Things looked bleak for Dr. Comics in Orillia, Ontario, after the store and all its inventory were destroyed in a fire, but just a month later, they are bouncing back, according to Orillia Matters. A local mall, which has suffered a loss in foot traffic in recent years, reached out with “an offer we couldn’t refuse,” said owner Carmine DeSanto, and as for restocking, he said, “Thank God we’ve found a lot of good collections. We’re going to open up again with comics, toys, retro video games, and a lot of pop culture stuff.” DeSanto is convinced that with his customer base, and the added attraction of free parking, his store will bring people back to the mall.

Mile High Comics owner Chuck Rozanski is celebrating his 70th birthday with a massive comics auction on March 1 in his store, located in Denver, CO. He’s also offering 70% off on orders until his actual 70th birthday, March 11; check out the Mile High Newsletter for more.

Tacoma’s Destiny City Comics will close on February 28 because, co-owner Matthew Nebeker told KIRO7, “The rent has gone up 25% and unfortunately we are not 25% more profitable than we were five years ago.” Moving to a location with lower rent would make it hard for the store, which is particularly welcoming to Black and LGBTQ+ shoppers, to hold the sort of after-hours community events, such as book clubs and signings, that they are accustomed to. Nebeker, who is a professional wrestler under the name ETHAN HD, may go back to wrestling, but he said he will miss the store. “I don’t think that anybody tells you that when you become a small business owner you meet all of these regulars and they become part of your life and you become part of their life,” he said. “You’re there for new jobs, you’re there for people transitioning and see them take on new pronouns and new names and become their authentic selves.”

The new game store Puma’s Rest, in Circleville, OH, just celebrated its grand opening, The Scioto Postreports.

Miami-Dade comic shop A&M Comics may be the oldest comic shop in Florida; Jorge Perez has owned it since 1990 and he has plenty of stories to tell the Miami Herald, including his experiences during the Death of Superman event and the way he started working in the store in the first place: When he was 19, he went in to cancel his subscription and instead the owner asked him to take it over. It took a few more years before he actually bought it, and he’s already training his successor.

Khaleelah Brown started out selling comics on Whatnot and then decided she wanted her own store; now she runs Mrz. Hulk 4 Life Comics & Cards in Mount Vernon, NY. “The money’s good,” she told the Rockland/Westchester News, “But it's not about the money for me. It is about getting these books out there, getting comic books back into the world."

Houston’s Gulf Coast Cosmos Comicbook Co., the only black-owned comic shop in Texas, has cut back its hours to just the weekend, the Houston Chronicle reports, as owner Byron Canaday is working a day job and the incubator where the store started has informed him he will have to move out by May to make room for another business.

ABC Action News pays a visit to Philadelphia’s Multiverse comic shop.

The LA Times takes a look at 10 Latino-owned bookstores and comic shops in L.A., and California.com follows up with the 5 Best Board Game Stores in the City of Angels.