(Review) Haven for Heroes - Port Jervis, New York

 So, the move of my ex-wife and kids to Upstate New York was semi-successful.  The house is still half-full of crap, the kids' social calendars for July are still in Pennsylvania, and one of the cats escaped during the move.  

Case in point:  Millie already had summer engagements and missed most of the moving brouhaha, so when the missing cat showed up at the house and Millie was ready to be shipped up north, we arranged a swap just before I reached the Newburgh exit of the Thruway.  And despite a full day of other tasks to take care of, that meant that after returning Millie and a cat,  I still had enough time to swing into Haven for Heroes in Port Jervis, New York. 

Haven for Heroes is the classic comic book shop of my youth, with all the good and the bad that comes with that.

The store is dominated by comics: long boxes, short boxes, wire racks, and wooden shelves. On the day I was there, it was the focus of all the customers, making it fairly busy. It was an amount of searching that I haven't seen in quite awhile, outside of actual comic conventions. Honestly, there's not too much related to gaming besides a display of mostly D&D 5e, dice, Magic, and Pokemon, but let's cover my normal format.

Location:  Front St is right in middle of downtown Port Jervis.  Street parking with no meters in sight (a huge plus!)  

And yes, since it was a hot-button issue on other reviews, I was greeted, simultaneously, by two staff in the store.  

Cleanliness: It's a cluttered mess, but its a clean cluttered mess.  There's just so much stuff that your classic Warhammer/Pokemon mom might be taken aback. 

But I'll give credit where credit is due, when your action figure case is clean, properly stocked and LIT, I have a bit more faith in operations. 

Miniatures:  Outside a few Warhammer novels, and some antique lead figures stuck away on a corner shelf, nothing. 

Board Games:  A bit surprised that I don't recall seeing any, but the classic shops of my youth grumbled getting Settlers of Catan and Apples to Apples back in the day.  

RPGs: A solid selection D&D 5e, some other random supplements, and an inordinate number of Mayfair DC Heroes modules, which  younger me would have gone ga-ga over. 

CCGs: A solid selection of Magic with a variety of singles, a full case of Pokemon singles as well.  

Accessories: A healthy supply of base level (re: inexpensive) dice, card sleeves, and CCG accessories.  

The Other Stuff: Thirty years ago in worked in a comic shop that did draw in considerable business with Used CDs, so diversification is key.  I just didn't expect this: 

Lord Vader finds your lack of bass disturbing...

Audio equipment, LPs, DVDs, and VHS had a prominent space in the back.

The video game section was quite impressive, running from current Playstation/xBox to Atari/Colecovision, to even older items. 

I forgot how much I missed me some Atari Bowling...

Comics: The bread and butter, is a little haphazard.  I figured out the new releases, but outside of the items on display behind the counter, I found very little priced and even unbagged back issues in the long boxes.

Events: There are a number of tables in the back, and a quick look at their Facebook page has Magic and even Lorcana events through the end of last year (and one Magic event this past May).  Funny thing is I swear I saw pictures of a full table use during an event, and now I can't find it.  

A deviation from what I normally talk about, but I will say this:  They had an honest to God decent sales while I was there, possibly drawing in some of the customers.  Huge fan of a properly organized and specified sale!

Since my blog is 95+% gaming, and since my modern sense of practicality overrides my heavy sense of nostalgia, I'll be force to give Haven for Heroes a solid three out of five gnomes.

Just the fact of having a store that sells games in a town, and does a considerable amount of Magic is a huge boon.  I love the diversification, I love the nostalgia.  But it has it's limits. 

Haven for Heroes is found at 34-36 Front Street - Port Jervis, NY.  Hours are 12-8 Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 Sunday, closed Monday.   They are available online at Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube.