Podcast hosted by Anthony Desiato exploring the culture of the comics retail industry. Available on
06/07/2025
The AR Gang reunited to mark 10 years since the closing of The Store. Great time with great friends, including those who could only be with us in spirit.
Do I wish AR were still around (provided circumstances were agreeable to SKO or a suitable new owner)? Of course.
But that shop was everything I needed it to be during the most pivotal time in my development — the right place, at the right time — so gratitude is the feeling that dominates tonight.
Always hold on to Alternate Realities.
01/07/2025
Alternate Realities closed 10 years ago today.
02/05/2025
I recently passed by the old stomping grounds and discovered that the site of our beloved Alternate Realities — gone 10 years(!) this June — has undergone yet another rebirth. It’s now a stretch lab called The Vital Stretch.
And I kid you not: As I was pulling into the shopping plaza, “Closing Time” by Semisonic started playing on the radio. How fitting? Because, as the song goes, I didn’t have to go home, but I couldn’t stay there. That time is long past.
14/06/2024
My Comic Shop History may have signed off for good (still holding to that, by the way, despite what Steve Oto thinks 😆), but have you listened to my Superman podcast? We’re over 150 episodes in, are currently in the midst of extensive Superboy coverage, and—this coming Tuesday—will be welcoming Superboy TV actor Gerard Christopher as a guest! AR alumni Rich Roney, Bill Maio, Mike Sangregorio, & more have all been guests over the years. 🎧 & sub! Wherever you get podcasts.
20/02/2024
"Hello, I must be going."
Jay Meisel passed away peacefully this morning. I know Jay would say not to make this too % #@^ing depressing, so I'll try my best.
How many people do you meet in a lifetime? How many can you TRULY say are larger than life—a character in every sense of the word? That was Jay. (Jay, by the way, was his full name. Not short for anything!)
A man out of time, who decried modern technology and the lack of appreciation for the films & music of the past. A curmudgeon barking at everyone who came his way, his gruffness belying his sweet interior. He was funny, politically incorrect, and unaware, I think, of just how appreciated he was. Jay had a way, with a smile and twinkle in his eye, of making you feel like you were in on a joke that no one else knew about.
Jay, you let me tell your story (a few times over), and I cherish those times more than anyone can know. You called my podcasts "controlled bullsh!t," and I laugh every time I think of that. Any time I curse at a bad driver in Yiddish, you're with me. Seriously, if Milo's first bad word isn't "schmuck," I'll be shocked.
Rest easy now, my friend. And don't worry: If anyone calls the site of your longstanding comics booth the "FLEA market," I'll tell 'em to % #@^ off, because I know you detest the word "flea."
Zei gezunt.
Jay Meisel: October 20, 1936 — February 20, 2024.
28/11/2023
Sad that My Comic Shop History is over? There’s an Alternate Realities reunion to enjoy TODAY on the latest Digging for Kryptonite: A Superman Fan Journey, where Rich “Friendship & Fun” Roney joins me for a very fun Silver Age Superman discussion! Give it a listen.
☄️ SILVER AGE COMIC TALK with Rich Roney! On this week’s 🎙️ Digging for Kryptonite🎙️, the “Doomed Planet” podcast event continues as one of our favorite guests returns to survey a selection of Pre-Crisis stories featuring the Bottle (or Bottled? 😉) City of Kandor.
Among many others, we discuss: "The Super-Duel in Space" (ACTION #242), "Superman in Kandor" (SUPERMAN #158), and “The Feud Between Batman and Superman!" (WORLD'S FINEST #143), aka the first comic book Rich ever bought and read at 8 years old! It’s a very fun tour through Pre-Crisis Kandor with a guest who lived through all of these stories back in the day.
What are YOUR favorite Kandor stories? How many look-alikes is too many? And does the presence of so many Kryptonians on Earth (albeit in bottled form) diminish Superman to any degree for you? Listen, enjoy, and share your answers to these questions!
🎧 now wherever you podcasts. Link in bio.
