New England's Pop Culture Emporium Since 1980! We Buy And Sell Comics, Toys, Records, Memorabilia and More!

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Worcester Store

  • 244 Park Ave, Worcester, MA 01609

    244 Park Ave, Worcester, MA 01609
    Open 11:00 am to 7:00pm, 7 days a week.

    (508) 755-4207

    • Fitchburg Store

  •  56 John Fitch Hwy, Fitchburg, MA 01420

     

    56 John Fitch Hwy, Fitchburg, MA 01420
    Open 11:00 am to 7:00pm, 7 days a week.

     (978) 342-8607

    • That’s Entertainment: New England’s Pop Culture Emporium since 1980!

    Register for our FREE BOARD GAME DEMO HERE!


    Call to sign up to play a one-shot role-playing adventure on Thursday nights!

    Magic the Gathering Tarkir: Dragonstorm Pre-Release Worcester Schedule!

    WE BUY AND SELL:  We buy, sell and trade popular culture, entertainment merchandise and collectibles. We feature New and Back-Issue Comics, Old-School and Modern Video Games and Systems, Toys (Vintage, New, and Imports), D&D, Magic the Gathering, New and Used Board Games, Vinyl Records (Used and New Pressings), Sport Card Packs and Singles, Autographs, Japanese Imports, Posters, and more! Please stop in to browse!

    DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? : Call us at  508-755-4207 if you have items you’d like to sell or trade in! We are buying by appointment only (Same-day appointments only). For complete details on selling, please click HERE.

    EVENTS: We participate in national events like Free Comic Book Day, Record Store Day, and Free RPG Day. We also hold events like Magic the Gathering, Pokemon Club, free board game demonstrations, special guest signings, and more! Check back to our website, social media, or sign up for our newsletter at the top of our home page for news about all of our events, as well as new products, collections, sales and exclusive fan specials!

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    Read About Our Values and Mission Statement

     

    Purchase a Gift Certificate from us today!

    Give one of our Gift Certificates to your favorite geek! Ask in store for any amount, or choose one of the denominations offered online! We write them out the old-fashioned way, so if you order online, please allow enough time for mailing!

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    That's Entertainment

    That's Entertainment

    We Buy and Sell Collectibles! Please call first if you have items to sell & speak directly with the right specialist!

    That's Entertainment

    3 days ago

    That's Entertainment
    Join us for FREE BOARD GAME DEMO today, Saturday, March 29th, 1pm-6pm, pre-registration required! To register to play one or more games, please go to this link: thatse.com/thatse-events/free-board-game-demo-saturday-march-29th-worcester-store/ ... See MoreSee Less

