Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Field Trip!

This post has been delayed because I was out in the field doing research.

I had originally said we were going to do that Monday night, but we were running late, so we decided we would postpone Wunderland and only do Heroes and Hobbies, and then we saw that they were closed Monday. Tonight we tried again.

That sign that said it was closed Monday (and Sunday) also indicated that they opened at 4:30 on other nights. That is not true. We got there around 6:30 and it was still not open. We walked over to Wunderland, and as we were going in we saw someone open the door and the sign go on.

Heroes and Hobbies is a one-man shop, and so it helps to be a little flexible. The phone message says hours vary and to call first. This is definitely true.

That being said, I have to say that the owner was very friendly and helpful and will clearly go out of his way to help you. I expect we will go back at some point.

There were a few goals to the trip. One is that I realize that in my checking out bound volumes from the library, I am completely missing out on the experience of seeing the monthly magazines and reading them that way. I wanted to try that, too, so there was the goal of looking, and the goal of buying, taking home, and reading.

(Julie and Maria basically went out of curiosity.)

I ended up choosing four comics, all DC, and I chose mainly on the basis of cover art. The prices were not bad, though I should mention that Heroes and Hobbies is cash only.

I do have some new items, and I will check those out. I can’t necessarily say the goal was completely accomplished, because this is very much used, and there are a lot of figures and cards as well. I can imagine a place where there are a lot more comics, and where the new issues are prominently displayed, so I’m not saying that there is not more to experience. This experience, though, was a good one.

One other random thought: right there we have sort of a triangle of a comics and hobbies shop, a Lego shop, and a nickel arcade. Could this be the center of the Beaverton nerd-iverse?

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