An Avalanche of Terror! Mad Cave Announces Dark Pyramid!
Announcing DARK PYRAMID, an electrifying 5-issue miniseries from Mad Cave Studios, written by the Eisner Award-winning Paul Tobin
January 9, 2025
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- Mad Cave Shop Talk
Mad Cave Shop Talk: Cloud City Games & Comics
Welcome to this edition of Shop Talk, where we delve into the heart of comic culture by spotlighting the vibrant personalities and innovative approaches of various comic shops in North America as part of our Mad Cave Store of The Month initiative! In this installment, Ana Escalera sits down with the team at Cloud City Games to explore the origins, mission, and future aspirations of the store that’s reaching new heights for their community.
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Q: Where did the name of your store originate from?
Tessa: I mean, obviously the name is just cool as heck. It abbreviates to CCG which pays homage to our roots of starting as just a collectible card game shop and this cloud certainly has a silver lining!
Q: How did your store come to be in business, and how many years have you operated?
Tessa: We actually originally broke off of a sister company that isn’t in business anymore but we’ve been operating by ourselves for eleven years now!
Q: What does your store specialize in?
Tessa: I like to refer to Cloud City as a “nerd store” – we have three locations now and each store has product mixes that do better than other locations! We have comics, both new and old, as well as a large selection of graphic novels. We also love games! Board games, Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, Warhammer, you name it! We love doing fun events and of course we carry all the fun figures, statues, and blind boxes we can get our hands on!
Q: What store achievements are you most proud of?
Tessa: We’ve gotten some attention on the internet and from newspapers before from just trying to be a good part of the community. Off the top of my head, my favorite being when there was a government shutdown in 2018/2019 and we offered free events, dinner, and comics to anyone suddenly without pay because of this. I’m always proud that we try our best to give back and help where we can.
Q: What do you hope your store provides to your community, and what is your approach to providing the best experience to your community of fans?
Tessa: 100% the answer to this is just a place where they can feel safe and have fun connecting with other nerds. We have weekly and special events for our gamers and we also have a free Discord for everyone to chat with each other!
Q: What is the legacy and future of Cloud City Games, Comics & Toys?
Tessa: To take over the world… but in a super cool and charitable way, y’know? We have no plans to stop growing anytime soon. We have the coolest employees and that definitely helps to cultivate the fun and welcoming ambiance that we’re going for and I just want to spread that as far as we can.
“Honestly, I just want to see all comic stores succeed. There are no feelings of competition from me, there’s room for all of us.”
Q: As a member(s) of the industry, what do you hope to see for the future of comic book stores everywhere?
Tessa: Honestly, I just want to see all comic stores succeed. There are no feelings of competition from me, there’s room for all of us. Without these amazing comic shops, we wouldn’t be able to get so many incredible stories in the hands of our friends. I know the first thing I do when I’m travelling is to Google “comic book stores near me” and go to as many as I can. I truly believe that comic books are the best art form; intertwining visual arts and literature is just so beautiful and it can be so impactful. I hope that everyone’s LCS just becomes a more welcoming safe haven for everyone to enjoy the things we all love together.
Q: What are your best-selling Mad Cave, Maverick, or Papercutz titles?
Tessa: Our top ten in no specific order: Dick Tracy, Dark Empty Void, Mugshots, You’ve Been Cancelled, Skeeters, Nottingham, Mushroom Knight, Love Me, Charred Remains, Confetti Realms.
Q: What are your Mad Cave, Maverick, or Papercutz recommendations?
Tessa: Under the Influence, The Devil Wears My Face, Don’t Spit in the Wind (Mugshots and Dark Empty Void for series not in trade yet!)
Becca: Murder Kingdom, Spectrum
Matthew: Attaboy
“Our top ten in no specific order: Dick Tracy, Dark Empty Void, Mugshots, You’ve Been Cancelled, Skeeters, Nottingham, Mushroom Knight, Love Me, Charred Remains, Confetti Realms.”
Hot Topic Weigh-in
Q: Favorite genre and why?
Tessa: Horror! I love when the story can actually subvert my expectations or keep me on the edge of my seat!
Matthew: Physiological Horror/Thriller. I love the stories where you’re not given all the answers right from the start, and it’s on you to put the puzzle together with the feeling of dread looming over you!
Becca: My favorite genre of books is usually mystery! I grew up reading a lot of mystery stories (love the Nancy Drew series) and I’ve always enjoyed trying to piece together the clues and come to the solution before the answer is actually revealed. All the suspense and twists and turns really draw me in and make it hard for me to stop reading!
Q: Who would win in a fight (choose your fighter)?
Matthew: Rock Lee. Give me the boy who just wants to fit in.
Becca: Link from the Legend of Zelda franchise! I mean, he has so much ingenuity and willpower! I mean, he has literally manipulated the movement of time! How are you going to fight someone who can just stop you in your tracks!
Tessa: Santa Claus. He knows your name, your address, what you’ve been up to. He can travel the entire world in one night. You have no chance against him.
Q: In your opinion, is there an existing remake movie that’s better than the original?
Tessa: The Thing (1982) is a remake of the 1951’s The Thing From Another World and it’s a huge favorite of mine, definitely a remake that’s worth it!
Matthew: I mean.. does Dune count? If not, I can’t find anything that comes to my immediate attention.
Becca: I personally think that the 1998 version of The Parent Trap is better than the original 60s version. When I think of this movie, I only ever really think of Lindsey Lohan!
Q: How often do you rewatch your favorite movie/show?
Matthew: Brother, do you think I have the time to rewatch stuff? (Twilight Zone once every two years)
Becca: I’m honestly someone that, when they find a favorite of anything, I become really obsessed with it. Once a movie or show enters that category they just become background sound for my daily life. The amount of times I’ve watched my comfort movies is kind of uncountable in numbers.
Tessa: I think I’ve seen Scream about twenty or so times but when I was younger, I watched Titanic over 200 times. I haven’t seen it in years and I think I could still recite plenty of the lines, honestly.
Q: What super power would you want to have?
Tessa: The ability to touch a book and have it downloaded to your brain
Becca: Hand’s down teleportation! Miss your friends? BAM! You’re there! Want to go to a theme park? Teleport! Simply the best power and all other answers are just wrong.
Matthew: Teleportation… if I don’t have to worry about atoms being destroyed/re-written/cloned in the process similar to that of Stargate Sg-1 Asgardian race who were almost driven to extinction due to their cloning practices.
CLOUD CITY GAMES, COMICS & TOYS
250 Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall,
PA, United States, Pennsylvania
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