The original Mission store has built a following that runs younger and more diverse than the stereotype of the medium tends to suggest — kids doing Free Comic Book Day in face paint, adults browsing small-press zines next to the new releases wall, the occasional school group. Whether that same energy travels to a second location is the open question every expansion has to answer.

What the Excelsior location has going for it is the neighborhood itself. Geneva and Mission Street corridor draws heavy foot traffic from families who live in the surrounding blocks and don't necessarily make the trip up to Valencia for retail. A comics shop that stocks well and prices accessibly has a real constituency here — the question is finding it, which takes time and word of mouth and showing up at the right community events.

The owners haven't announced an opening date publicly yet, and the space as of this week still has that in-between quality — shelving units that haven't decided where they belong, a counter that's getting its fixtures sorted. Nothing on the door except painter's tape.

Anyone walking down Geneva tomorrow will see the windows starting to fill in, the first signs of organization inside, and — if they're the kind of person who checks these things — a reason to come back in a few weeks and see what's on the new releases wall.