Tuesday, October 02, 2007  
Now and Then News

:: Posted by Bryan @ 10/02/2007 12:01:00 AM
Thanks to Kevin Boyd, this story from the Kitchener-Waterloo Record, which claims that Now and Then, the venerable Kitchener comic book store, was to close by the end of September. Now and Then's closing has been erroneously reported here and elsewhere previously, so I am holding my tongue. The last time I was in the store (June 2007) owner Dave Kostis claimed that he was moving to a new location but was not closing. Kostis is not quoted in the Record article:

Sim was not the only local cartoonist supported by Now and Then. Kremer carried the work of fledgling area artists as well.

For instance, before Rick Taylor of Mississauga began drawing books for DC Comics, Kremer sold his Wordsmith book series at Now and Then, said Mel Taylor, Rick's cousin and collaborator on the book Bootleg Comics & Stories.

Kremer would help young people interested in comics by giving them jobs at the store. Sim worked there in his early 20s, while Peter Birkemoe, now co-owner of The Beguiling comics store in Toronto, worked at Now and Then in his teens.

The current owner, Dave Kostis, also worked under Kremer. Kostis bought the store after Kremer's death.
It would have been almost impossible for Kostis to live up to the standard set by Kremer, Mel Taylor said. Even after he died, people referred to the store as "Harry's" rather than by its official name.

"People were so heartbroken when he died," Taylor said. "I seriously think it was a phenomenal thing to take on your shoulders."

"Dave's had to live with that, to put it succinctly."
Kostis declined to be interviewed for this story.
For months, the store has been open irregularly, and its phone has been disconnected. But the comics community is not going to let the store die without its due regards.

"We're actually planning a wake," Brast said. "A lot of people are going to get together and celebrate the store and tell stories."

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3 Comments:

Blogger industri said...

No - it's gone - I was in there on the second last day and they were dismantling the shelving. It was like watching a piece of my childhood get dismantled before my eyes. Heartbreaking, really.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 10:55:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Bryan said...

Well, that's too bad, really...

RIP, Now and Then. I wish Mr. Kostis luck in is future endeavors.

Monday, October 8, 2007 9:36:00 PM EDT  
Blogger David Okum said...

Yep, gone. I was by today and I was in for a shocker. Paper on the window and a sign for a new store opening soon.
Pretty sad really.
David Okum
http://www.okumarts.com

Sunday, October 14, 2007 11:30:00 PM EDT  

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