In 1996, childhood best friends Curtis Sullivan and Steve Fodale opened a comic shop in a pink house on S. Ashley Street. The timing made no sense. The comic book industry was in one of its biggest crashes, and shops were closing all over the country. That didn't stop them. The pair brought odd skills to a comic shop. Curtis had worked as a cook and restaurant owner. Steve came from accounting and finance. The owners say that "strange recipe" made Vault of Midnight stand out from the start.
It worked. In 2010, the shop won the Will Eisner "Spirit of Comics" Award at San Diego Comic-Con. Their take on it: "It was really cool." Curtis hosts SuperSkull, a weekly podcast about new releases and comic book industry news. Listen at superskullshow.com.
If you've lived here a while, you might remember one of the old spots. From 1999 to 2002, the shop ran out of an old gas station on N. Fourth Ave. After that, it spent a few years on Liberty Street, below a Chinese restaurant some of the staff miss to this day. In 2006, it landed at 219 S. Main St. (its fourth Ann Arbor home, in the heart of downtown).
The name mashes up two old comics. Captain Midnight started as a radio serial hero in 1938, and Vault of Horror came from EC Comics in 1950. The owners say the combo sounds like the Golden Age of comics "without directly infringing on any copyrights.
"Bringing a kid? Every Vault sets aside a big section for All Ages books, and the staff hand-picks what goes on those shelves. Got a box of old comics at home? Don't haul it in. Email a list of titles, issue numbers and years to [email protected], and the shop will book a time to look. Want to know what your books are worth? Appraisals cost $50 an hour, and you get a detailed write-up of each book's value.
The shop opens at 11 every day. It closes at 8 on Sunday through Thursday and at 10 on Friday and Saturday. Call (734) 998-1413 or email [email protected]. Ann Arbor is the only Vault with its own event space. To rent it, email [email protected] for a quote. Check the shop's website and socials for upcoming events.
Stop by this week, skip the price question, and ask the staff what you should read next.
