Los Angeles' Meltdown Comics closed after 25 years

Los Angeles geek institution Meltdown Comics closed its doors this past weekend after 25 years. Opened in 1993, Meltdown Comics became not just a place for comics and collectables, but it also hosted live events. Jonah Ray, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon‘s weekly alt-comedy standup show in the back of the store became Comedy Central’s series The Meltdown, and it also housed The Nerdist Showroom that hosted comedy, podcast tapings and other events.

Here was Meltdown Comics’ Gaston Dominguez-Letelier’s farewell letter:

No business is easy, least of all one rooted in paper surrounded by brick and mortar, yet against all odds we survived just long enough to host, share, and celebrate some of the most creative and imaginative artists in the world. It has been my personal privilege to welcome so many incredibly talented minds through our doors giving them and their work a home in this great city of ours.

And what a wonderfully surreal run it’s been… we’ve watched every fad, trend, and next big thing come and go while customers became celebrities, children blossomed to adults, geeks morphed into moguls, and fanboys scored Oscars. Throughout it all, I’ve been most fortunate to be surrounded by my family and the best staff anyone could have ever wished for – through thick and thin you supported Meltdown and invested in me, I will never be able to repay you but know that I am eternally grateful and forever in your debt.

As I prepare to extinguish Sunset’s neon know that there is a new path for me (more later) and I close Meltdown without any regret. For 25 years I have been enriched by every inquisitive mind I have encountered on this journey and for that I humbly thank you, all of you.

In signing off, I urge you all to continue creating comics, buying comics, and supporting the comic book world that has given us all so much over the years.

Watch a short “Origin Story” documentary on Comedy Central’s The Meltdown: