KA-POW! The best comic book stores in Brooklyn

By Stephen Brown, Andy Campbell and Ben Kochman

Last week, Brooklyn fanboys lost one of their stomping grounds, when Rocketship closed up shop after five years in Cobble Hill.

Luckily for fans of Hulk action figures, Manga and indie graphic novels, the Smith Street store wasn’t the only game in town.

“I think the [Brooklyn scene] is really specialized — where we don’t have a lot of walk-ins we have a lot of regulars,” said Matthew Acevedo, worker at Galaxy Comics on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge. “When movies come out based on a comic, that’s usually when people start rolling in.”

Here, a list of the best Brooklyn has to offer, for the avid collector to the casual reader.

Bergen Street Comics

This stylish store opened last year, but has already established a welcoming, artsy environment that is distinct from many other shops in the borough. From the outset, owner Tom Adams wanted to focus on graphic novels — collections of comics that are most appealing to first-time readers. Adams also wanted a no-frills approach that shunned all the merchandise, action figures, DVDs and other junk that distracts from quality storytelling.

“We focus solely on comics,” Adams said. “We want the space to be inviting to people, so they can come in and spend some time.”

The owner added that many of his customers have an interest in indie comics — especially by local creators — but that doesn’t mean he neglects the superhero tales.

Bergen Street Comics [470 Bergen St. between Flatbush and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718) 230-5600].

Galaxy Comics

With locations in both Park Slope and Bay Ridge, Galaxy Comics offers a bit of everything — from statues, trading cards and T-shirts to a respectable collection of back-stock should you be on the hunt for that one missing issue of Action Comics.

Park Slope co-owner Mohammed Nashir said his store focuses on the five major comic publishing houses, though he also orders indie titles that locals tend to favor.

His most popular seller as of late has been the latest universe-shattering crossover in DC Comics — a story that he is happy to share with any newcomer who rolls into his store, which has been open for 11 years.

In Bay Ridge, comic-gone-movie titles like “Scott Pilgrim” are flying off the shelves — and of course, both shops take orders.

“A lot of people walk in and the comics bring back memories,” Nashir said. “That’s how we jump into a conversation, and sometimes people get completely back into comics.”

Galaxy Comics [429 Fifth Ave. between Eighth and Ninth streets in Park Slope, (718) 499-3222 and 6823 Fifth Ave. near 68th Street in Bay Ridge, (718) 921-1236].

Desert Island

This shop in Williamsburg is tiny — but where it lacks in volume, it makes up for in quality and rarity.

Owner Gabriel Fowler moved around the country working on his indie comic expertise before he moved to Brooklyn and opened the shop four years ago — it’s small, but packed with the fare of a seasoned fanboy.

The stock focuses heavily on illustration and graphic novels, and plenty of zines and comics on the rac

ks are from Brooklyn authors and artists. The titles range from the classics like “The Walking Dead” to more obscure (and local) titles like the shop’s own “Smoke Signals,” an open submission newspaper dedicated to local comics.

Desert Island [540 Metropolitan Ave. near Union Street in Williamsburg, (718) 388-5087].

Bulletproof Comix

Owner Hank Kwon opened his store near Brooklyn College 18 years ago, and the laid-back rapport he has with his customers proves it. People of all ages walk into Bulletproof to get their comics, video games, and manga fix — and Kwon knows a lot of them by name.

Bulletproof features an extensive backstock, but don’t expect to do a lot of perusing while you’re there: even new releases are bagged up. But Bulletproof’s extensive manga collection — perhaps the best in Brooklyn — makes it worth a visit.

“We’re known for manga,” said Kwon. “We were one of the first to bring it over to Brooklyn.”

Bulletproof Comix [2178 Nostrand Ave. between Avenue H and Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, (718) 434-1800].

Pinocchio Discounts

The name is no lie — Pinocchio Discounts brings the old-school entertainment for bargain prices. The store’s extensive collection makes it a real pleasure for anyone familiar with comics over the years — especially since the cover price hasn’t changed that much.

“We’ve been here for 30 years, but we have comics dating back to the ’60s,” owner Bella Gaba said. “And everything goes for one or two dollars.”

Pinocchio doesn’t have many expensive, coveted comics. Instead, the collection is, as Gaba says, “a bunch of average comics from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.”

Maybe average to Gaba — but pure gold to any kid looking for a good superhero story.

Pinocchio Discounts [1814 McDonald Ave. between Avenue P and Quentin Road in Midwood, (718) 645-2573].

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Our Celebrate Brooklyn! pick of the week, part II

All Sharon Jones really wants to do right now is go fishing.

Since releasing her fourth album, “I Learned the Hard Way,” this March, it’s been non-stop for the singer and her band, the Dap-Kings. They just returned from a few weeks in Europe, have a month of gigs across the country, including a homecoming at Prospect Park this Saturday, and then it’s back abroad this September for more time on the road.

