Welcome to ICv2’s Shop Talk, a periodic round-up of comic and game store news coverage with the latest on stores opening, closing, changing, and their notable events. If you’re covered in local (or national) media and would like to see your store in this feature, send us a link at News@ICv2.com, with “Shop Talk” in the subject line.

Southern California Comics, in San Diego, posted video on their Facebook page of a bearded man who appeared to stuff some comics under his shirt. After seeing his face in a photo, staff from another comic shop reached out to SoCal and identifiedthe man as actor Ray Buffer. Buffer has denied the charge, but SoCal turned the security tapes over to police, and in a second Facebook post, they said “It’s a solid case and we expect action will be levied against Buffer through prosecution." TMZ has security footage of a similar-looking man who put comics under his shirt at Metropolis Comics in Los Angeles but dropped the comics when confronted by the owner.

Nirvana Comics, which handed out free copies of Art Spiegelman’s Maus after it was removed from the local eighth-grade curriculum (see “Nirvana Comics Raises Over $100,000 for ‘Project Maus’”), was hit by burglars on October 3, but they didn’t let that slow them down. The store posted news of the break-in on its Facebook page but added “our store will not live and die by what was taken. We will be open normal business hours and no events are canceled at this time. All we ask is that you think of our staff right now, we’re all a little rattled.” On October 13, the store Facebook reported that the perpetrators, who apparently also hit a game store as well, were caught and the property returned, thanks to a tip from the Chattanooga comics and game shop Infinity Flux, as well as detective work byfriends of the store and local police in two jurisdictions.

For the first time in ten years, Livonia, Michigan, has a comic shop. Gotham Night Comics opened its store in July 2022, and owner Fergel Amayo tells Hometown Life that he plans for it to be a “nerd haven,” with a range of comics and collectibles that can’t be found anywhere else. Amayoworks with small suppliers to build a range of products that will appeal to a wide audience, from children to serious collectors, and he wants the store to be engaging and inviting: "When you walk in here, it truly feels like a comic store," he said.

When husband and wife Berry Hatfield and Lisa Joyce moved to Palo Alto a year and a half ago, they were surprised to learn there was no local game store, they told Kate Bradshaw of TheSixFifty.com. So they started one. Their store, Gamelandia, is in the midst of a soft opening and will hold its grand opening on November 6. The store will carry games by local designers and highlight them in “Meet your Maker” events, and they plan to host their own Dungeons & Dragons games. For Joyce, the connection that games bring is particularly important: She was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, and gaming with friends helped her get through a long period of isolation. She sees the boom in board games as a result of the desire to connect with others in person. “We need that, as people,” she said.

NoahMcnitt moved in the opposite direction, from California to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and when he got there, he too opened a game store, Manaform Games. “There's definitely a market for these games in this area,” Mcnitt told the Sault News. “Games like D&D are way, way more popular up here than many would think. A lot of people play at home and in smaller groups. There's a lot of small pockets of people playing their own games. I hope that I can provide a place for those pockets to congregate.” Just a week after he opened, he already has several regular games scheduled in his store, and since Manaform is the only large game store in the area, he will likely to have more soon.

Mike Conte, owner of Good Omen Records and Comics in Niagara Falls, NY, told the Niagara Gazette that he worked in factories for 20 years, but he never worked as hard as he does now. Conte originally planned to open an antique store, but with his daughter persuaded him that people would rather buy old comics and vinyl records than furniture and china. And while friends have suggested that he move to a larger community, he says he’s staying put for now: In addition to having a good landlord and affordable rent, he says, Niagara Falls is his city and he wants to continue to be part of the community.

Sarah Cascone, who covers the comics beat at ArtNet, talked to comics experts as well as dealers on the floor at New York Comic Con about the effect that film and TV adaptations has on sales of collectible comics.