Wrong address to start!! Not that finding the correct address is much help considering they seem to always be closed!! Sign on door states, "Re-open 4:00pm" but it's 20 after four and no one is here!! Yes, supporting local businesses is important, but when they choose to sabotage their o, it's only them to blame for their failure!! read more

Legion - Closed sign at 4:30pm. - Comic Books Near Me - Birmingham, Alabama

Is it cluttered and crowded? Yes! But the owner is in the middle of a big move. Still lots of variety in comics, games, cards, and a ton of anime and super hero figurines. We will be back once they're in their new location. read more

I think the pictures probably paint a pretty good, or in this case bad, picture of what you're getting into when you come here. To be totally clear, the owner and employee(s) are friendly and ask if they can help. I was tempted to say "how about removing about 100 boxes of things randomly piled on the floor that make it impossible for customers to pass each other...you literally have to find a "pull out" so that one person can slide into that spot so another can squeeze past. There appears to be so much here and I'm sure there are hidden treasures to be had, but, it's not worth the effort or energy to try and come across them. I can't speak for price point because I've really never got that far into the process. I really want to like this place, but the only thing comic related that you have any sort of access to is the new releases ... and you still have to struggle to get to those. I've visited this store previously and it wasn't the most organized and easiest to navigate. Fast forward and it's actually gotten worse. I'd love to see what a solid spring cleaning could do to this place and a little organization. Until then, I'll continue doing my shopping online. read more

See all

(REPOST BECAUSE WAS LOGGED INTO WEONG ACCOUNT) Went to Legion during high school and practically lived there every day after school and into the evenings from 2000-2004. Stopped back in today and was really delighted to reminisce with Paul the owner and he was producing about his long-running status as the longest running shop in Birmingham (opened on '92). Great customer service and was even able to find a couple rare comics I have not been able to find at other shops and even got them at face value! read more

I have been coming to this store to buy comics off and on since I was 16. I am now 30, and nothing has changed in this store or with its owner in 14 years. I gave this place another shot over and over again and ignored the way I was treated inside, but I've finally decided that enough is enough. I learned early on to always take a male friend with me if I wanted to be treated somewhat fairly and not be patronized when I asked questions. The owner sure does seem like he's going to be nice, but if you share more than a few sentences with him, he always shows his true colors. When I have gone to pick things up from my pull box, there always seemed to be extra items in it that I did not ask for- when I ask for those to be put back and just to purchase my orders, he always has something to say about it- usually along the lines of "you don't know what you're looking for" or "you clearly don't understand what I'm trying to do for you". On my most recent visit with my husband, I finally had enough. While my husband was pulling out his wallet to make a purchase the owner said "how about you actually make yourself useful" and tossed the comics at me that we were purchasing. I almost lost it... Do not come here. There are other stores across town that treat their patrons with kindness and respect EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. read more

I had been wanting to get into the local comic scene for awhile now, so I decided to try this place out because it was relatively close to home. It was a mistake. The place is filthy, and extremely disorganized. There is no sense of order whatsoever. The owner claims to be in the middle of moving, but all the reviews on here seem to suggest it's been like this awhile. Honestly, I can ignore all of that. The book selection is genuinely very good there. But when you actually get through the mess and to the cash register, things take a dive for the worse. A book says it costs 34.99? Nah let's see what Ebay says. It could be more, it could be less. It's always more. The dude at the front desk tried to charge me 170$ for a 34.99 book. Not happening. I can understand charging more for a book that is out of print. But this book is relatively new, and the price says 34.99. If you want to sell it at that awful price of 170$, fine do it, but properly label it and don't drop it on the customer when they are about to pay. Bad business practice. Avoid this shop at all costs. Not the worth the trouble read more

Went to Legion during high school and practically kived there every day after school and into the evenings from 2000-2004. Stopped back in today and was really delighted to reminisce with Paul the owner and he was producing about his long-running status as the longest running shop in Birmingham (opened on '92). Great customer service and was even able to find a couple rare comics I have not been able to find at other shops and even got them at face value! read more

Great service! Lots of inventory including rare covers. Very professional. Friendly environment and the owner knows what he is talking about. read more

It was a pleasure meeting Paul at Legion. They have a huge selection of comic books and graphic novels both new and old. I was able to find some of the obscure stuff I'm into. Highly recommend. read more

Just updating this: the clutter has gotten far worse, to the point the place is a fire hazard. And the pricing issues haven't gotten any better... the owner is still insistent on not putting prices on anything and just using eBay to come up with a price. read more

