Modern Marvels did a piece on these almost 2 years ago. It's actually on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65C9OLvmjpI

Fascinating stuff.

#6 posted by shpanky September 28, 2007 12:14 PM:For a REAL quality comic shop in Los Angeles with lots of selection and TERRIFIC employees who are NOT pretentious and more than happy to help you

SPANKY, It doesn't sound like you went into the Secret Headquarters that I've been shopping at since they opened. Maybe it was a bizarro universe version? Maybe it was Circus of Books down the street? Was there a plethora of gay porn?

I was ecstatic when Cory starting giving these guys a shout out. After almost a decade of living in LA and suffering through the crappy shops this town has, they have made all the difference in my comic enjoyment. Lack of the very pretension you speak of is one of the things that makes their shop great - especially if you are looking for tips and recommendations. If the people praising Meltdown think they can get an actual good recommendation out of the goofs at that shop more power to them.

With the cheap access to graphic novels via the intertubes there's got to be a real reason to go to a shop nowadays. According to all the fellow comic fans I've directed to SH, that shop gives you that reason: good books in stock and a staff that knows their stuff.