Inside Fantasy Comics, there’s rows of books, action figures and posters. After the now-owner of Fantasy Comics, Matt Sams, watched Star Wars for the first time when he was seven, he bought his first comic Star Wars Issue #10.
But a year later, he walked into Fantasy Comics for the first time.
“I walked into this store when I was eight,” he said. “I didn’t know there could be a whole store of comics.”
Fantasy Comics opened it’s doors in 1977 and has been in town ever since. Years later, Sams started working in the store and then bought it in 2013.
“When I was interviewing with the original owner,” he said. “I told him I was going to buy the store. And he laughed because I was interviewing for a 12 hour per week position.”
Sams said comics continue his favorite stories, bringing more to the different franchises like Star Wars or Marvel.
“The comics were so much more because it kept the story going after that first movie,” he said.
And he said the store is the oldest comic book store in Tucson and they don’t plan on closing their doors anytime soon.
“I hope to be around forever,” he said. “It’s the tangibility of looking at a comic rather than looking at a pad. It’s way different and people still enjoy actually owning a comic.”