Calamity Comics, a shop that has been a part of Harrow for nearly 40 years, is set to close its doors for good this November, it has been announced.
The sad news was posted via the official Calamity Comics Facebook page this afternoon (6 October).
The announcement said: “It is with great sadness that, after almost 37 wonderful years of serving you all with your weekly comics, books and everything associated, we are going to be permanently closing the Harrow Calamity Comics store in November.
“Over that period we’ve made numerous friends, hosted some notable creator appearances (Chris Claremont, Grant Morrison, Kevin O’Neill and Pete Milligan to namedrop just a few!), and supported an ever-growing group of gamers on our game tables. It’s genuinely been a blast!
“As you can imagine, all of that has made this a very difficult decision to arrive at but with recent increases in our overheads we have decided to consolidate the business and focus solely on the Hatfield store plus the Mail Order and Online side of the business.
“So, what does this mean for you all?
“Well, for the coming weeks up to and including the final day things will continue as normal. We’ll still have all of your weekly comic deliveries so nothing will change there. Beyond that, with over 30 years of those friendships built up with you all, we’d still love to help serve you as best we can so there are a few options available…
“For those of you interested in keeping your comics orders with us we’ve outlined those options here so can you let us know ASAP which works best for you so we can ensure we increase our orders on the Hatfield account to cover these please.”
Residents have already begun posting tributes to the shop online. Jason P said, “This is dreadful news. I have been coming to this shop since I was a child, from Marvel comics to Pokemon cards – they sold everything that I loved, I will have to head to the other branch now, they will be sorely missed.”
The store provided the following updates about the closure and its impact on customers:
Local Pickup: For those nearby, customers are welcome to visit the Hatfield store to collect their purchases. Existing Pull Lists can be transferred to ensure a seamless experience.
Mail Order Option: If Hatfield is a bit far, a Mail Order account can be set up to have new releases delivered to the customer’s address.
Existing Mail Order Customers: Current Mail Order customers will continue their service, with the Hatfield store being the new point of contact.
The store, based in Greenhill Way, Harrow Town Centre, is currently running a closing down sale, offering discounts on selected items.
Please also note the change in operating hours up until they close in November. The store will be closed on Tuesdays and open as usual from Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Harrow Online are saddened by the news but wish the team well in all their future endeavours.
