Galactic Comics moves to Florence, becoming the 2nd largest comic book store in the United States

FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) — Florence is poised to become the second-largest comic book store in the United States.

Galactic Comics owner Dale Poston and his team spent the weekend carpeting and renovating their new, expanded store at 1721 W. Palmetto St.

“That’s 14,200 feet of retail space,” Poston said. “We’ll probably have 10,000 toys here, 125,000 comics.”

He said the new store will be divided into sections, each with its own theme.

“Here will be our Star Wars section on the other side of this beige wall,” Poston said. “We built it to look like Mos Eisley from Star Wars. When you walk through the door, it’ll just be Star Wars toys from floor to floor and wall to wall.

He said he started looking at the massive new space about six months ago and started stocking truckloads of additional comics and collectibles.

“Every one of these containers, except the top row, is full of toys,” Poston said, pointing to the store’s warehouse.

As one of the few comic book stores in the area, Poston said Galactic Comics draws customers from all over Pee Dee. It hopes to attract buyers from even further afield as the largest on the East Coast.

“Mile High is the largest comic book store in the country,” Poston said. “They are located in Denver, Colorado, and people travel to Denver just to go to Mile High. My goal is to become a place of destination.

He said the new location, which was once a Salvation Army family store, will open in mid-June. Until then, the current store will remain open.

“My dream has always been to own my own comic book store,” Poston said. “That was always the end goal for me.”