New comic shop, COMIC DEN opens its doors

News of a new comic shop is always worth celebrating so I was pleased to hear of Comic Den which had its official opening last week. 

The shop is based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and the official opening ceremony was performed on Saturday 20th January with the local mayor Shadab Qumer cutting the tape. Various artists were also invited for a signing, such as Tim Perkins and Jessica Lucas, along with cosplayers. 

Artist/writer Tim Perkins.

Artist/writer Jessica Lucas.

The opening ceremony.

Comic Den is a family run shop, with Dennis and Sarah Whittle and daughter Amy. "We stock small press as well as all major titles" said Dennis. "We are a comic book store with comics being the main focus."

Dennis went on to explain his inspiration for opening Comic Den. "I wanted to create a hub a place to buy comic talk comics geek out.  I feel some of the bigger stores have forgotten that being into comics isn't just about selling, its about being part of something and I want my store to build on that idea."

He said that the shop will be supporting small press comics and stocking all age titles, encouraging children to pick up a book. (I'm pleased to say that fairly soon you'll find a few copies of Combat Colin on its shelves.)

I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Dennis and his family all the very best with their venture. If you're in Oldham, pop along to the shop. Here are the details:

COMIC DEN
Unit 2 Manchester Chambers
Oldham, 
OL2 1LF 
United Kingdom

Opening times are as follows
Monday - closed
Tues to Fri - 10.30am till 5pm
Saturday - 10.00am till 4.30pm

Sunday - closed

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Comic-Den-160685134541937/

My thanks to Dennis for permission to use the photos in this blog post. All photographs by Dan Burgess. 
https://www.facebook.com/DanBurgessPhoto/

Review: Yours, Yesterday

Jessica Lucas is a relatively new face on the comics scene. Although she was at Macc-Pow! and the Lakes International Comic Art Festival this year I unfortunately didn't get around to meeting her, so I ordered her new comic, Yours, Yesterday by post. A good purchase.

Yours, Yesterday is Jessica's first comic book, and it's a very impressive debut! I don't often go for autobiographical comics, but this one is very well crafted and compellingly told. Basically, it's about the emotional rollercoaster of a break-up, which is something that most of us can relate to at some point in our lives. No matter how old you are when it happens, the metaphorical kick-in-the-gut, self-doubt, and sorrow feels the same. Likewise, it's also a relatable book for the times some of us have done the dumping too, as it's a reminder of the guilt and upset caused.

Considering that this is Jessica's first comic, her storytelling skills are very good, and there's some sophisticated comics techniques at work here. For example (shown below) the depiction of a flashback scene, and how that crumbles when the memory turns sour. 

Without giving away too much, Yours, Yesterday is a story of heartache that has a positive resolution and the start of a new journey. I hope we'll see more comics work from Jessica Lucas in the near future!

You can buy a copy of Yours, Yesterday from Jessica's online store:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/565479711/yours-yesterday-full-length-paperback?ref=shop_home_active_1 

...and you can find out more about her art by visiting her website:
http://www.jessicaonpaper.com