Comic Vault

Comic Vault is a comic book shop in Altoona that also runs a steady slate of Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon play. It sits at 1130 N 12th Ave and keeps late hours on weekends, with Saturday running until midnight. It suits comic readers who also play cards, and players who want a few evenings a week with a table and an opponent.

What's on the shelves

The core of the store is comics. New releases arrive every Wednesday, and the back-issue selection keeps growing. The store sells exclusive variant covers, such as a Snake Eyes: Deadgame #1 variant with cover art by a local artist, and it also stocks original art, statues and toys.

For card players, the store carries Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!. CGC and CBCS grading services are offered, which matters to anyone with comics or cards worth slabbing.

Weekly play

The Wednesday schedule starts mid-afternoon, with a league night for Magic and a casual night for Yu-Gi-Oh! after it.

The Magic league is a Commander league, and Magic is not confined to Wednesdays.

Beyond Wednesday

Magic fills much of the rest of the week. Friday night Magic starts at 5 PM and runs to 9 PM, and Saturday brings an EDH and Commander session from 4 PM to 10 PM. Pokémon plays on Sundays from 2 PM to 4 PM, which falls within the store's short Sunday hours. A chess night runs alongside Yu-Gi-Oh! on Wednesdays at 5:30 PM, so a household with mixed interests can split up and still be under one roof.

Events and signings

The store hosts in-store events and signings, and past signings have featured comic artists. Convention signing and pick-up services are also offered, useful for collectors who want a book signed at a show but can't attend. The store also features local artists, including a portrait artist who works in charcoal and graphite and has drawn covers and sketch cards for major licenses.

Hours and getting there

The store is closed Monday and Tuesday and open the rest of the week.

The store is at 1130 N 12th Ave, Altoona, PA 16601, and Saturday gives the longest window of the week for a long play session.

The local scene

Altoona has several other shops within a couple of miles. Caster's Collectibles LLC is about 1 mile away, Cartridges Galore Video Games and Retrospect Games Altoona are each about 1.3 miles away, and Full Steam Ahead Hobby Shop and Prominent Games are both about 1.9 miles away. Comic Vault is the one in that cluster built around comic books, with its card play running as a strong second act.