Things are not looking good for this fall in regard to covid-19. Numbers are spiking, the government has been pathetically inept in terms of dealing with the crisis, and the economy is once again on the verge of completely tanking. Unemployment is up, some industries are shut down through the end of the year, and others are teetering on the precipice of being shut down, maybe for good. I don’t know about you, but I’m so pessimistic I’m starting to stock up on toilet paper. That’s why it’s more important than ever to shop at your locally-owned small businesses now. Local... Read More

As I mentioned in my last article I headed to the new location of Tim’s Corner to check out the new digs and talk to the owner. First off I’d like to mention that the parking situation in the Hilltop District is just as hectic as it’s always been, somewhat worse given that a section of 14th Street is closed off since the old building is unstable and is being propped up by wooded planks. So, I had to circle around a bit to find a parking spot. In the end I saw that their new location at 1303 30th St Rock Island had parking in the back, but if you plan to venture there in the future don’t... Read More

It’s been a surprising week for the Quad Cities comic community. The explosions at the Vintage Rose antique shop, which blew out the windows of the store and knocked brickwork from the exterior, though luckily there weren’t any serious injuries, have dominated the local news cycle. At on Monday afternoon I received a call from my father, he said “Tim’s Corner blew up.” I was understandably confused by this information. “What”, I questioned. “Tim’s Corner blew up,” he repeated. I was still having a hard time processing the information, but I asked if anyone was hurt. He said... Read More

Given that the holiday season is upon us I want to talk about what we as fans can do to give back to our favorite hobby. I have three suggestions that will help your local comic shop serve you better and help them stay in business. First and most important: the Previews catalog is your best friend. The biggest challenge your shop owner has is trying to find out how many issues of any given comic they need to order. If they order too few issues then people who come in asking for a copy they’ve sold out of could go to another store or Diamond Comics Distributors, North America’s only comic distributor,... Read More

Around seven or eight years ago, I went to my LCS on Wednesday. When I got there, a beautiful woman was there sitting in a chair and the owner was nowhere to be seen. She was in the Quad Cities from Michigan or Minnesota, someplace starting with M, selling coupon books door to door. She had stopped into Mellow Blue to sell whoever was inside a coupon book and because she’d developed a hole in her shoe and Tim had gone to try and fix it. I looked through my pull that week while we talked when she asked “Why do you read comic books?” To really answer that question I have to talk about Art.... Read More

As a fire-and-brimstone preacher delivered a fiery oratory about comics fans courting hell and the devil on one floor of Davenport’s Hotel Davenport and Conference Center Sunday afternoon, far more pleasant and happy people chatted about other fantastic scenarios on the floor below as the annual Q-C Fun Con drew several hundred people to the venue for a great time. Comics exhibitors watched as fans filed through boxes upon boxes of golden oldies issues. Artists and other creative types plied their vibrant wares to interested fans. Video games were played on the big screen, movies were screened,... Read More

This weekend, the Quad-Cities will be exploding with pulse-pounding action at the QC Fun Con, the latest convention and celebration of superhero culture in the area. Every year, the popularity of comics and related genres of action, adventure and science-fiction is increasing locally. But what is the radioactive burst of energy that’s giving the popularity of these things such incredible super powers? I asked a few local luminaries in the field of comics to provide their explanations for it. Most pointed to movies and their huge success. Some said it was something bigger, a longing for heroes.... Read More

Tim’s Corner began with an act of kindness, and 34 years later, the Rock Island comic book shop, at 2963 14th Ave., is still providing a fun, warm environment for comic book fans to hang out, chat and pick up their favorite comics. “My brother was in the hospital in Davenport with a minor stroke, and he had always been into comics, so I picked him up some comic books and every day I would get him books and go hang out with him,” said Tim Cederoth, owner and comics sensei at Tim’s. “I was between positions, I’d just been let go at IH, and I would go to this shop in Moline to get them.... Read More

As the Quad-Cities braces for another pulse-pounding, explosive comics blowout sale and event at Tim’s Corner, 2963 14th Ave., Rock Island, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 16,  theaters in the area are already bursting with the powerful onslaught of comic books being brought to celluloid life, much to the joy of thousands of film fans. But what does the cinematic trend mean to local comics retailers, can it continue, and why have comics, once on the fringe as cult entertainment, become so mainstream? “(Comics movies have) action, romance, explosions…everything that makes up a great... Read More

From graphic novels to graphic discussions of superhero dating practices, the Quad-Cities Planet Con played to a full house of fans of all ages Sunday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Rock Island. Once again, Mellow Blue Planet hosted the 7th Annual event, a favorite meeting ground for creators, dealers, vendors, cosplayers and fans in the Q-C area and organizer, and Mellow Blue Planet shop owner Tim Johnson was thrilled with the turnout. “I’m extremely happy with the event this year,” Johnson said. “Attendance is about 600, which is up about 50 from last year, and every year it’s... Read More