Dark Side Comics
Dark Side Comics; the littlest shop with the biggest heart, est. 2013-2019. 💙
It started as a little blue box; somewhere to sell comics, to introduce people to the wonderful world I'd thrown myself headfirst into for the past decade.
But over six years, that little blue box grew. It became so much more than I ever expected, more than I ever could have dreamt, more than I ever knew was possible.
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Since I was young, I've always been a weirdo. One of the strange and unusual, wired in a way that didn't connect with other kids, built differently to the point of obscurity, a strange, amorphous sort of thing packed crudely into a human skin.
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That is, to say, I didn't fit in.
Naturally, my interests reflected that. I loved alternative music, with loud guitars and louder vocals. I loved 80's movies and drawing. I loved reading. I loved being alone, lost in a world much bigger than my own.
It's how I found comics. It's how I found a home in comics, amongst their structured panels and vibrant artwork, their creative way with words and larger-than-life characters; in those stories, the weirdos were heroes. Nobody told Batman to 'make friends', or made the X-Men hide their gaudy spandex outfits.
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When I opened Dark Side, I wanted that same feeling to permeate the walls. Through recommending books I loved, through introducing people to the world of comic books, I wanted them to find their place, to find somewhere they could be themselves without fear of judgement or reprisal.
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Maybe it was passionate intent, or maybe it was my lived experience, but something happened. People visited, not just to pick up the latest issues, but to be; to exist in the space, comfortably, welcomed, accepted, celebrated.
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Because what is acceptance, but the bare minimum?
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Dark Side Comics became a place where you were uplifted, held high and shown off, celebrated for all your weirdnesses. Nothing needed to be hidden or stifled, it was the opposite - a place to be completely free and loved exponentially for it. Naturally, it attracted 'misfits' - those shunned by society, or people, or families, those 'othered' just by their nature. The neurodivergent, the queer, the people of colour, women, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, those still finding their feet and those deeply established. All ages, all backgrounds, nothing refused, nothing ignored and nothing diminished. Everybody who walked through those doors, into that little blue box, became a part of something bigger; the Dark Side Comics Family.
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The most welcoming, loving, authentic community swelled. With complete kindness, every member of that Family introduced newcomers, ushering people into their ranks with the same celebratory outlook I'd attempted to foster. Nobody was turned away, nobody too 'this' or too 'that', instead, everybody accepted truly, as they were, celebrated, as they deserved to be.
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Dark Side Comics was a snapshot in time, planets aligning for six incredible years. It served a community that was woefully underrepresented, it helped lost souls find their place, it showed every person through its doors that they belonged. It loved, wholly and completely, with a passion that reached far beyond its little blue walls.
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It introduced generations to a world where they were seen, reflected, validated. Not just amongst it's community but amongst the pages of the books it sold, carefully curated to best serve the people who frequented. Avid readers, never readers, young, old and everything in between found solace and excitement between panels. It inspired artists, designers, musicians, writers in the making, people who have gone on to successes they might never have found without those books placed into their hands. Books they'd never have found from a smart algorithm, books hand-picked for them, by somebody that knew them, by a friend, always; your friendly neighbourhood Bucky, waiting just behind the counter.
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In a post-Dark Side world, the most solace I can take is that it happened at all. For six years, people found a home, a place that lifted them to greater things, allowed them the space to solidify themselves and learn to trust their own hearts. I try to picture it as a foundation, a beloved memory, an important page in myriad lifetime stories... Or maybe a fleeting memory of a place where someone purchased a beloved book or two.
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For me, it's an almighty chapter in my history. A great, dusty tome, housed in a protective glass case and only to be handled with silk gloves. It's precious to me, and maybe, to others, in their own sorts of ways.
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If all I ever did was introduce some good comics to some good people, and maybe give a few weirdos like me a place to belong, then that's plenty enough for me.​
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- Bucky
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∘₊✧ Dark Side Comics est. 2013 - 2019✧∘₊
