Lone Star Comics was a chain of comic book stores located in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area in north central
Texas. The chain's offerings included
comic books,
action figures,
gaming supplies, videos, and many other pop culture items.
Originally established as a quaint
mail order company in
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
by area
fanzine
A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...
publisher and entrepreneur
Jake "Buddy" Saunders, Lone Star opened its first
brick-and-mortar store in 1977, eventually operating a chain of nine retail outlets in the
Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. While still maintaining business locally, the company returned to its mail order roots in the early 2000s, this time as an online subscription and back-issue service. With the
contraction of the overall economy beginning in 2008, the store sold off their various locations, closing the final one in the fall of 2013. The online store is called mycomicshop.com.
History
Saunders opened the first store in
Arlington in 1977.
Lone Star was involved in the 1988 founding of the
Harvey Awards, the first industry award voted on entirely by comics professionals. Lone Star employees tabulated the ballots for the first Harvey Awards,
[C. M. "Behind the Harveys," The Comics Journal #122 (June 1988), p. 19.] presented at the
Chicago Comicon in July 1988.
Saunders closed the
Irving Irving may refer to:
People
*Irving (name), including a list of people with the name
Fictional characters
* Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip)
* Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...
location in 2008, the South Arlington location in 2011, and the
Dallas store in October 2012.
In July 2013, Lone Star Comics sold off three of their five remaining stores, in
Mesquite,
Hurst, and
Plano.
[Melrose, Kevin]
"Lone Star Comics owners sell three locations,"
''Comic Book Resources'' (July 12, 2013). In September 2013 Lone Star Comics sold off their remaining brick and mortar stores (the original Arlington location and the store in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
) to become solely an e-commerce business website.
Former store locations
*
Town East A location in the sublevel of Town East Mall below the central food court in the 1980s (unknown when this location closed.) The mall has been heavily renovated and this sublevel no longer exists.
*
Central Arlington (sold September 2013; now Wild West Comics)
*
Dallas (closed October 2012)
*
Mesquite (sold July 2013; now Urban Legends)
*
Hurst (sold July 2013; now Multiverse Games, Comics & Collectibles)
*
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
(sold September 2013; now Wild West Comics)
*
Plano (sold July 2013; now Collected Plano)
*
Wichita Falls (closed some time before July 1998)
*
Irving Irving may refer to:
People
*Irving (name), including a list of people with the name
Fictional characters
* Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip)
* Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' vide ...
(closed February 24, 2008)
*
South Arlington
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
(closed June 2011)
References
External links
*
Comics retailers
Retail companies established in 1977
Companies based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
1977 establishments in Texas
{{US-retail-company-stub