Chris's Cards & Comics

Chris's Cards & Comics is a card and comic shop on Lafayette Road in Seabrook, New Hampshire, with a second store in Salem. The Seabrook shop pairs a large back-issue comic stock with sports and entertainment cards and the major trading card games: Pokémon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh!. It suits comic readers who want a cheap bin to dig through, sports card collectors, and anyone with a collection to sell.

What's on the shelves

Comics are the foundation. New releases are shelved on a new comics rack each week, and the store also stocks back issues, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, manga, and an all-ages section aimed at younger readers with titles such as My Little Pony, Sonic the Hedgehog and DC Superhero Girls. Comics are displayed to show off the cover art while keeping each book in good condition. The Seabrook store holds a 50-cent section of more than 2,000 comics, which makes it an easy place to try a new series or fill gaps in a run.

On the card side, the store carries sports and entertainment cards in several forms: sealed boxes and single packs, a large inventory of singles across sports, case cards (harder-to-find autograph and memorabilia cards), and the supplies to store and protect a collection. Pokémon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! are all stocked. Sports memorabilia is part of the mix too, though the Salem store is the one known for its action figure and sports memorabilia section.

Comic subscriptions

Regular readers can have titles set aside through a subscription service. No credit card or upfront payment is needed, and each pickup takes 10% off. There is no commitment, series can be added or dropped at any time, and a subscription can be cancelled whenever. New comics arrive on Tuesdays for DC and Wednesdays for Marvel.

Selling to the store

The store buys as well as sells, and it works by appointment. Calling ahead is strongly recommended, and sellers must be at least 18 and bring ID. The buying list covers:

• Comic book collections of any size, from the Golden Age through the Modern Age
• Graphic novels and trade paperbacks, hardcovers included
• Action figures, in the package or out, Funko Pops included
• Sports cards from before 1979, plus rookie cards of players such as Brady, Jordan, Tatum and Judge, and autograph cards from 2000 to 2022
• Non-sport and entertainment cards that come out of packs as certified sketch, memorabilia or autograph cards

Hours and getting there

The Seabrook store is at 919 Lafayette Road, on Route 1, close to the Massachusetts border and a few miles from the beach. The same hours apply across the Seabrook and Salem stores, except that Salem closes on Thursday.

Seabrook stays open on Thursday even when the Salem store is closed.

The second location

The Salem store is at 341 S Broadway, on Route 28, minutes from the Massachusetts line. It is the stronger stop for action figures and sports memorabilia, and buyers are generally on hand at both stores on most days.

The local scene

Within a few miles of Seabrook are Sports Collectors Closet in Hampton, about 3.7 miles away, Toy Soldier Games and Comics in Amesbury at 4.6 miles, and two Miller's Comics listings in North Hampton at about 5 miles. For shows, the Salem Derry Monthly Card Show is about 20 miles away and next runs November 8, and the Dover Sports Card Show, about 18 miles away, next runs November 15. Lot of Cards' Thursday Night Show, about 37 miles out, follows on November 19.