Some stores stick with you because of what they sell. Amazing Action Comics & Toys has that part covered, but for me it also comes with a very specific memory: my son Luke, still little, excited over a one-dollar toy while I stood nearby trying to talk myself out of buying another stack of comics.
I’ve been going to Amazing Action Comics & Toys in Oklahoma City for well over a decade. It sits on North Portland Avenue near NW 16th Street, in that part of OKC where you can still stumble into a business that feels like it was built by obsession instead of a corporate floor plan.
This place is huge. I don’t mean “big for a comic shop.” I mean it may be the largest comic and toy store I’ve personally walked into. Every time I think I’ve seen the whole thing, I turn a corner and find another run of shelves, bins, cases, figures, games, cards, or some oddball collectible that makes me stop and squint like I’m trying to remember which cousin had one in 1994.
Comics, toys, games, and a lot of wandering
The comic section is usually where I end up first. I’ve added plenty of Howard the Duck issues to my own collection from this store over the years, which probably says something about me, but I’m at peace with it.
There are current comics, back issues, graphic novels, and the kind of long-box browsing that can eat up an afternoon if you are not careful. That is still my favorite part of a comic shop. Not the quick in-and-out. The hunt.
But Amazing Action is not just comics. The action figure selection is one of the main reasons the store feels so massive. There are loose figures, boxed toys, retro pieces, newer collectibles, and shelves loaded with characters from all kinds of franchises. It is the kind of place where a person trying to “just look” should probably leave the debit card in the truck.
The retro video game section is another standout. I’ve seen a large amount of older titles there, especially pre-PlayStation 3 era games, along with the kind of gaming odds and ends that make collectors start doing mental math.
More recently, the store expanded into another section of the building that is focused heavily on trading cards. That gives the whole place even more of a destination feel, especially if your interests overlap between comics, toys, video games, Pokémon cards, sports cards, and whatever else happens to be in the cases that week.
The owner made it feel personal
The thing I remember most, though, is not a specific comic or figure. It is the way the owner treated my kid.
When Luke was small, I brought him in several times a week just to wander around and look at toys. He was not old enough yet to care about comic storylines or collector value. He just knew the aisles were full of cool stuff.
More than once, the owner handed him a small toy or a Pokémon card just because he wanted to make a kid smile. No big production. No sales pitch. Just a small kindness in a local shop.
Those moments matter. They are the difference between a store you visit and a store that becomes part of your family’s routine.
Over the years, I’ve watched Amazing Action keep improving the layout, adding shelving, reorganizing inventory, and making it easier to browse without losing that packed-to-the-rafters collector feel. That balance is harder than it looks. Too tidy and a place loses the thrill of digging. Too chaotic and you give up. This one still feels like there is something buried in there worth finding.
Who should go
Amazing Action Comics & Toys is an easy stop for comic readers, action figure collectors, retro game hunters, trading card people, and parents with kids who like to point at every shelf and ask questions.
It is also good for anybody who misses the old-school feeling of walking into a shop and not knowing exactly what you are going to find. A Ninja Turtles figure. A LEGO set. A weird back issue. A game you forgot existed. That is the point.
I went in for nostalgia, but that is not really the whole story. I keep going back because the store still has the thing local collector shops need most: personality. The inventory changes, the aisles keep growing, and every visit has a chance to turn up something you missed last time.
