You might not have heard of the number one comic store in Los Angeles, but if you’ve seen the epic True Romance (1993) directed by Tony Scott and starring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken – to name just a few – then you’ve seen it.

This is the store – although it’s depicted to be in Detroit – that Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) works in. He shows Alabama (Patricia Arquette) issue 18 of “Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos”. In this issue, Nick has gotten a ring for his sweetheart (Pamela Hawley), that he keeps on a chain around his neck. Later in the story, he gets in a fight with a Nazi, and the ring falls overboard, but Fury dives into the ocean to retrieve it.

Located at 7522 Sunset Blvd, it was a favourite location for industry and launch events…and it has announced in an open letter to the city of Los Angeles that it will sadly shut down on April 1.

“No business is easy, least of all one rooted in paper surrounded by brick and mortar, yet against all odds we survived just long enough to host, share and celebrate some of the most creative and imaginative artists in the world,” owner and co-founder Gaston Dominguez-Letelier wrote in the letter. “It has been my personal privilege to welcome so many incredibly talented minds through our doors, giving them and their work a home in this great city of ours.”

In addition to hosting book signings and author talks, the Meltdown Comics event space, called the NerdMelt Showroom, hosted high-profile comedy performances. Podcasts including Mutant Season, Indoor Kids and You Made It Weird were also recorded at the venue.

“And what a wonderfully surreal run it’s been,” Dominguez-Letelier added. “We’ve watched every fad, trend and next big thing come and go while customers became celebrities, children blossomed to adults, geeks morphed into moguls, and fanboys scored Oscars.”

At the end of his letter, Domingeuz-Letelier urged fans to keep buying, creating and supporting comics. “For one last time, #LetsgoMELTDOWN!” he wrote.

By Wednesday night Meltdown Comics’ website featured a black screen urging visitors to join the store’s email newsletter and see “what the next 25 years will bring.”

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