My Kansas City Adventure AKA Comic Shops and a Crown Center

A Great Labor Day Weekend!

Note that I did not actually grill anything.

This just-concluded Labor Day Weekend involved my wife, Clarkson, Mom-in-law and I as we went to visit Samii's sister/my sister-in-law in Kansas City. While there we did a number of group activities (there is one in particular I'll talk about) and I had the chance to check-out a couple comic book shops as well.

Kansas City Exploration

The Crown Center

I was able to stop-by two comic shops and a location known as the, "Crown Center," which was built by Hallmark almost 50 years ago and is a massive structure full of a mall, aquarium, Legoland, and a Hallmark Visitors Center I was able to visit with my wife and Clarkson! Let's break down the three places I want to discuss:

Pulp Fiction Comics and Games
I traveled to the Lee's Summit region of KC where I stopped by Pulp Fiction Comics and Games. I actually knew about the store as someone who worked there I met on a previous visit to the Kansas City region had told me about the shop. I was able to go there and found all the employees to be extremely friendly and knowledgeable. There was a solid selection of new books and tons of trade paperbacks, plus a sizeable area for gaming where a card tournament of some sort appeared to be taking place. Despite this big event the employees still made sure to ask me if I needed assistance and chatted with me about what they were reading and enjoying.

A to Z Comics
I was able to check-out A to Z Comics in the Blue Springs area and was impressed by the immense number of back-issues they had available. Located in a strip-mall, the store looks small and unassuming but actually was quite large inside and loaded with older and newer stuff!

Hallmark Visitors Center
The Hallmark Visitors Center is a completely free attraction within the Crown Center and was fascinating! There was a 14 minute movie in a little auditorium that gave a surprisingly in-depth history of Hallmark and it was astonishing to hear how one man who mailed stores greeting cards was able to grow his business. There also was a number of neat displays, a machine that made bows for people, and we visited the Kaleidoscope activity center geared towards children which was full of cool art-making tools!

A Great Trip!

I had a wonderful time with my wife, son, and in-laws enjoying Kansas City. We of course did more than what I discussed but I wanted to point out the two comic shops and the Hallmark Visitors Center.