Stellar comic shop! I've been collecting since the 80's and have lived all over and Paul has the best collection I've ever witnessed! If you can't find it,he's got it! This place is worth every square inch of real estate that it occupies! read more

Comic collectors dream type shop. Back issues upon back issues. Place looks like the pictures but if you are really into comics, it's very special. A lot of shops just have new releases and very little inventory. If your looking for something fun you'll be able to go hunting and find it. You could spend several hours thumbing through all the long boxes. Friendly staff as well. read more

Decent selection, but anything that peaks your interest the owner will up charge you several dollars. You will sit in line several minutes while he looks up your book on eBay (which should be a reference maybe but not a market price guide, other wise you'd just buy on eBay instead of his store. Also eBay is just someone's opinion of what something should be sold for. A seller on eBay can name any price) When ever a book starts to get any media attention he pulls them off the shelf. It's happened several times, he'll tell me a random book is $10-$15. If you ask why he'll give you excuses. Do yourself a favor and just buy from midtown comics, they charge me under $4 for the exact books... also the store is a mess. There is no air conditioning, so it's hot. read more

Legion buys a crap load of new releases and sells the variants for a fair price. The owner will look up all back issues, but has a wealth of knowledge and give you a fair price. He has almost every comic, but you will always pay the market price. I rather save the gas and the terrible battle with traffic and order through Midtown Comics or My Comic Shop. There is absolutely no benefit driving out to this shop. read more

It is a lot cleaner than it was before and a lot more organized. The workers are very nice and they have Friday night magic where people come and play magic which is really fun! Some of the cards and boosters are a bit expensive but the comics sell for their intended price which is good. Overall great experience and nice atmosphere and can be a little pricy depending on what you're looking for. read more

I visited Legions for the first time last night. My son and I were searching for D&D miniatures. The store is packed with games and comics on high shelves in narrow isles. Gamers played Magic at a table and another group argued about Princess Leia's abilities to use the Force. The young man who helped us was extremely attentive and obviously knew his stuff. He told us that their other location, Superior Comics and Games in Irondale, had more individual characters. We bought a small box of random characters and visited Superior today. If you're a gamer or comic book lover, Legions and Superior are great locations to explore. read more

I was excited to check this place out. I came to see what silver age comics they had, and modern. First, you walk in and there's shelves of boxes of comics everywhere, and tons of product scattered around. It's tight walking everywhere and there's a table that can sit about 3 people for people who are into gaming and card hobbies. I asked to use the restroom, and I didn't know what I was getting into.... that was the worst excuse of a restroom I've ever seen in my life, I took a piss and there wasn't any water to wash my hands, I had to hit a pipe to get water out of it. I was able to wash my hands with soap found on an antique desk behind me. The restroom was the filthiest I've seen in a while. I had no paper towels so I dried my hands on my pants. I walked out to go see what the stores employee picked out of the boxes for me. Personal hygiene of the staff is not upheld. I also was making small talk and the kid had no sense of customer service. The comic selection, as big as it is has nothing useful. Everything's been picked through or is over graded(referring to the silver collection) the owner(I guess) was yelled at by the employee when the owner asked a question, you could tell the kid couldn't handle a stressful situation during 2 customers being there. Hands down, this place is over crowded with inventory no where to sit, shitty bathrooms and isn't a welcoming place to be. Do not buy from this store, they don't care about the customers and that shows based off of the presentation of the store and customer service. read more

Boys and their toys! The shelves are piled high with all the model kits, games and anime you could ask for. Probably the best selection in the Birmingham area. However, the entire store smelled of fast food leftovers and was shockingly cluttered and dimly lit. I'm assuming they already have a cult following keeping them in business so they don't feel the need to maintain a clean or positive atmosphere. I basically had a bad feeling about the place upon arrival. But we traversed the whole city looking for a decent board game store, and here we were, so...anyway, the older man who I guess was the owner or manager asked us if we needed help finding anything. Well - He asked my boyfriend if he needed help finding anything. He told him we were looking for a certain card-based war game, and we were directed right to it. Okay, fine, thanks guy. A minute or so later he pops his head around the corner of the narrow aisles that seemed to enclose on me, asking something along the lines of if I was sold on the war game or not. I said that we were still debating. He went on to say, and very abrasively, "No you're not! Because you're a FEMALE! And you'll just get over it!" and then some more guff about how women can't play war games. He suggested we play Ticket to Ride, because statistically that's the game that gets girls into playing board games (source?). Basically I was appalled. Never been talked to in such a disrespectful way, especially over something so foolish and trivial. He pulled a couple of other less strategy-intensive games as well, suggesting he knew what games we would truly enjoy. Granted, the vast array of tabletop games out there is still unchartered territory for me, but I'm perfectly capable of finding the strategies involved in playing them very interesting, and eventually mastering them! Being a woman has nothing to do with my ability to play a game. We shrugged this weird interaction off at first and just bought the game; luckily we did not have to check out with or see that guy again. Based on my experience here and at other comic and game shops, apparently "nerd" culture prominent in these places breeds severe misogyny, ignorance, and unhealthy habits. It seems imagery of sexually appealing women is capitalized on (artwork of scantily clad girls used to sell products, outrageously disproportionate anime figures), but real living, breathing women are altogether excluded from the community and doted on if they aren't totally knowledgeable on subjects such as comics and games. It's messed up! Bottom line - Y'all need to clean up your store, respect your customers, and stop being sexist knuckleheads. read more

