Okay, so many of my Yelp readers know what a total beer geek I am. I write about breweries…read moreconstantly in my reviews. But before I even touched craft beer I was and still am a huge nerd for comic books and acrtion figures. Back when I was very young patience was often demanded out of my parents for my brother and me due to their numerous appointments which is a whole other story as to why that was. So comics were good things to pass by the time while in the waiting room. It also got me into reading too or at least partially. Back then our main choices were Marvel or DC comics and there wasn't really much else to pick from. Occasionally Harvey Comics were around. Those are the comics with Casper The Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich but those got tiresome fast. Eventually getting comics became an obsession and a hobby of mine but collecting DC and Marvel titles at the same time got to be too costly so I decided to drop DC and go with Marvel and that's how it was until the end of high school. College then arrived along with the 1990's and the rise of more independent comic companies and so much more variety than the two comic giant companies of Marvel and DC and this is where I got wind of Dark Horse comics and a few other comic companies at this time. Truth be told I stuck with Marvel still mostly during this decade but my internet would occasionally waver for the other comic companies. I didn't get too interested in Dark Horse Comics until I discovered Hellboy but even then the interest didn't quite solidify but it was getting there. That all changed when I took on the reading project of wanting to read as much of the old Star Wars canon as I could. Marvel had a Star Wars title in the 80's but that license expired and went to Dark Horse. Here the old Marvel stories were reprinted again but in addition a whole bunch of new stories for all of the eras that made up of the old Star Wars canon. It was here where I seriously got hooked on Dark Horse and discovered by reading so many of their Star Wars comics their corporate offices were in the Portland area. So I would need to swing by next time I'm in Portland! But getting back to the Star Wars comics, like any comic series some titles and stories are better than others but a few stories I really enjoyed were their Quinlan Vos storylines, Tales of the Jedi, Dawn of the Jedi era comics and the Dark Empire storylines but I enjoyed many more than that as well. It was when I discovered where the corporate offices were that the pandemic was raising it's mighty head and paying a visit to Portland just didn't seem like a good idea for a while. But finally last February I finally was able to go to Portland and feel safe doing it and went to the offices. Now the first thing to keep in mind is that as far as I can tell there isn't really a place for visitors to go. There is a few Dark Horse signs outside a few buildings in downtown Milwaukee but it looks like you should only attempt entrance if you have an appointment arranged. I saw no shop that was a part of the offices(unlike Fantagraphics in Seattle for example)however there is a comic shop right next door with plenty of comics to browse at. So keep your expectations low on expecting a tour here. In fact if you go through this area on a weekend the offices look closed up tighter than a drum so definitely keep that in mind . Anyway I'm just grateful to have read all those stories Dark Horse printed and reissued on Star Wars. Since that old canon reading project wrapped up(it took three years to do) it seems like I stumble across Dark Horse more and more in my reading choices and that's a very good situation to be in.

A month ago I stumbled across an old coupon for some original Alien 3 comic adaptations. This was…read morefrom 1992 and I thought it was funny that there was no expiration date. As I looked further into the coupon, I found the address and store to send it back to with money still existed. Knowing the worst that could happen would be for me to lose $20, I sent in the coupon with my money, thinking it'll at least spark a couple of good laughs in the store. To my surprise, they sent back my coupon, money AND the Aliens Original Comic Series hardcover book!! I'm super thrilled to have received this and hope to actually visit the store some day.

Still 5-Stars of vintage toy goodness, just updating to reiterate how fantastic this shop is! The…read moreowner is so nice and knowledgeable, and he recently expanded his shop this year to double the space. Hooray for even MORE TOYS! There's quite a variety of toys, a bit of everything vintage, not just Star Wars & G.I. Joe (though there's plenty of those), including some quirky oddballs & kitschy fun stuff. He has a website with even more toys not available in the store, so be sure to check out his website, too (and if you order something online you can arrange to pick it up at the shop, just let the owner know). The shop is bright, clean, and very well organized, with fair, reasonable prices, too. So stop by & get yourself some toys - or a unique gift for someone else, because we could all use some more fun & a bit of whimsy in our lives.

I never thought I'd casually be able to buy Street Sharks like this…read more Dr. Tongue's I Had That Shoppe is one of the most appropriately named stores in the country. Within five minutes of entering the store you'll be screaming "I had that!" as you point at the toys from your nostalgic youth. Not only limited to mainstream popular items such as GI Joes and Star Wars figures, you'll find great items from obscure childhood classics from Toxic Crusaders to Street Sharks (the greatest cartoon show on Earth). Special mention to the owner, a passionate toy lover with a flare for bringing out nostalgic memories while educating you on the history of toy series and entertainment. He made the trip extra worthwhile, as it gave my visit a personal touch. I got three very good condition Street Sharks for the low price of $20. And though I live on California, it is good to know that Dr. Tongue does shipping orders to all over the country. Relive your childhood on this Jawesome toy store.

