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Long Island comic book shops

We know Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. But when it comes to Long Island's enduring comic-book shops, who are the iron men?

Like Lex Luthor crashing the Fortress of Solitude, we visited some stores to see what's hot, what's kryptonite and how superhero films like "Iron Man" boost their longevity. The timing was ideal: Saturday was Free Comic Book Day, the annual effort to publicize this uniquely American art form.

But it was the economy, not art, that forced retail shops to adapt.

"Things were amazingly different" in 1984, when Amazing Comics opened in Sayville, said owner Bob Nastasi, 56. "The Internet has really changed the market."

That's why comics -- graphic novels for you snobs -- aren't the only items on their shelves. You may find hero-themed apparel, games, statues, toys, posters and pricey stuff like "Tales of Suspense" #39 (Iron Man's 1963 debut, worth $12,500) and a Green Lantern power unit ($90) that glows when touched by its Hal Jordan ring.

Loyalty also helps retailers survive. For Martin Salberg, 41, of Selden, who enjoys collecting "Justice Society of America" and "Amazing Spider-Girl," Smithtown's Fourth World Comics has been a regular destination for 20 years.

"Fourth World has ridden out the rise and fall of the hundreds of comic-book stores on Long Island," says the Briarcliffe College instructor. "I also like Stinky's [of Seaford], which has lots of the Silver Age stuff I grew up with."

So if you want to feed your inner geek, shops like these should fulfill your fantasies. As for bumping into Halle Berry in her leather Catwoman costume ... keep dreaming.

BAILEY'S COMICS
237 S. Wellwood Ave.
Lindenhurst
631-225-5085

Opened: 1989
Favorite superhero film: "Blade"
Worst film: "Captain America"

Shop talk: "The Avengers are really popular here, especially with the 'Iron Man' movie coming out," said manager Michael Ferraro, 27. "So is Green Lantern, which has had a good streak of stories for a few years. Younger kids go for the Japanese stuff ... Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon. Kids see it on Cartoon Network, then come here and ask for it. Baby boomers keep coming [too]; we have customers in their 60s."

FOURTH WORLD COMICS
33 Rte. 111
Smithtown
631-366-4440
4thworldcomics.com

Opened: 1982
Favorite superhero films: "Batman Begins"; "Spider-Man"
Worst films: "Electra"; the first "Punisher"

Shop talk: "The industry struggled in the early '90s, but really rebounded with all the movies," said owner Glenn Fischette, 59, of Smithtown. "They're trying to gear toward women, too, like with 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 8." The owner of the state's third-largest store adds, "We give hundreds of comics to local libraries like Smithtown and Hauppauge." His favorite hero? "I'm a big Batman fan; it's a better character than Superman."

GRASSHOPPER COMICS
76 Hillside Ave.
Williston Park
516-741-5724
grasshopperscomics.com

Opened: 1992
Favorite superhero films: "X-2"; "Batman Begins"
Worst film: "Roger Corman's 'Fantastic Four' was mind-blowingly bad."

Shop talk: "'Iron Man' seems like it'll be a monstrous [hit]," says owner John Riley, 42, of Stony Brook, who calls Free Comic Book Day "a huge event here. The first year, we gave away 2,000 books in four hours." Best comic he's read? "'The Walking Dead' - an absolutely amazing post-apocalyptic drama."

Nassau comic book stores:

BEST COMICS INTERNATIONAL | Opened: 1991
1300 Jericho Tpke.
New Hyde Park
516-328-1900
bestcomics.com

COMIC BOOK DEPOT | Opened: 1993
2847 Jerusalem Ave.
Wantagh
516-221-9337
thecomicbookdepot.com

COUNT DRACULA'S COMIC CRYPT | Opened: 1973
3391 Long Beach Rd.
Oceanside
516-763-4754

MINT CONDITION COMIC BOOKS | Opened: 1988
664 Pt. Washington Blvd.
Port Washington
516-883-0631

PHOENIX COMICS | Opened: 2007
107-5 Stewart Ave.
Hicksville
516-939-9129
phoenixcomicsli.com

SERIOUS COMICS | Opened: 1992
5468 Merrick Rd.
Massapequa
516-797-6906
myspace.com/serious_comics

TIME WARP | Opened: 1994
1164 Broadway
Hewlett
516-295-1431

Suffolk comic book stores:

AMAZING COMICS | Opened: 1984
12 Gillette Ave.
Sayville
631-567-8069
amazingco.com

BONKERS | Opened: 1985
1165 Jericho Tpke.
Commack
631-543-4100

COLLECTOR'S KINGDOM | Opened: 1988
202 W. Jericho Tpke
Huntington Station
631-549-4336

GOLDEN MEMORIES COMICS

1265 Montauk Hwy. | Opened: 1995
Mastic
631-281-0554

1242 Middle Country Rd. | Opened: 1990
Selden
631-696-6991

LONG ISLAND COMICS | Opened 1977
672 Sunrise Hwy.
West Babylon
631-321-4822
licomics.com

MONSTER COMICS | Opened: 2005
5801 Sunrise Hwy.
Holbrook
631-244-3934
sunvetmonster.com

Queens comic book stores:

ARCHWAY COMICS
251-16 Northern Blvd.
Little Neck
718-428-6822

COMIC BOOK HEAVEN
48-14 Skillman Ave.
Sunnyside
718-899-4175

SILVER AGE COMICS
22-55 31st St., 2nd Floor
Astoria
800-278-9691
silveragecomics.com

WHO'S ON FIRST
199-07 34th Ave.
Flushing
718-358-7047

Brooklyn comic book stores:

BULLETPROOF COMICS
2178 Nostrand Ave.
718-434-1800

ROCKETSHIP
208 Smith St.
718-797-1348
rocketshipstore.com