Iconic St. John's comic book shop is finding a new home for its 'ultimate collectible'

The yellow sign that hangs abovean iconic downtown St. John's comic book shop has lured people in through the doors for two decades,andsoon it will hang in the home of a long-time customer.

Last week, Downtown Comics owner Kerri Neilannounced over Facebook that the shop's sign will soon be replaced. Neilofferedthe old sign to anyone who wanted it and was flooded with requests.

"There's a lot of community excitement to have the old sign and it became a bit of a collectible,"Neil told CBC News.

She took over the shop after her father,Jason Conway, unexpectedly died in late 2020. Since then, she said, she's been making some changes to the business, like painting the interior pink and purple. Now, she said, she's changing the sign to match that interior.

"So many people reached out, you know, saying it would look great in their shed or just to have this, like, piece of history," said Neil. "I should have known better. If you like comic collectors, this is, like, the ultimate collectible."

Long-time customer Mark Jerrett was the first person to reach out, she said.

"They have been so kind to me since I've taken over and been really supportive of the changes that I've been making. So I was, like, really glad that they were the first person to reach out," said Neil.

She said the plan is for the sign to come down this week.

A second home

Jerrett said he's a long-time comic book collector and started going to theAvalon Mall's Sunday flea market in the early 1990s where Conway had a table selling comic books.

"I grew up around the bay. It was super hard to find comics around there. So coming into St. John's and going to the flea market on Sundays, it was like Christmas for me," said Jerrett.

When he moved to St. John's for university in the early 2000s, he started frequenting the Duckworth Street comic book shop Conway owned and operated.

"And I've been coming here ever since," said Jerrett, who likened the shop to a second home.

Jerrett estimates that at least half of his collection comes from Downtown Comics, so there was an instant appeal to owning the shop's sign.

"To have that sign put up in the room where I have all of my comic books would be so exciting and really meaningful," he said.

Fostering community

Neil said having the sign go to a loyalcustomer means a lot to her. She saidher father would have been pleasantly taken back by all the support.

"Comics are such a niche and it's one of those industries, like, you don't really go into it to make money," she said."You go into it cause it's like you love comic books so much and you want to be part of the community and to foster that."

To help build the local community, Neil said she's been hosting community-focused events, like a monthly games night and a book club with comic book artist Georgia Webber that's apartnership with the nearby cafe Toslow.

"I think there is definitely a lot of need for those social spaces in our city."

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