01/11/2023
🚨 SERIES FINALE ALERT! 🚨 In 2015, I started this podcast to say goodbye to Alternate Realities, the comic shop that had been like a second home to me for many years. That first time behind the 🎙️ was the start to a journey that has taken me to places & introduced me to people I couldn’t have foreseen. It’s meant the world to me, but everything has its season, and now:
The time has come to bid My Comic Shop History farewell in this special, supersized SERIES FINALE event. Join Steve Oto, Rich Roney, Bill Maio, and yours truly for one last AR reunion—a 3-hour extravaganza filled with surprises, expressions of love & gratitude, our best stories revisited, shout-outs aplenty, and a customer “draft” not to be missed.
Thanks to EVERYONE who has been part of the journey in any way. Endings can be bittersweet, but that’s not a bad thing. I love the way we went out in this episode. Hope you do too.
🎧 now whether you get podcasts. No flat squirrels here.
25/10/2023
Since 2015, I’ve hosted the podcast 🎙️ MY COMIC SHOP HISTORY. And now, it’s time to sign off. One week from today, join us the series finale of My Comic Shop History. Stores close & podcasts end, but friendship & fun last forever. Don’t miss it.
19/10/2023
Stopped by the site of the old clubhouse today. Feeling nostalgic as the series finale recording approaches this weekend. Hear it one week from today! If you have anything to share about this journey before it concludes, it’s now or never to speak up!
11/10/2023
Our SERIES FINALE recording is nigh! If you have ANY final comments/Qs, drop 'em below. Thank you all.
13/07/2023
🎙️ NEW EPISODE ALERT! Folks, it’s time for the penultimate episode of My Comic Shop History, recorded live in studio with guest RICH RONEY of “friendship and fun” fame. Available NOW wherever you get podcasts!
In the Summer installment of our “For All Seasons” farewell event, Rich & I:
😢 relive the dismantling of The Store;
📦 discuss how hu***ng long boxes is akin to digging coal;
🇺🇸 recap a small gathARing over Memorial Day weekend;
🤓 assess the state of Rich's comic book reading; and
🎟️ share a disappointing change of plans regarding an AR reunion at TerrifiCon.
Seriously, does anyone need a Friday ticket for TerrifiCon?!
PLUS! The ongoing saga of Rich Roney vs. Technology reaches its most outrageous turn yet. I was flabbergasted during the last 20 minutes or so of the episode.
Enjoy. 🎧 Series finale this Fall! Don’t miss any of our farewell run.
02/07/2023
Just what did Rich Roney say during today’s My Comic Shop History recording (our penultimate episode ever!) to elicit this response? For those who have been following the saga of Rich Roney vs. Technology all these years, you do NOT want to miss this. Coming soon!
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when My Comic Shop History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company?
Share
Secret Origin
When I was five years old, a routine trip to the local galleria with my parents proved seminal when we happened upon the now-defunct comic book store Heroes World. To advertise the headline-making “Death of Superman” storyline, the store staged its window display with a Superman action figure in a small box mimicking a coffin. That moment in front of Heroes World drew me into the world not only of comics, but also of comic shops.
Ten years later and one town over, I was making one of my weekly visits to Alternate Realities in Scarsdale, NY, when the owner asked the question that would ultimately set me on my path: “Hey, kid, how’s your alphabet?” He was offering me a part-time job alphabetizing back issues, but really, he was inviting me into a community. I unpacked shipments, stocked shelves, worked the register, and did so much more over the following years. More importantly, I became part of a second family comprised of staff and customers alike as we bonded over our shared passion in that cluttered, but warm, store. Lively conversations, weekly dinners, and movie outings became part of my routine at a time when I did not have other people in my life who shared my hobby.
The Alternate Realities community was the subject of my first movie, My Comic Shop DocumentARy, which screened at film festivals across the country and garnered press in multiple media outlets, including The New York Times. When the store eventually closed in 2015, I chronicled its final days on my podcast, My Comic Shop History. That series continued beyond its original mission and is currently in its sixth year.
Then, I embarked on a quest to see if what I found at my shop also existed at others. The end result is My Comic Shop Country, which explores comic book stores across America and the different types of places they represent: they are clubhouses, time capsules, gathering places, and destinations. They are—individually and collectively—a community. At a time where face-to-face interactions, let alone meaningful ones, are increasingly rare, comic shops are struggling but enduring by remaining part of people’s routines.
The film is available digitally on Apple TV and Amazon. My hope is that the documentary, along with the rest of my work, inspires its audiences to reflect on the places and rituals (comic shops or otherwise) that have given them a sense of belonging, as my comic shop did for me.