I would consider this place to be a last resort. It's like walking into a really bad thrift store. Its dusty. There are random piles of garbage everywhere to maneuver around. Its overcrowded. There's always people there just hanging out on the junky furniture. Interior lights and HVAC are ALWAYS off. I dont know if the adjoining store is still in use or not but it must be unlocked to enter (another hassle). The worst: Items aren't priced. Everything must be "looked up" online. A total ripoff. On the plus side, the selection of back issues and graphic novels is probably the biggest in town. Just dont expect much in the way of customer service. read more

Legion is an interesting beast. It's split into two stores depending on your taste. The first store is your standard comic shop, and a pretty nice one. A large variety of issues each week, with an extensive backlog of issues to peruse through. Once you get in. The front of the store is extremely cluttered, from the large counter to the stacks of boxes and other junk, it can be a pain to just get in the store. Thankfully it does open up in the back with enough room to breath and move around a bit. The second store is the most interesting of the two, but also the more problematic. The second shop consists of board games, strategy games, manga, and model kits. This shop has the best selection of board games I've seen! and most of the prices are fair on the items. Except for the model kits. Legion stocks mostly Gunpla kits, but also keeps other kits in stock. They have one of the best selections I've seen in terms of variety, but someone lost their mind with the pricing. High Grade kits can run anywhere between $30-$40. With Master Grades $60 and up. absolutely ridiculous. Much cheaper to order from amazon and wait a week or two than to be price gouged like this. I would definitely recommend anyone visit the comic portion. even with it's problems, I feel it stands toe-to-toe with Kingdom Comics. For anyone visiting the specialty shop, I would absolutely go in to shop for games, but for anyone interested in the kits they stock, steer clear. shop amazon or some of the other shops in the area. read more

The store is really cramped. I wanted to die every second I was in there. The atmosphere is dingy. Nothing is organized and most of the merchandise is dusty and overpriced. I feel like the cramped hallways will keep me trapped forever. If there was ever a superhero who specializes in organizing spaces, I hope they make a stop sometime to save the day. read more

Legion for me has always been a great spot for me to purchase collectibles, comics, and miniatures and hang out with friends whether it be roleplaying, tabletop wargaming or just simply hanging out. I'm relatively new to the Birmingham area but out of all the comic book, collectible, etc. stores I've been too, this is one of two that left me both feeling quite comfortable thanks to friendly and helpful staff and with a desire to return. Update: Paul has opened up a second location called Superior Comics and Games in Irondale, located at 7001 Crestwood blvd. suite 604. It's in the Crestwood Festival Center and it's definitely worth a peek! It looks like Paul is making Legion primarily a comic and figurine store while Superior - which is far more spacious - focuses on miniatures, tabletop games, board games, manga, card games and RPGs. The main employee that works here is very friendly and eager to help out. On top of that, there's at least 6 6'x4' gaming tables, 1 8'x4' gaming table, and several booths with tables. Also, if cleanliness was an issue for you at Legion, you shouldn't have any problem at Superior. read more

I tried to order a miniature and was told it would be in the following weekend. When I came back I was told my order was never shipped to the store because not enough other people had ordered enough products from that distributor for them to justify the shipping costs. I wish I had been told that was a possibility before wasting a week of my time waiting for them to get in the item I wanted. I cancelled my order and purchased from Amazon instead. read more

