Comic World

Kathleen's 4th Avenue shop has been running since the 1980s — deep comic back issues plus trading cards, on a short Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule.

Comic World is one of the longest-running storefronts in downtown Huntington and is frequently described as the longest continuously female-owned and operated comic shop anywhere. Kathleen — known locally as the Comic Book Lady — has run the 4th Avenue location for decades, carrying new releases, trade paperbacks, and a back-issue stock measured in the thousands, with trading cards and hobby supplies filling out the rest of the shop.

For collectors, the draw is the archive. This is not a shop built around this week's Pokemon restock; it is a shop built around what accumulated over forty years. Back-issue bins, older card product, and the kind of shelf-corner oddities that only turn up in stores that never fully cleared out are what reward a slow browse. If you collect vintage in any format, there is a reason to stop.

Two things are worth knowing before you drive in. First, the hours are narrow and front-loaded: Tuesday 11AM to 5PM, Wednesday through Saturday 11AM to 6PM, closed Monday and Sunday. Second, several recent Google reviews report the door locked during posted hours and calls going unanswered, which is the main reason the shop sits at 3.7 stars across 55 reviews rather than higher. Call 304-522-3923 before making the trip, especially if you are coming from out of town.

When it is open, the location is convenient — 4th Avenue puts it a short walk from Hometown Hobbies and a few blocks from Pullman Square, so it folds naturally into a downtown Huntington card shop circuit rather than needing its own trip.

Treat Comic World as a back-issue and vintage stop with a phone call attached, and it is a genuinely interesting piece of the city's hobby history.