“All I want to do is go fishing and relax,” said Jones, who’ll probably have to wait for next summer to pick up her fishing pole again. “I’m home and I haven’t gotten a chance to do anything.”

Despite all that, Jones doesn’t have any intention of taking it easy. All her life, she has been singing — in the churches of her Bed-Stuy neighborhood, with her sisters to the Jackson Five and the Supremes, in school plays and talent shows, and in wedding bands. It wasn’t until a gig at South by Southwest a few years back that she and the Dap-Kings got attention from the likes of Lou Reed, David Byrne and even Denzel Washington.

Now, the band’s the toast of the Bushwick-based Daptone Records, and Jones, who has drawn comparisons to James Brown and Tina Turner for her soulful voice and energetic stage presence, has been christened the Queen of Funk.

“I remember going to see them in little dive bars. Now, Sharon has exploded internationally,” said Jack Walsh, producer of Celebrate Brooklyn, which hosts the band this Saturday. “They’re huge in Europe right now, and they’re all just locals from Brooklyn.”

She’s just happy she stuck to it all these years.

“I tell any young band — go do your thing. If you feel in your heart and believe in yourself, you follow your heart and don’t let nobody deter you,” said Jones. “Look at me — I’m 54-years-old. I should be thinking about retiring soon, but I’m just beginning.”

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings at the Prospect Park band shell [Prospect Park West and Ninth Street in Park Slope, (718) 855-7882], Aug. 7 at 7 pm. Free. For info, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.

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LIVING room

By Aaron Short

The former home of Williamsburg Engine 212 will become the future home of a neighborhood community center — but for one day next week it will be an art gallery.

This Friday, the defunct Wythe Avenue fire station will be transformed into a temporary exhibition space for a show, “LIVING with Other People” featuring some of Williamsburg’s most exciting artists.

The project is the brainchild of People’s Firehouse and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, which chose to invite artists to create installations in the fallow space this summer to create more awareness for the site.

Both groups are in the midst of a $1.9-million fundraising campaign to revamp the space into a three-story community center, called the Northside Town Hall, for Williamsburg residents. About $200,000 has been raised, and public officials have committed an additional $350,000 to the cause.

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth board member Jackie Moynihan believes the art installations will bring a new audience into the space while exposing them to the neighborhood’s history of activism.

“It is intriguing to a lot of artists to put their work in a very site-specific, abandoned space that is just opening up the door,” said Moynihan. “It’s almost like a public installation.”

The mixed-media portraiture exhibition features a 10-foot public mural, the work of Michael Alan, whose live drawing series has grasped the neighborhood’s imagination for several years, and the work of Johan Kritzinger, Band Antenna, Bariette Bergh, El Celco, Ian Couch, Eugenia Yu, Jesse Walker, and several others.

“LIVING with Other People” at Engine 212 (136 Wythe Ave. at N. Ninth Street in Williamsburg), Aug 6, 7-10 pm. For info, visit nthccc.org.

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Watts up at the Bushwick Starr

It’s difficult to take your eyes off of Reggie Watts.

It’s not just the giant afro, or the way he comically moves it about. The Williamsburg-based performer has a way of captivating an audience, keeping listeners hanging on his every word, waiting for the punchline.

Part of it has to do with the fact that the punchline isn’t delivered in a wrapped box with a bow, but through his meandering delivery that, with little exception, is always new — improvised in a stream-of-conscious-like manner.

“You never know — Reggie works with whatever’s out there in the universe. He’s a true improviser,” said Sue Kessler, managing director of the Bushwick Starr, which hosts Watts as part of its summer music series on Aug. 7. “He’d bang on anything that’s around.”

What can be sure, the performance will be a mix of Watts’s monologuing, singing, beatboxing, funny voices, and experimenting with his loop machine. He doesn’t need a band, just the machine and some time to add the layers — sounds of beats, cymbals, and nonsensical words that combine for an out-of-this-world sound (see evidence below). If there’s a piano, he’ll sit there, too, and play an ironic ballad. Anything goes.

Reggie Watts at Bushwick Starr [207 Starr St. between Wyckoff and Irving avenues in Bushwick, (212) 868-4444], Aug. 7 at 8 pm. Tickets $8 at the door. Also with Sharon Van Etten and Mike Visser. For info, visit www.thebushwickstarr.org.

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Our Celebrate Brooklyn! pick of the week, part I

Marco Benevento does not have quite the right disposition for “The House of Usher.”

The laid-back, playful jazz musician doesn’t traffic in dark, melodramatic chords — hell, the colorful cover of his new album, “Between the Needles and Nightfall,” looks like something a kid may have drawn for his parent’s refrigerator.

Yet Benevento has been commissioned by BRIC to “rescore” the 1960 Vincent Price B-movie classic for a 50th anniversary screening at Celebrate Brooklyn this Friday. “All my tunes are uplifting, anthemic, more positive, where the sound of ‘Usher’ is dark and doomy and gloomy,” he admitted.

