Over three decades, Rob Tuck worked as a sales representative for Warner Music Group and then as a real estate agent. But one pastime always drew him in: comics. “There they were, always in the back of my mind,” he said. “Like an itch.”
This spring, in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner, that “itch” will finally manifest itself into Friar Tuck’s Comics and Collectibles, a 1,200-square-foot shrine to the industry to which Tuck has quietly dedicated his life.
The Newton native and Jamaica Plain resident began leafing through graphic novels as a kid, falling in love with the mesh of art and words. He latched onto “X-Men” and “Daredevil.” And into adulthood, Tuck made a habit of growing his collection by buying boxes on eBay and Craigslist. (Tuck already sells items from his collection online.)
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When Friar Tuck opens, its inventory will include many comics from Tuck’s personal stash, plus several he ordered to stock the shelves. Each comic will cost $3 or more, besides a few dollar comic boxes. (Proceeds from the $1 sales will go to charities, including the Boston Food Forest Coalition.) The most expensive comic for sale? A copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, worth around $15,000.
Tuck leased the Brookline space last February, after spending a few months of hunting for the correct location. It was a fixer-upper, almost entirely redone after the Lee Institute for Real Estate vacated. But the investment of thousands — which grew unexpectedly due to pandemic-era supply chain issues — feels worth it, Tuck said.
“I look at my life. I hit 50. I had this amazing collection, and I thought it was time to open the doors and share it with everyone,” he said. “I’m not precious about keeping comics, though there are some I’ll leave for me.”
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The moment is perfect, too, Tuck added, noting the recent surge in interest in comics. The COVID lockdown and “the proliferation of Marvel movies and MCU have given the hobby a huge boost,” Tuck said. Plus, more people are using the medium as a vehicle for investment. “It’s growing much faster than a savings account or other investments,” he said. “And it’s a lot more fun.”
Friar Tuck’s will also sell promotional materials and posters from Tuck’s time in the music industry. His longtime friends and neighbors — Merlin and Lis Cafarella — will be the game masters, of sorts, and they plan to keep card, board, and roleplaying games aplenty for sale, Merlin said.
A corner of the shop is also reserved for the Friar Tuck Theater, where Tuck will project cartoons and kid-friendly movies within a set of painted curtains, which have been crafted by local mural artist Kaitlyn Cronin.
Much of the décor is yet to be done, but Tuck envisions a colorful and lively set-up with a comic book mosaic on the walls and GI Joe figurines scattered about. It should be, he said, a little something for everyone.
“Boston is definitely a student town, so that’s a built-in customer base,” Tuck added. “But lots of baby boomers and Gen Z folks grew up with comics, too, and are looking to get back into it. Families will come in with their kids.”
310 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-505-5559, www.friartuckscomics.com
The Current, a long-running pop-up village in the Seaport, is getting a dose of rejuvenation on January 20 with the opening of LexRx, a Botox and fillers practice. The 180-square-foot pop-up will be staffed by a nurse practitioner and a nurse coordinator, who will take one client at a time for injections that target crow’s feet, smile lines, or places where customers are looking for more volume.
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Like its three existing locations in Beacon Hill, Charlestown, and Nantucket, the pop-up should “not feel like a medical practice,” said cofounder and CEO Alexa Nicholls Costa. “Instead, we like to think of it as our living room. I always felt it was very strange to go to the hospital as a millennial female to get injectables done.”
The company started with Alexa and her business partner, Alex Rogers, who met in the nurse practitioner program at Regis College and became fast friends. They launched in 2015 with a concierge service serving family and friends at home, and expanded from there, finding success in the social media era when aesthetic medical procedures have gained mainstream acceptance. Now, their team is made up of 19 clinicians, all of whom are women.
Other than LexRx, the athleisure brand Salt Society will open at the Current in February. Seven additional storefronts, including the jewelry designer Brave Daughters and cupcake shop Baked by Melissa, are open there until April.
Also now in the Seaport: Stio, a Wyoming-based mountain lifestyle brand making its Massachusetts debut. The 2,500-square-foot store sells down jackets, fleece pants, and graphic tees fit for the outdoors. It’s the fourth location the fast-growing brand has launched in the past 14 months, including a locale in Freeport, Maine.
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Founder Stephen Sullivan said the city’s swankiest neighborhood — filled with competitors like L.L.Bean, Outdoor Voices, and Filson — made for a better fit than the usual suspect: Newbury Street.
“It feels like the hot, new place to be in Boston,” he added. “We liked that a number of analogous stores were opening there. With some of our competitors in the vicinity, that creates a shopping environment for the customers to go.”
And guitar players, prepare: Successfully playing a song on acoustic guitar on the wall will get you a 5 percent discount. (Try your hand at two for 10 percent, and three for 15 percent off.)
LexRx, 101 Seaport Blvd., Boston, www.lexrx.co; Stio, 49 Northern Ave., Boston, www.stio.com
The luxury of Copley Place just got more luxurious: British fashion house Alexander McQueen opened a storefront in the Back Bay mall on December 16, right around the time Dior expanded its location there to include a men’s section. (There are also pieces there for babies and children.) Looking for a watch? Tag Heuer and Grand Seiko have also landed at Copley Place recently.
Balenciaga, the French luxury brand, opened a public transit-themed outpost in the mall last spring, too.
100 Huntington Ave., Boston; www.simon.com/mall/copley-place
Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com.Follow her on Twitter @ditikohli_.
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