JPM Comics on Route 66 in Glendora
Name:
JPM Comics
Address:
1000 E. Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740
Phone Number:
(626) 857-0718
Websites:
JPM Comics Website
Yelp
Hours of Operation:
Monday
Closed
Tuesday – Sunday
12:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Many years ago, around 1997, I used to work at a comic book kiosk in the center of a mall in Indianapolis, IN called “Big Entertainment.” These kiosks were run by the same company that published Tekno Comics in the mid to late-90′s. We sold mainstream comics, graphic novels, and collectibles. We had a decent selection of cold cast resin and porcelain statues and book ends, art prints, and the occasional Icons Lightsaber replica. I loved all those statues, be it the cheesy Star Wars statues from Applause that ALMOST looked like the characters, if you squinted and turned your head just right, to the really nice statues that looked like the artwork just sprang from the page of the comic. Working with those, seeing the look on the customer’s faces when they saw them, was one of my favorite parts of working in that kiosk.
Fast forward 13 years, and I’m walking through the door of JPM Comics in Glendora. This is a smallish store with what seems like a LOT of stuff crammed inside. Upon closer inspection, what takes up a LOT of space is an island in the center of the store that is made of display cases. These display cases contain statues and collectibles, many of the SAME statues and collectibles I used to sell at Big Entertainment 13 years ago, along with some of the newer ones. Busts, ornaments, statues, they’re all nicely spaced and arranged inside the cases. Nicely spaced and arranged in a way they take up three times the amount of space they really need to in the shop. The cardboard standees and R2-D2 Pepsi Cooler also took up a lot of needed space.
The rest of the store was your standard action figures, comic books, graphic novels and long boxes of back issues. Their new issues seemed to be pretty haphazard and disorganized, but I know that one of the staff members were working in that area putting out new releases, so that could have been part of the reason. They mainly seem to carry more of the mainstream titles; when I asked if they carried any of the Disney titles from Boom! Comics, the younger gentleman working the new release section apologized and told me they don’t carry much, if any, of those types of titles.
This brings me to their customer service. While I was there, I noticed three people working the floor, which based on the size honestly seemed like two people too many, but I do not begrudge anyone work these days. The first person I saw, and the person who greeted me, what the younger gentleman working new releases. He was very friendly, and seemed to know his stuff. We talked for a few minutes about the different comics, pull lists, and the like. There was an older woman working on organizing and cleaning the store who was also very friendly. The third person was an older man who just sat on a computer behind the counter. He could have been working on adding new books into their inventory, he could have been playing World Of Warcraft, I honestly don’t know. All I know is that my presence in there didn’t make one lick of difference to him one way or the other. Maybe if I had bought something, I would have been worth his attention, but since they didn’t have what I was looking for, I guess I will never know.
JPM Comics is in Glendora, located on the south side of Historic Route 66. It’s tucked away in the corner of a strip mall, and if you are heading west on 66, you’ll more than likely miss it until you’re passing it. I consider it to be an average comic book shop, with a fair selection of mainstream books and trade paperbacks and a decent selection of statues and collectibles. Issues with them include a problem with wasted space. When you have a store their size, space management is essential. The other issue is with their statues. I’m trying really hard to remember, and for the life of me, I can not remember there being any price tags on any of the statues, so I don’t even know if they’re reasonably priced or not. Feel free to check them out if you’re in the area, and make your own opinion!
I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar,
The Geek Explorer
The Geek Explorer started exploring his geekish tendencies back in 1991 when his father bought him the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, even though his path was more than likely preordained when he was born two days before Star Wars premiered.
He has spent most of his adult life in geekish pursuits. His retail preferences has always been around electronics, video games or movies. He has spent time working in the practical FX industry, working on The Tick and Blade 2. He has dipped his toes in the licensed prop replica market, as well as working on his own non-licensed personal projects. He likes making outrageous claims like he founded the Rebel Legion Star Wars costuming group. He also enjoys a nice slice of cake over pie.