February 17, 2019 :: Sara Barton
After 36 years, the iconic comic book store, St. Marks Comics(at 11 St. Mark’s Place) announced its upcoming closure on January 30 via Facebook and Twitter.
Mitch Cutler, the owner, offered final thoughts about why they were closing: “There are lots of obstacles to running a retail storefront in NYC; too many of them at once to fight, and after 36 pretty intense years, not enough left to fight them.”
“We’ll see you soon to say goodbye and share a good memory,” he added. “Let’s make this month a wake, not a funeral.”
It signals the end of an era, as St. Mark’s comics follows in the footsteps of the departed legends, Trash & Vaudeville and Kim’s Video. From the 1970s until the early ’90s, St. Mark’s Place in the East Village was a street like no other; a punk rock mecca, filled with fetish-wear shops, record stores, cheap eats, and underground clubs. Then the rent creeps up, the clientele changed, and the colorful strip of 8th Street morphed; it’s now lined with trendy Asian fast food joints, bubble tea shops and of course, bongs. Even stores that aren’t bongs stores sell bongs.
As St. Marks Comics goes on it’s Farewell Tour; back issues are 50% off, and everything else is 30%. Be sure to check out their vintage stock of Bronze & Silver age comics. The last day is Sunday, February 24th, closing early at 6 PM.
Off the Record 