Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Melson and Joey Friloux. Their team shares their story with us below:
It all started sophomore year of high school. Chris was a new kid at a new school. Sitting in English class, he saw a Shadowrun role-playing game book in Joey’s backpack. Chris nervously asked him about it and said he had played a few times. Joey asked what sourcebooks Chris had. Chris had the distinct impression he was trying to swindle him out of his books … and he was but that didn’t stop them from becoming fast friends.
Switch forward through thousands of dice rolls, the worst best man speech ever given at a wedding, lots of bad life decisions, some good decisions too and they decided to buy the local comic shop in Richmond/Rosenberg from the former owner.
The original owner of Uncanny Comics had finally decided to throw in the towel. Joey and his son Ender had developed a lot of friendships and were an integral part of the gaming community that had built up around Uncanny from 2015 to 2019. They didn’t want to see their local game store close up and have their community left with nowhere to play games, read comics and geek out.
Joey got down on one knee and asked Chris if he would help buy a comic shop with him. To Joey and Chris’ surprise, Chris said, “Yes!”.
Fast forward a year or so. Chris and Joey had brought in another partner who had experience working at comic shops and a vast knowledge of all things nerdy. It was decided that this person made a better friend than business partner so he went his separate way which made room for the addition of the inimitable Eric Garza; a dear friend of the shop and an artistic powerhouse. Eric was brought in as an owner and has lent his creative talent to the shop. Coupled with Chris’ tenacious wife Leigh and Joey’s overzealous kids Ender and Crowley, as well as their hardworking cornerstone employees Robert Gorka and Malcolm Talamentes, Uncanny set out to be the best darn collectible shop in the surrounding Houston area.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It was December 25th, Christmas day of 2019, when we moved Uncanny Comics and Games into its new location in downtown Rosenberg. Little did we know that a few months later COVID-19 would cause us to wonder if our new business venture would fail before it even started. (cue doom and gloom music)
We closed the shop for one month in April 2020 and reopened on May 1st. We used that month to get a real Point of Sale system, reorganize the shop, and get our inventory in order. Honestly, though COVID was a disaster, it really gave us some time to think about our business and get heading in the right direction. Honestly, that month being closed was the best thing that ever happened to us!
We really took off. Our amazing community really supported us throughout COVID. When people are stuck at home they need games to play and awesome stuff to read. It was great to provide those little escapes to people during hard times.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In February 2022 we moved into a nicer, larger space in Richmond (1301 FM 2218 Ste 500B). We had a great realtor and he helped us find a place where we could really settle in and grow. We offer almost half our floor space to gaming tables. We want our community in our shop, playing games and having fun. We host Friday Night Magic events, a weekly Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament, Pokemon League, and Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. We even host a Paranormal Explorer’s group on Tuesday nights after the shop closes!
We also have a large collection of back-issue comics, manga, graphic novels for all age groups and we offer subscription services to our customers who want their weekly comics waiting for them when they arrive. Comics and games are our bread and butter as the name implies but we also offer a lot of other collectibles such as Funko products, statues, action figures and board games.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Ours is a labor of love. We have no illusions of buying another yacht off of our earnings for this place. Everybody who works here has a second job to pay the bills. We aren’t here to make a mint; we’re here because our community needed us. We’re the closest shop to a number of rural towns who needed a place to feel welcome and to geek out with those who share similar interests. We work hard to keep our prices low and we are constantly on the lookout for unique, one of a kind collectibles and opportunities to bring to our community. We’ve had a number of international celebrities make appearances at our shop and we look forward to bringing more in to meet their devoted fans. Whether you are looking for a place to make friends with similar interests, catching up on some incredible, breath-taking stories, or to find some games to bring home to share with your friends, Uncanny Comics and Games welcomes you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.uncannycomicsandgames.com
- Instagram: @uncannycandg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncannycomicsandgames
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcQcf4MCaNCNKeC2LWQvoEQ
- Other: TikTok @uncanny.comics
Image Credits
Richmond Pitts
