Minnesota is known for the Minneapolis Sound, which was made popular by the likes of Prince, The Time and Sheila E. Humanoids published a graphic novel titled MPLS Sound in 2021 that does not get enough love. Written by Joseph P. Illidge and Hannibal Tabu, Art by Meredith Laxton, Colors by Tan Shu and a beautiful cover by Jen Bartel. It only seems fitting that the magic of the Minneapolis Sound would be captured in a graphic novel as Minnesota has proved to be a growing and thriving community for comic book readers and pop culture enthusiasts. While talking to other comic youtubers or people at conventions, I always hear “I don’t have a local comic shop.” To my ears this is heartbreaking, since I started to read comics in 2009 there was always a comic shop within 15 miles from wherever I was at. Minnesotans are some of the most creative people I know with many friends being artists, comic writers and comic shop owners.

What makes the comic scene so special in Minnesota? It’s truly the people here, in the state we have three organizations that put on Comic shows. The Minnesota Comic Exchange is a facebook group that started during the pandemic and quickly blossomed into a leader in the community. The MCE is now responsible for a fan run comic show in Woodbury Minnesota that happens twice a year and recently started Comics & Kegs, where they take a brewery and turn it into a comic show. As one of the admins of the MCE, I am pleased to see the growth over the last 5 years.

The Minnesota Comic Book Association (MNCBA) holds Spring Con and Fall Con, the two biggest comic shows in the state. In one way or another, the MNCBA has existed since 1987. Today, Fall Con takes the grandstand at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds and turns it into a two day comic show.  And finally there is EEAKK Comic Book Shows, this organization puts together a couple shows a year in Mounds View, Minnesota. These shows have a retro vibe that acts more of a hang out for comic readers that result in spending too much money on that one key comic.

Outside of these comic shows, Minnesota is also home to The Uncanny Experience, an immersive X-Men fan convention. Showrunners, Giant Size Productions, turn the Minneapolis Club into Xavier’s Mansion for a weekend. X-Men fans live out their dreams by becoming a student at Xavier Institute with classes taught by the likes of Wolverine, Jean Grey and Cyclops. Students will be able to explore Xavier’s office and play video games in Jubliee’s bedroom. The Uncanny Experience is celebrating their senior year in 2026 and each passing year the cosplay contest and overall cosplay at the event is the best in Minnesota. I am lucky to be a part of this convention, seeing how the community reacts to this and the friendships created throughout the convention. The Uncanny Experience is truly something special.

The biggest nerd event in Minnesota is Twin Cities Con, which closes the year in November. Run by Nerd Street, Twin Cities Con takes all things nerdy and puts them in the Minneapolis Convention Center for a three day show. This show represents something for everyone. It’s the show that brings in the biggest names in pop culture. Last year for the comic side of things, Twin Cities Con brought in the likes of Mark Brooks, Ryan Stegman and Phil Hester. For Minnesota, I love seeing a show like Twin Cities Con, it’s a great way to finish the year before the snow comes in.

Here is where Minnesota gets even more special for comic books, the comic shops! The places that spend every day in Minnesota providing a service to keep the comic community alive. If you live in the metro area of Minnesota, there will be a comic shop near you. Two of the biggest shops are located near each other in Roseville, Comic Book College and Source Comics & Games. When you ask a Minnesotan about comic shops these will be the first two that are mentioned, Comic Book College has become a warehouse of comic books. In my eyes it’s Minnesota’s version of Mile High Comics. Source Comics & Games is a hybrid comic shop now, the store is split up into sections for all your nerdy needs.  Dedicated spaces for comics, tabletop gaming, Trading Cards, and RPGs, Source Comics & Games’ dedication to the fandom is why it’s the most noticeable comic shop in Minnesota.

However, this is only the tip of the iceberg for Comic shops in Minnesota. If you have watched the news recently, you may have seen a 70 year old man expressing how angry he was with everything happening to his neighbors and the city he loves. That’s Greg and he owns the best bookstore in Minnesota (at least in my opinion), Dreamhaven Books & Comics. They specialize in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, but also have a rich collection of comics and graphic novels. From being the store that introduced me to Junji Ito to now becoming the voice of resistance in Minnesota, Dreamhaven is a must stop for anyone visiting Minnesota or any comic collector in the state.

The best place for your weekly pulls and the friendliest crew in a shop, belongs to Issues Needed Comics in Apple Valley. Issues Needed Comics is our local comic shop, it’s not the closest shop to us but we make the drive at least once a week to spend time with the crew there and pick up our pull list. If they sell out of a certain book, Jason the owner will hop on his computer to order more copies just for you. This has been our Local comic shop since 2019 (even when we worked and were business associates to another shop, Issues Needed Comics was still our LCS). Much like Source Comics & Games, Issues Needed does specialize in Magic The Gathering and Pokemon. The best thing about Issues Needed Comics is despite being a weekly stop, there is always something new.

Two shops that have multiple locations in Minnesota are Hot Comics and Nerdin Out. Hot Comics recently closed their Minneapolis location but still have locations in Jordan and Richfield. Their Richfield location is filled with short boxes of every title and Hot Toys with their Jordan location having an arcade attached to it. Nerdin Out has taken Minnesota by storm since 2019. Opening their flagship store in Rochester, followed by opening a store in Inver Grove Heights (My Hometown), and in December 2023 they opened a third location in Coon Rapids. One of my favorite things about Nerdin Out is their dollar bin and brown bag deal. Fill up a brown bag of comics for a certain cost, this has resulted in many fill holes in our collection and discovering titles that we did not know existed. In the past they ran a convention in Rochester called Nerdin Out Con, maybe something that will come back again.

There is one store that I wish was closer to us and that is Pulp Comics and Games. If we lived closer to this store, it would arguably be our LCS. Pulp Comics and Games features the most dollar books in one room that I have ever seen in one store and that’s only one reason to support this shop. They love comic books and release videos on their YouTube channel weekly talking about the comics to pick up. I find myself turning into their videos to find out what comics I should pick up at my LCS. Much like Issues Needed Comics, the crew at Pulp Comics and Games become your friends instantly. Pulp Comics and Games is located in Mankato and is worth the trip to the shop.

Some shops that deserve a shout out as well: Odd Mart in Minneapolis is a shop that will make sure you find the most off-beat comic possible. Nostalgia Zone Comic Books is the best bet in Minneapolis to find some golden age comics. Rockhopper Comics and Games in New Hope, Story Arc Comics & Collectibles in Savage and The Comic Ferret in Farmington are new comic shops that we have never visited or only visited once. Granite City Comics in St. Cloud is holding the fort down in St. Cloud providing comics to the community in that area. Mind’s Eye Comics is the only minority owned comic shop in Minnesota as they recently moved to Saint Paul. Most Wanted Comics in Bloomington has become the home for signings in Minnesota with Comic creators and Wrestlers doing a signing almost monthly. And finally there is Duluth, home to two comic shops that we have never visited, Rogue Robot Games & Comics and Collector’s Connection.

I am sure we missed a shop or two talking about how magical the comic scene is in Minnesota, if I did miss any please let me know. I am proud to be a Minnesotan and the community that is built here will make comics live on.