I've been patronizing Legion for ~12 years. It was formerly known as Empire Comics before a name change dispute with another out-of-state business caused the owner to adopt the new name. Legion has an enormous selection of gaming pieces and supplies, comics and comic-related collectibles, storage and display items, and out-of-print books, games, and comics. All of this comes with a price, however, as the owner has been in business for at least 20 years. Legion is not a "look at a price and decide" venue. Due to the fluctuating nature of collectibles, the owner would lose his shirt. Almost all recent and current product is sold at or below MSPR. This includes recent comics, books, graphic novels, gaming and card supplies and more. True collectibles like statues and action figures are priced according to market value. Sometimes this is above MSPR, sometimes, it's drastically below. When in doubt, ask the owner what he's selling it for. Make no mistake, the owner is a collector and (in extreme cases) speculator, but he's upfront and straightforward regarding his pricing and how he comes to those prices. Just ask him, and he'll look that price up for you. While his store leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of organization, it has improved greatly over the years. He once joked that he leaves it slightly disorganized so that shoppers will feel like they're exploring; making those uncommon or rare discoveries all the more engaging when a shopper stumbles across something they've never seen or thought unobtainable. Store hours and product availability as well as diversity of offerings also helps. There's 5 stores similar to this in the area but sized smaller. There's a reason this one has been around so long. If you're looking for it, call or visit, they probably have it. If you're bothered by the usual disheveled appearance and cleanliness of stores like this, you can avoid it. However, this is a common attribute of comic and game shops across the country. Sadly. read more

I've been coming to legion for somewhere around two years now so you could definitely say I'm a regular. Some of the problems stated in the other reviews still exist but it is due to having too much product in the store, a blessing and a curse. I've always been able to find what I want to purchase, the exception being weird and not very common items, and I feel the pricing is fair for most everything. read more

just moved to the area and i was looking for a new comic place. i pretty sure i found my new spot. staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. found a statue id never seen in any of the stores in my old town (i lived in the atlanta area so there were planty of places) and to top it off it was cheaper than any price id been quoted before. can see myself frequenting this store and bringing my friends there when they come to visit read more

This store has almost every graphic novel published in the last 10 years. The reason All these books are there though is the outrageous (and illegal) way the owner prices them. Federal pricing laws state that products sold in any type of retail store must have a clearly marked price on either the shelf or the product itself. It is illegal to make up prices for item when a customer brings said item up to the counter to buy it. In other words the "businessman" who owns this store is breaking the law by looking up what his graphic novels sell from online then trying to charge the buyer that price. He can charge anything he wants to for his products but that price has to be on the product or the shelf. I have seen other Comic stores try to use this same pricing strategy but most of them are out of business now. As for me personally I was planning to spend well over a thousand bucks in his store that day and had no problem paying full price for everything I bought but this silly man would rather books that have been sitting on his shelves for years stay there instead of him making the same profit he would have made from the very beginning. He used to have several stores in the area. Now he has one and now you know why. My guess is soon it will be zero. read more

Could be better... MUCH better! The best part about this store is the huge selection of everything. The friendly faces are always great too. Customer service is top notch. There are a few problems that they need to improve on with their standards. These are the most basic, fundamental problems that other store owners know and do as a rule. The store is filthy.There is dust covering everything and too much clutter. There is hardly any room to walk around and especially if more then five people are there at once. The store has no AC or heating and the front of it is all glass windows and glass doors. The heat gets trapped and so does the cold every season. The sunlight is terrible for collectibles and It's hard to miss the rows of sun bleached action figures that are topped with dust. I would buy some but I'm too afraid I'll get sick if I do. The carpet is really old and dirty too. I feel gross when in that store. It is annoying that they have the other part of the store on the opposite end of the office complex. It is more clean but there is a lot less room to move around and you have to walk close to a city block to get there. I also hate asking them to find something they know they have in stock but can't find. Too much stuff gets lost because things get dumped in piles all over and it is a cluttered mess. I feel really bad for the employees. I can't imagine trying to clean that place or working in those conditions. It seems like there is no way to recover the storefront and collectibles from so much damage after years of dust, dirt, sunlight, temperature problems and general neglect. Some employees in the past were more bad about cleaning and customer service but the employees now appear to do all they can after inheriting the disaster. There was another store location before too. That was years ago. It was clean and neat and they had what I was looking for each visit. They need a location like that again. If they had another one that was like it, I would shop there but the only location is too much of a mess. I wish they would move everything into one new, bigger place that they could keep clean and pay for heading and cooling. They need to care enough about cleanliness, organization, and helping customers (and employees) feel comfortable so that it shows to the customers. As it is now, it does not appear that they want customers in the store. read more