This kind of thing is a Celebrate Brooklyn trademark.

“We identify an interesting composer and think about films that might really work in our large outdoor venue that capture the imagination of the public,” said Celebrate Brooklyn producer Jack Walsh, who did the same thing last year when he commissioned Dean and Britta to provide music for Andy Warhol screen tests. “ ‘House of Usher’ is not a masterpiece by any stretch, but it plays really well, and Marco is a great young talented composer.”

So to outfit the cinematic adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s tale of death and madness, the organ virtuoso Benevento has employed a Mellotron to mimic strings and circuit bend toys (“like a Speak and Read”) and a thunder sheet for sound effects, as well as himself on piano, Reed Mathis on bass, and Andrew Barr on drums.

“I’m pretty much getting into the spooky, creepy factor,” said Benevento. “It’s going to be as weird as the acting.”

One can only hope.

“House of Usher,” screened with a live original score by Marco Benevento, at the Prospect Park band shell [Prospect Park West and Ninth Street in Park Slope, (718) 855-7882], Aug. 6 at 7:30 pm. Free. With White Magic. For info, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.

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How to make a soapbox derby racer

This Saturday, kids — and some adults — will race down 17th Street in South Slope’s annual Soapbox Derby. Making a racer isn’t as easy as putting a box on wheels, so Monica Wuhrer of Open Source Gallery shared some tips for building a great soapbox derby racer:

1. The most important component of a racer are the wheels, said Wuhrer. “Good wheels make the car.” The rear wheels should be larger than the front wheels, and spin straight.

2. Steering is more important than speed. “Speed isn’t everything, it’s the ones who manage to get through the course without missing anything that win.” Wuhrer recommends drilling a hole in the middle of a 2-by-4-inch wood block, then connecting the block to the axle and base with a screw, so you can then steer by pushing with your feet on either side of the 2-by-4.

3. Make sure you’re comfortable, so use cushions and packing, from computer boxes, for example, to provide cushioning. If you crash, you’re going to need it.

4. Always be fashionable. “Some cars are maybe slower, but they’re super cool because of the work and the ideas that got put into it,” she said. “When they are original, for me, that’s what makes a good car.”

5. Once the race is over, you’ll want to stop. Wuhrer recommends using a piece of wood, screwed to the side of the car, that can drag along the ground.

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Wheely great fun

You don’t need to travel to Ohio for some prime Soapbox Derby action this summer.

On Saturday, Open Source Gallery brings the do-it-yourself childhood hobby to the hills of South Slope for what is fast becoming a neighborhood tradition, bringing a taste of small-town America to the streets of Brooklyn.

“I want it to be a block party, a public event where everyone can come and have fun,” said Monica Wuhrer, who runs the 17th Street art space with her husband and has been holding a soapbox-building camp for the past three weeks there. “I want the race to be serious but fun, and not competitive like the championships in Ohio.”

Indeed, the winner of the derby can look forward to a big pot of ice cream for the prize, said Wuhrer.

Despite the name, soapboxes don’t actually play a part in their construction, but rather remain a nod to the derby’s beginnings, when, during the 1920s, creative, daring children would build cars out of soap crates and race them down hills. Not before long, that pastime turned into an organized sport, with sleeker, bobsled-like cars raced nationwide and culminating in a world championship, held every July in Akron, Ohio, for the past 70 years.

Here in Brooklyn, the 17th Street race is in its second year running. Nearly 40 kids are anticipated to participate this Saturday, with their creations judged based on engineering, speed and design. Limited to using only found materials in the construction, their soapboxes will consist of items like ironing boards, shelving units and even surf boards — the only other rule being no motors allowed, of course.

“They’ll all different colors, sizes, forms and types,” said Wuhrer. “That’s what makes it fun and interesting.”

Unlike last year’s event, which consisted of the racers ridden one at a time down 17th Street, the Aug. 7 derby will live up to its name and also feature a race for those speed demons with a bit of a competitive streak.

“The kids want to have more of race,” said Wuhrer. “They were complaining that last year it was a bit too calm.”

Adults are encouraged to get in the fun, too, with a separate race held after the kids’ take their soapboxes for a spin. And with the more ironic Paping Soapbox Derby quitting its underground races on Brooklyn Heights’ “Suicide Hill” two years ago, this is the only game in town,

Last year’s kid’s winner, Eli Rosenblum-Stephens, won’t be there to reclaim his title on Saturday, as he’s away at sleepaway camp (of course). So second place finisher Oscar Baldwin, Wuhrer’s 8-year-old son, looks to claim the top prize.

In the days leading up to the big derby, Baldwin was in the process of constructing his racer.

“I don’t really care what it looks like.” he said, “I just want the wheels to be really fast.”

Soapbox Derby outside Open Source Gallery [17th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues in South Slope, (646) 279-3969], Aug. 7, with the kids race at noon, adults at 1 pm. For info, go to www.open-source-gallery.org.

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