It’s been the same routine every Wednesday, every new-comics day. A young man walks through the Silver Snail, arguably Toronto’s most esteemed comic-book store, eager and jittery, waiting to get his sweaty hands on the latest issue of Batman. His limited-edition pair of red, white, and grey Justice League Converse add colour to the store as he walks down its long, narrow passageways. Past the sale items, past the action figures hanging on the walls, and past the glorious character statues, he finally arrives at his destination: the comic-book racks. Besides, he’ll go back for the other stuff later. As he picks up the newest adventure of his favourite caped crusader, the tin Batman ring he wears on his middle finger seems to highlight the pages. With the purchase, his heart is now complete – at least until next week, when he will venture off to the Silver Snail once more to collect another issue. Same bat-time, same bat-channel. Our fanboy will soon have to realize that things are going to change. After announcing the sale of its iconic Queen Street West location in April, owner George Zotti has been working tirelessly to find a new location for the Silver Snail, pinpointing the Annex as his preferred destination. The sale was made because Zotti feels that Canada’s largest comic-book store, which has been at its current location for nearly 30 years and visited by celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Gene Simmons, Harrison Ford and Robin Williams, no longer fits in with the fashion-dominated Queen West strip. The empire struck back against Zotti, but now there’s a new hope. “There’s a place that looks pretty good in the Annex. It’s expensive so we’re looking into what we can do with financing to purchase it,” says Zotti, as he strokes his shaggy beard and adjusts his thick-framed glasses. “Everything looks good so far but we haven’t signed the contract.” The place that Zotti speaks of is the Futon Store located at 442 Bloor St. West in the Annex. Zotti has verified his interest in the store but remains coy on the purchase; he and Futon Store management refuse to confirm the switch being made by February 2012, despite several knowledgeable sources saying that it will. What Zotti does like to speak about are the additions to the new store. To stop his customers from having nervous breakdowns similar to the ones that occur when they witness an action figure being removed from its original package, Zotti claims he’s expanding the store. He plans to attach a coffee shop to the store – a move that will allow customers to buy their comics, sit down with a warm cup of coffee to enjoy them, and meet others with similar interests. Some customers agree with the move simply because of the prospect of this addition. “I’m only happy that they’re moving because of the coffee shop, without that, I would not have been fine with them leaving,” says Vera Watson, 27, one of the Silver Snail’s usual customers. Located on the northwest corner of Bloor Street West and Harland Avenue, the space is surrounded by book stores and art shops. A pedestrian cannot turn his head in any direction without spotting a sushi restaurant. The Bathurst subway station is two blocks away. The Silver Snail has found its niche; Zotti knew it the first time he walked in. Sporting his business outfit – not a suit, oh no, Zotti would never wear one of those – but one consisting of a plaid shirt and jeans, he looked around slowly. The building, stale and filled with furniture, somehow spoke to him. He looked at the walls and saw them not as they were, but filled with DC Comics action figures on one side, and Marvel Comics figures on the other. He looked down the middle of the store and saw all 216 bins of comics filled to their respective brims with more than 500,000 issues in total. On top of the bins that will nearly hit the ceiling, and stretch from one end of the store to another, he saw all of the magnificent busts and statues to be placed on top. The last thing that Zotti pictured was high up on the walls, the original, green Silver Snail sign that hangs outside of the current store. Zotti wants to place it on the wall as a way of bringing the nostalgia from the soon-to-be former location to the new one. Zotti will also have to bring a hard hat, as the new location is in desperate need of a facelift. At first sight, the Futon Store doesn’t seem to be the greatest buy. Located beneath two levels of apartments, the store is only recognizable by the furniture inside, because its sign is ripped apart. An awkwardly shaped interior with protruding walls makes space sparse, and half of the building seems to be used for offices and storage. “This is it? It’s a shithole,” says Christopher Medeiros, 19, a comic-book junkie. “It’s a fixer-upper, definitely in need of renovation.” A revamp of the store may be an initial setback, but faithful customers will support and follow it. How can I be sure of this? I’m the nerdy fanboy.
