Golden Apple Comics is a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

store in

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a neighborhood and district in the central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. Its name has become synonymous with the U.S. film industry and the peo ...

History

The store's original owners, Bill Liebowitz and Thom Smitham, opened Golden Apple Comics on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles in 1979. The original inventory of the store consisted of Thom's comic book and comic art collection and bags from the prior company that had occupied the building, a business called Golden Apple: thus, Golden Apple Comics was born. Bill was a

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...

champion in the 1950s, a co-founder of

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

, and had recurring roles as himself in

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

. After Bill purchased Thom's share of the business, he opened a second location in Northridge in 1983. Liebowitz was well known for hosting signings by comic book artists and writers, as well as for his anti-censorship activism. After Liebowitz' death in 2004, his widow Sharon and son Ryan took over the business and continue to run the store. In April 2009 the Northridge store was sold to Earth 2 Comics, and became their second location.

Public image

The shop has been featured in many film projects, including

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

's "

White & Nerdy "White & Nerdy" is the second single from "Weird Al" Yankovic's album '' Straight Outta Lynwood'', which was released in 2006. It parodies the song "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone. The song both satirizes and celebrates nerd culture, ...

" video and—perhaps most prominently—in the movie ''

Free Enterprise In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...

'' (1998) in which Sharon Liebowitz played herself. Blair Butler, G4TV's resident comic expert, often hosts her segment of ''

Attack of the Show ''Attack of the Show!'' (''AOTS'') is an American live television program that aired on G4. AOTS features segments on pop culture, video games, and movies. After an initial run from 2005 to 2013 (which originally aired from 2005 until 2013, we ...

'', called "Fresh Ink", at the Golden Apple. It was also featured in an episode of the short-lived NBC crime drama ''

Raines ''Raines'' is a seven-episode American police procedural television show starring Jeff Goldblum as a police detective who hallucinates the victims whose murders he is investigating. Created by Graham Yost, the series was short-lived, airing ...

'', in which an up-and-coming comic artist who frequented Golden Apple Comics was murdered. Golden Apple regularly hosts celebrity guests such as

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

before his death,

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

Marc Silvestri Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He is CEO of Top Cow Productions and Image Comics. Early life Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958, in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, Aaron (M ...

and George A. Romero, and has been frequented by famous patrons such as

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

and

Michael Boatman Michael Patrick Boatman (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom '' Spin City'', as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama ...

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DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

vice president Bob Wayne called Golden Apple Comics "one of the most important comic book stores in the world".

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.goldenapplecomics.com Comics bookshops Companies based in Los Angeles