Buddy and Judy Saunders have sold all five of their Lone Star Comics stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, they announced Monday.  They plan to continue to operate MyComicShop.com, one of the largest comic e-commerce companies in the U.S. 

Three stores were sold in August.  The Arlington and Fort Worth locations are being sold to long-time employee Elaine Powell, her husband Les, and son, Matthew at the end of this month.  They will close at 8 p.m. on September 27th and re-open as Wild West Comics & Games on September 29th. 

Elaine Powell has served as store manager, the stores’ General Manager, and a buyer during her long tenure with the company.  Les and Matthew helped design and build Lone Star stores for the last 25 years.  

This represents the end of an era, which began in 1977 when Buddy Saunders opened his first store in Arlington, Texas.  But the end of the brick and mortar era does not represent the end of retailing for the Saunders family.  "Judy, Conan and I can now turn our full attention to mycomicshop.com, a business that continues to grow year after year," Saunders said.  "Now, we can devote all our time and energy to online innovations and still get to spend more quality time with our family."