Farewell to Silver Snail Ottawa

Yesterday I found out that an incredible comic book store is closing here in Ottawa.  When I started my collection, I had asked my cousin for some suggestions, and he said that 'The Amazing Spider-man: Coming Home' was a great place to start.  Of course, I got that very book from the Silver Snail in Ottawa, and it stands as the starting gun for my collection of every 'Amazing Spider-man' trade paperback going forward from that run.  For this, and many reasons, that comic shop will always hold a special place in my heart.

As with everything I get into, I obsessed over comics, and made sure to hit up every store in the area.  When I went to Silver Snail, I was surprised how suited the store was for me.  A huge supply of graphic novels at the best prices meant that Silver Snail was a treat for me and my wallet whenever I wanted to binge buy books.  Unfortunately, I live and work so far away from the store, and my visits became less frequent as responsibilities piled on.  Still, I would make an effort to drop by the store whenever I was in the area.

As my reading deepened, I found myself getting into more independent titles.  Silver Snail also set itself apart by being the store that had all of the quirky little books you couldn't find anywhere else.  Instead of hitting the lowest common denominator by piling up super heroes, Silver Snail dove into edgy, wacky, artful, and just plain beautiful books.  One stand-out for me is the 'Jim Henson's Tale of Sand' book sitting on my shelf that I will be sure to blog about later on.  There is no way I would have discovered or bought this book without Silver Snail, and that would have definitely been my loss.

Lastly, and most importantly, I want to talk about the amazing staff at Silver Snail.  Some stores have staff that run the huge gamut of nerdom which is great, but can have you at a loss when waiting for the resident expert.  Silver Snail was different.  Yes, you could still pick up your figures and games, but Silver Snail was a comic book shop, through and through.  I have gotten great opinions on books from people I can trust to know what they're talking about.  As a reader, I found this to be invaluable.

So with that, I bid farewell to the Silver Snail Ottawa, you will surely be missed.  I urge everyone who is reading this to drop by and take advantage of their closing out sale and thank the awesome comic enthusiasts behind the counter.