Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Nov 11, 2014 22:56:17 GMT -6
Kaboom Test Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico, complements it line of regular comics and toys with rare items such as a copy of Fantastic Four #1 signed by Stan Lee and original animation cels from Disney movies.
krqe.com/2014/11/10/local-toy-and-comic-book-store-has-rare-finds/
Local toy and comic book store has rare finds
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Don’t be fooled by the name, Kaboom Test Labs is making a big boom in the lives of toy and comic book collectors. Just when you looked in your closet and thought about throwing those old action figures away, don’t do it, they may be worth something. The crew at the popular toy and comic books store in Albuquerque says they may be worth a whole lot in fact.
“We’re different than your big box stores,” says co-owner Gene Bustamante. “They can only carry things that they can order from manufacturers themselves. Over here we buy things from individuals who come into our store and say, ‘hey I have this 1955 plush Mickey Mouse that’s from Disneyland when it first opened’ and we purchase those and they are able to buy those kind of things from us.”
The collection doesn’t end at just old collectible toys, it’s some of the newest released figures or hot off the presses comic books. They also say that loyal fans line up on Wednesday morning outside the store for their release. In a shop like this, for the right amount of cash you could get your hands on something really rare.
“Most priceless item, Fantastic Four number one signed by Stan Lee, that’s the first Marvel Comic from the silver age and it’s a really nice piece,” adds Bustamante about the most valuable part of his collection.
From original Disney cells including Peter Pan, Pinocchio and Fantasia, or maybe that life size figure of Wonder Woman you may have been looking for either way Kaboom is quickly getting a new generation of comic book fans fascinated and hooked on a world of imagination and curiosity.
“One of the things that comic book stores have a really tough reputation is that they’re geared towards 18-25 year old males, we’re a little different,” says Bustamante. “We believe in bringing in families. We have a little girl, she’s two years old and we want her to grow up in a place where she is comfortable and safe and that is part of what we’re trying to do here is we are trying to appeal to families.”
It’s also the appeal of coming across a very cool or hard to find toy, not to mention that name Kaboom Test Labs that is making folks give them a second look.
“The way that name came about, my wife she has a PhD in microbiology and so she’s always been around labs,” adds Bustamante. “I’ve always been kind of the kaboom part and it’s like hey, I’m real loud, outgoing and everything like that so we kind of combined our name. You know, us into the name and we thought it was kind of fun because it’s very comicky [sic].”