Great hole in the wall trading card shop. Reasonable prices…read more Owners/Staff were great and friendly. Came all the way from LA to visit friends. Definitely buying from them every time I come and visit. They have a great variety of cards. Booster boxes available too!

Love this place! Always has something for me. Great deals and awesome cards. Has Pokémon, Magic,…read moreand sports cards. Has a little section for local sports teams (Mariners, Seahawks, Blazers) in each case. Keeps his stock updated weekly. Justin is very knowledgeable about hot cards and what is going on in the sports card industry. Always a pleasure to come in and spend some time with the Sweet Spot family.

This place is the best place to go for magic the gathering! The owners are humble and helpful every…read moretime we visit and now we won't go anywhere else my family stopped by today and They made my kid feel important and got him the cards he needed for his birthday. Thanks again for being so humble with good attitudes

MTG Single selection is very good for a local game store, the owner is super nice and personable,…read moreand the store is consistently running weekly tournaments for several MTG formats with prize structures 2-3x that of competing stores. If you are into TCGs, disc golf or comics, this is the place you're looking for!!

Awesome selection. Prices are market but they had a lot of hard to find items. Nice to be able to…read moreput your hands on what you are buying.

This little spot is everything I could ever hope for in a dork store. Their cartridge selection is…read moreinsane, and their Games Workshop selection of games outside of 40k is better than the actual GW stores. I just scored a Legions Imperialis card set that has been sold out online for months. Their new GW stock is perfectly curated for those who are interested in starting the hobby: and also deep enough that elder nerds will find whatever they are looking for. You need some Blood Bowl? Come on in. I should have bought a Vampire team but I didn't. Oops. You want a 40k knight? Let's go. You want a video game from 2008 that you think no one has heard of? It's here. I spotted things on the shelves that you absolutely can not find online. Get in here.

A book popped up in a free library in Boston and I fell in love with it. It turned out to be one of…read morea series. Off I went to Wallace books and they pulled five books in the series off their shelves for me. That was last winter. In the meantime, they're keeping me up to date with the series and each time I go to pick up my book, I find at least one other fascinating read to take home--and they give me credit when I bring books back. What's not to love!

This was a very cute bookstore! They sold new and used books and offered to buy books for store…read morecredit during certain hours. I enjoyed their organization of books with clear category labels along with a "PNW author section"! I felt welcomed and relaxed when browsing and would definitely recommend checking it out for any book lover!

Used to be GameStar. Now goes by "Game On! Play On!". For the fact that there aren't retro video…read moregame stores on every corner these days, I will absolutely be back to give this place my business! They carry video games from most consoles from the past 30 years, the consoles for the games, Lego sets, funko pops, and more! Keep in mind they sell what they get so they might not have every game but I got four N64 games I really wanted! During my visit I saw, Sega Genisis, SNES, N64, PS1, Dreamcast consoles and more! And yeah maybe I paid a few extra dollars on some things but it supports local business and hopefully keeps brick and mortar stores like this around much longer. Sometimes you don't know what you have till it's gone people. Ken the manager was incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, and nice! Comparing their prices to Amazon or EBay, they seem to be right in line as far was what they're charging. In many cases actually charging less. Give this place a look!

Only a one-time visitor, but the store was your basic console retail business…read more I am impressed with the store's stock of vintage games and gaming accessories (NES/etc), but it's nothing you can't find at any other cookie-cutter clone-chain gaming store. I was disappointed with the location's apparent lack of Magic: The Gathering singles. One would think that with the HUGE window displays of M:TG artwork/branding that they would have more to offer than your basic booster packs and card sleeves. The store's customer service met your basic standards: greeted, asked if I needed assistance, wished a good day upon exit. I say it's definitely worth a stop if consoles are your thing.

This is a great little independent bookstore nestled in downtown Milwaukie! Solid selection of…read morebooks and gifts, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I took my young son here once, and he had fun in the kids section. I also came one time with a couple friends, and we enjoyed perusing together. I wish they had more used book options, but I always enjoy stopping by when I'm in the area!

I went to 6 different independent bookstores on independent bookstore day and Spoke & Word was my…read morefavorite by far. They had such a great selection and the staff was so friendly and helpful. I hadn't really been to Milwaukie before but this Main Street area was really cute.