R.I.P. Rory Root

I just saw this in the news. Local comic shop owner Rory Root died.

It can be said without hyperbole that Root helped revolutionize the institution of the comics shop. In the early days of this new century, Root and a small handful of other American retailers declared war on the “Comic Book Guy’s” Android’s Dungeon stereotype of the Comics Shop experience, and put in its place a true comic bookstore; a clean, cool place where readers and fans (and girls!) could gather to meet one another, enjoy uncommonly relaxed access to their favorite creators, and, most importantly, discover new comics books.

Said “Casanova” and “The Immortal Iron Fist” writer Matt Fraction, “Across its two different locations that I've visited over the years, [Rory’s Comic Relief is a] bookstore full of absolute wonders, long-lost treasures, and most of all, comics, comics, and more comics. It's almost like the retail experience of a comfy chair-- the sort of place to lose yourself for hours.”

While I never knew the guy personally, I was VERY familiar with his shops. In 7th and 8th grade, I went to Nerd Summer Writing Camp at UC Berkeley (that's not what it was officially called, BTW). The highlight of those two summers was spending plenty of time - and money - at Rory's Comic Relief store. Seriously - there is so much cool sh-t there. It was heaven to a Jr. High geek. My parents would give me $4 a day for lunch money, but I'd spend less than $2 at the nearby Burger King and pocket the other $2+ for comics at Rory's shop. It was a great set of summers and was instrumental in getting me hooked on comics for life.

So, R.I.P. Rory. Your hard work was, and always will be, apprciated by this 35 year-old comic book geek.

Comments

[dave]

while I did not Rory- I too was a big fan of comic relief. I lived in Oakland /Berkeley for 7 years and that store always had super cool stuff, and it was welcoming to everyone.

[Steve]

I currently work at a comic store in NYC (Jim Hanley's Universe), and Rory Root was Jim Hanley's best friend. His contribution to comics cannot be understated and he will surely be missed.