Happy Harbor Comics is extra-happy being after being honoured among the world’s best comic shops last week at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Happy Harbor finished fourth overall for the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. The winner was Tate’s Comics + Toys + Videos in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Second was Comicopia in Boston, and third was Comics & Vegetables in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The award started in 1993 and recognizes outstanding comic retailers around the world that support the medium within the industry and the community.
“When I heard we were in the final four Thursday afternoon, I then bought a plane ticket and flew down (to San Diego) just in case,” said Jay Bardyla, owner of Happy Harbor Comics.
This isn’t the first time the store has been recognized, as it was nominated for the Spirit three times prior and won the 2007 Shuster Award for Canada’s Best Comic Store.
“It’s not just a matter of opening your doors and putting stuff on the shelf,” Bardyla said.
“We’ve worked very hard at presentation and displaying and format and having educated staff.”
The store has made a lot of contacts in the comic industry, and has had a lot of big names make appearances at their store during events.
Happy Harbor also promotes the comic culture by holding events and sessions in places such as schools, where passionate young artists can get information about how to go forward in the industry.
A retailer can only win the award once, but since Happy Harbor was in fourth, they can be nominated again next year for the fifth time.
An upcoming event for Happy Harbor is the release of the Archie and Veronica wedding issue on Aug. 18.
