San Diego's Now Or Never Comics

Going to a comic book shop during Comic-Con International may seem like a weird thing to do - and it is - but I've always wanted to go to San Diego's Now Or Never store, and this November, I was able to visit for the first time.

Now Or Never Comics opened in 2018 and it immediately landed on my radar, if for nothing else than the fact that it was a downtown comic book shop that was within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center. I am a very big proponent of Comic-Con sprawl during the convention, and I'm always excited to see what related events are happening throughout the city while the show is going on. But once Comic-Con starts, reality sets in, and it becomes evident that there are only so many hours in a day. Because of this, sites and events that at one time seemed to be can't miss items end up getting lopped off of convention schedules because of the dreaded time crunch.

If I remember correctly, Now Or Never Comics hadn't opened in time for Comic-Con 2018, and I didn't find time to walk there in 2019. I made plans to go on the Monday after the show ended, but Mondays are the one day out of the week that the shop is closed, so I never made it to the shop until this past year.

Sunday at the Comic-Con Special Edition ended up being a perfect day for me to walk to different locations around town and to see things that I normally wouldn't have time for during a regular show. It was a very decompressed day in general, so I took advantage and spent time walking to a couple different places in downtown San Diego, including this comic book shop located on F Street.

The store is located in a two-story building made of brick and concrete, a somewhat condensed space with high ceilings and seemingly every space utilized. The main floor is populated most prominently by drawers of back issues. I ended up buying that Miracleman issue in the picture above.

There's a lot of charm to the store. It's well lit with a lived-in feel, and even though they sell collectibles, it seemed to me that this was a place where you would take things out of the box and play with them. Note the well-used My Pet Monster sitting in the stadium seats in the above picture.

The second floor of the shop was well organized and even more condensed, with an action figure display there to greet you at the top of the stairs.

The feel and layout of this space was what I'd hope from a comic shop. There was a lot of stuff to check out, and I was excited to wander around.

The store had more toys than I had expected.

But there was still a lot of room for comics. These dollar books populated one side of the upstairs room, while downstairs was where you could find new books, trades and other back issues.

I dropped off a few copies of Planet Comics while I was there. As always, I wonder if anyone went home with 'em or if they're still at the bottom of a stack somewhere.

I'm always excited to go to a new comic shop, and Now Or Never didn't disappoint. The close proximity to the convention center gives me hope that sometime soon, they'll be able to create some kind of space for an event that takes place during Comic-Con. It seems like a great place to have an after-hours signing, to host a mini-panel or to sell some kind of show exclusive. But for now, if you're in San Diego, check out this shop that really captures the feel of San Diego. I hope to go back again the next time I'm in town!