B-Bop Comics

B-Bop Comics is a long-running, independently owned comic book store on Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas, founded around 1997 by veteran comics retailer and distributor Frank Mangiaracina.¹² Known regionally for one of the deepest back-issue and Golden/Silver Age selections in the area, it operates as part of Mangiaracina’s Friendly Frank’s Inc. and anchors the south end of a two-store Kansas City metro footprint.¹³

Description

B-Bop Comics is a full-line independent comic book store located on Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas. The shop carries mainstream monthly titles (Superman, Batman, X-Men), an extensive new and discounted graphic-novel and art-book inventory, and trading card game product including Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon boosters.¹⁴ It is particularly known for the depth of its vintage and back-issue stock — including Golden Age reprints and key Silver Age issues such as Journey into Mystery (Loki’s first appearance) and the debut of Galactus in Fantastic Four — with appraisals available by appointment.¹⁴

The store also offers pull-list subscriptions with a discount for in-store pickup, and customer reviews consistently single out its longtime, knowledgeable staff.¹⁴ B-Bop Comics is the southern of two metro locations operated under the same ownership; a companion store (“B-Bop Comics North”) operates near the Kansas City, MO airport at 6320 NW Barry Road.¹²

Ownership and history

B-Bop Comics is owned by Frank Mangiaracina, a longtime figure in the comics retail and distribution industry who serves as president of Friendly Frank’s Inc. (d.b.a. B-Bop Comics).²⁵ Mangiaracina’s roots in comics retail and distribution predate B-Bop: he is credited with founding the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) in 1986, an organization defending First Amendment rights for the comics art form.¹⁴

Mangiaracina brought that industry experience to the Kansas City market in the late 1990s, establishing B-Bop Comics around 1997 and rebranding his stores under the B-Bop name as a nod to the shared heritage of jazz and sequential art.¹² The business has since operated two metro storefronts — the Overland Park (south) shop on Metcalf and a north location near the KC airport.¹² An earlier midtown Kansas City B-Bop location has since closed, leaving the current two-store footprint.⁶

: Exact month/day of the Overland Park store’s 1997 opening, and whether the Metcalf address has been the continuous location since founding, are not independently corroborated.

Links

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/B-Bop-Comics-100063665137097/
• Phone: (913) 383-1777

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2024-03-09/kansas-city-comic-book-shops-stores-planet-comicon-naka-kon — asserts: B-Bop Comics owned by Frank Mangiaracina, founded 1997; two locations (Overland Park + near KC airport); rebranded as homage to jazz/sequential-art heritage; deep back-issue and Golden/Silver Age selection; Mangiaracina founded the CBLDF in 1986. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-mangiaracina-ab764222/ — asserts: Frank Mangiaracina is President at Friendly Frank’s Inc. d.b.a. B•Bop Comics. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. https://www.loc8nearme.com/kansas/prairie-village/b-bop-comics-south/3013599/ — asserts: Address 8709 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66212; phone (913) 383-1777; weekly hours (Mon closed, Tue–Sun open). ↩

4. https://www.yelp.com/biz/b-bop-comics-south-overland-park — asserts: 8709 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66212; listing updated April 2026; comic-shop scope incl. TCG, graphic novels, statues, toys, appraisals; knowledgeable staff. (Page returned HTTP 403 on direct fetch; details corroborated via search snippet and cross-listings.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. https://www.buzzfile.com/business/Bbop-Comics-816-746-4569 — asserts: B-Bop Comics associated with Friendly Frank’s / Frank Mangiaracina business profile. ↩

6. https://www.thepitchkc.com/bbop-comics-midtown-shop-to-close/ — asserts: B-Bop Comics’ midtown Kansas City shop closed (earlier location), consistent with current two-store footprint. ↩