comic book on display.
It was a $5,200 original Amazing Fantasy, issue 15, which is the comic
with the first appearance of Spiderman.
“It kind
of establishes you in the silver age and golden age. That’s 60 years of
history just sitting on the shelf,” Guffey said. “[It shows] people
that we’re not just trying to take up every inch of space with stuff to
sell.”
While vintage comics can get pricey, Guffey said that is not the focus of Plan 9.
“We
focus on vintage comics that are affordable and in grades of conditions
people can buy and not feel like they have to seal it away in a vacuum
and not touch it again,” he said. “I like tangible copies. If you’re
going to insist of having the original of something, I don’t think you
should have to mortgage your house to buy it.”
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