Megabrain Comics

11/06/2025

Happy 87th birthday to Jim Steranko - I occasionally wonder if he and Bob Evans ever spent any time together back in the 60’s.

Kinda like when you hear stories about Keith Moon & John Bonham deciding to run out for a pack of ci******es only to be found 4 days later playing soccer in a Turkish village with an elderly woman and her pet ostrich.

10/20/2025

The last 7 years 9 months and 21 days culminated with being visited by a series of people this weekend who came to see me at the comic book store in order to express how much of an impact Megabrain has had on their lives and how much it has meant to them.

From one of my closest friends who not only has been there through every chapter of Megabrain, but is also the lady who came up with the name, to many of our local Hudson Valley comic creators and shop owners that became a part of the shops DNA, to getting texts and DMs from comic retailers, writers and artists around the country that I’ve never met who’ve told me they’ve watched our shop from afar and have been hoping to get a chance to visit one day.

I’ve also been visited this weekend by many of the original kids (not so much kids anymore) from the year we opened who wanted to be there for our last voyage, including one of the most talented young artists I’ve known, who is embarking on their art school journey and what I am guessing will be an immense career in comics.

They had come to tell me that Megabrain helped them discover their path in life. Then came the tears from both of us and the hugging and more tears and well…

All of these moments this past weekend have made me very proud of what we achieved in 7 years 9 months and 21 days.

I had set out to create the local comic shop I had always dreamed of as a kid. To give Diego and the other kids growing up in this area a place they could call their own, a place that comic creators would feel at home and a place that would turn the comic book store stereotype on its head and that would be a lighthouse to the outsiders navigating the stormy waters of their lives.

It took me 7 years 9 months and 21 days to realize Megabrain Comics had done all that and so much more.

Not everyone who works in comics feels like they’ve been successful at it. Some say comics will break your heart. Everyone in the industry says they do it because they love comics and I subscribe to both those sentiments.

I’ve been in the comic industry for 16 years and I’m realizing for 7 years 9 months and 21 days I was in fact successful at it and that is thanks to all of you who came along for the ride — Thank you!

Jean Michel

10/16/2025

Starting tomorrow - Stop in and get some goodies before we close up for good.
Friday 10am-1pm
Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm

10/16/2025

10/15/2025

Seeing as fact checking in 2025 has become more of a hobby for folks as opposed to standard operating procedure, I figured I would just do it myself in this instance.

First of all, I am not from Haiti. I am Haitian-American. My parents were born in Haiti and I was born in Suffern, New York for anyone that cares.

Second, I’m not sure who the person was that got the emails and texts mentioned in the article, but it definitely wasn’t me.

I did however receive a direct message on Facebook less than a day before this article was published. The message asked about Go Fund Me funds and as in my reply, I will mention - anyone who is genuinely interested in knowing about our fundraising campaign and the efforts to convert the comic shop into a cooperative can very easily go to the campaign page located at the link below where all the answers to the Daily Catch’s questions are plainly laid out.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-megabrain-become-a-worker-owned-co-op

I guess here at the end of this comic shop journey, I’m feeling a bit salty. I find it very telling that in the 8 years that Megabrain has been open, The Daily Catch has never shown interest in any of the community programming or events we’ve ever done.

They got moderately interested when we moved to Red Hook, but all their questions and concerns all seemed to be about wondering why we sell so many comic books centered around LGBTQIA+ and Black stories and storytellers.

Now they appear moderately interested that we are closing, but their interest seems mostly centered on what we did with the funds raised in our fundraiser. I guess all of that sounds way more sensational and gets peoples attention and clicks more than talking about comic book workshops, gaming groups and encouraging literacy.

I suppose they’ve never seen much value in what we have been trying to bring to the community which is fine.

There are lots of folks in this community who feel the same way and like so many others like them, they can all revel in the fact that we will no longer be around to offend their sensibilities by being a welcoming and inclusive space to the amazing and wonderful people around them that they try to pretend don’t exist.

They no longer have to be offended at the children in our community having more places that cater to the things that interest and motivate them.

They no longer have to be offended by a place that they not only don’t understand, but clearly never wanted to understand.

As I said in my original announcement, that is the worst part of closing. No longer being another space in the community where many folks get to feel at ease with themselves and the people around them.

And so it goes.

10/15/2025

We’ll be around a bit next week, mostly packing up and moving things to storage, but this weekend will be the final Saturday and final Sunday that you will be able to visit Megabrain Comics - Hope to see you there!

10/15/2025