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    That's Entertainment

    4 days ago

    That's Entertainment
    Pop 45 CountdownMoment #7: The Big MovePop 45! Moment #7: THE MOVE TO PARK AVENUE! In 1991 I was contacted by a real estate agent who was trying to help me find a piece of commercial property so I could expand my comic book and collectible store in Worcester. The 151 Chandler Street space was fine for a comic shop, but I realized it would be smart to diversify into other merchandise, and I'd need much more room to do that! Also, my store manager at the time pushed me to think in terms of "legacy." I planned to semi-retire in a few years, and it made sense to get well set-up now for the long haul.Real estate prices had fallen a little bit during the recession of the early 1990s but the "asking prices" of commercial property still seemed too high to me. The realtor took me to a building that was quite interesting. It was an old three-story brick building that was used as a manufacturing facility. Each floor had about 2,000 square feet of floor space. The first floor was already set up as a potential retail area and it was in nice condition. The upper two floors were unusable for retail without a lot of renovation because they had very old, oil-soaked, beat-up floors.I was intrigued with this building though, because there was a nice parking lot, a loading dock, an elevator, and a nice office already constructed on the second floor. Almost all the windows (and there were over seventy windows!) would need to be replaced. This would cost many thousands of dollars so I considered this to be a big "negative." There were some great "positives" though. The building was located on the very same major road, Chandler Street, as my current store-- but it was on the other side of Park Avenue, in a great area that would be much safer for my customers. The store I was using at that time was in a tough section of the city and I was eager to move out of there. This potential new building was also located directly across the street from Tatnuck Bookseller, a very successful business. I knew that THEIR customers would definitely notice us in that location and be exposed to my store for the first time. I made the owners an offer... and thankfully they declined it!My real estate agent called me a week or so later to tell me about another building. This one, a brick building built in the 1930s and used as a car dealership for most of its history (including Charles Chevrolet for a time) was located on Park Avenue, the third busiest street in Worcester. It had almost 20,000 square feet of space including a small second level. The first level was divided exactly in half by a cement-block wall to create two almost identical commercial spaces. A small parking area would hold nearly ten cars. My old location had on-street parking for two cars so this new location would be a small improvement as far as parking goes. The building was currently being used as a "light manufacturing" facility for assembling things for outside companies and state projects. This privately-owned business was very successful until the newly elected Governor of Massachusetts cut the funding for many state-sponsored programs in order to fix the huge budget deficit. At one time, an interested buyer had approached the owner of the building with an offer of $750,000 for the building. The owner didn't want to sell it at the time because he was making a good profit using the building. He certainly didn't foresee the huge state cuts coming. Once it did happen, the owner went back and offered the building to the potential buyer but he had already bought another property. The owner decided to put the building on the market and priced it at $700,000. The property had been on the market for a couple of months by the time my real estate agent told me about it, and they had only received one very low offer.I was excited by the possibilities of this large space, but I thought I'd never be able to fill it all up with merchandise. I was currently using about 2,000 square feet for retail space, and I did need more, but this was HUGE! I could rent the other half of it to another business, and still have more space than I needed. I wanted this building, but since I wasn't in a desperate position, I made a pretty low offer. To my surprise, the seller accepted it! I hired my buddy, Jim Stoll, to quickly demolish many of the office partitions on the first floor of my new building. Jim, along with his wife Patty, worked long hours over a few weeks to clean this building out and get it ready for us to move into!So, one Sunday afternoon, I rented a truck and many of my good friends and some employees came to the store and began to fill up the truck with my back-room inventory, shelves, tables, and supplies. Paul Dinsdale, Stan Hosmer, Darryl Hunt, Chris Ball, Jose Rivera, David Hartwell, Kevin Simpson, my cousin Steven, and a few others helped me. We all worked late into the evening and got everything into the new store, but I was left with the job of setting up most of the store, unpacking the boxes of product and arranging the displays. Knowing I'd have to get back to the store by 6:00 AM to finish up enough to open at 10:00 AM, I finally went home at 2:00 AM, exhausted. The store wasn't very well organized, but we opened up for business as scheduled! Many of our customers were shocked that we were able to completely move the whole store in one evening!Looking back, the BIG MOVE was certainly one of the most important milestones in That's Entertainment's history. We realized early on that due to our new prominent location and larger profile we'd be seeing more of the "general public" than before, and we began to beef up our video game, toy, model, memorabilia, CD and VHS "departments." We pushed those items to the front so the average person walking in casually would immediately see merchandise they were familiar with. We knew hard-core comic collectors wouldn't mind walking fifty feet to get to their areas! The layout worked well, and we began to see all kinds of people coming in-- including students from the 3 or 4 colleges that were within walking distance! And we were able to hold huge events we couldn't have dreamt of doing on Chandler Street. The media loved our press releases, and we became a well-known presence in the community. When pop culture surged, we were ready to ride that wave in a BIG way!#pop45 #pop45countdown #loi ... See MoreSee Less

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    That's Entertainment

    4 days ago

    That's Entertainment
    Want to play a game? Join us for a chance to embark on an epic adventure during our One-Shot Thursdays! Call to sign up to play an RPG on one or more Thursdays in April!#oneshotthursdays #thatsentertainment ... See MoreSee Less

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    That's Entertainment

    5 days ago

    That's Entertainment
    Pop 45 Countdown #8The Ballad of Lois LaneIn March of 2011, my store manager Ken Carson went down to Worcester City Hall to drop off a petition for the consideration of the City Council. When he handed it in, the woman there looked at it briefly with NO change in expression, date-stamped it, then told him the Council would be in touch. Ken left feeling a little dejected, thinking that maybe our petition wouldn’t be as interesting to people as he had hoped. But by the time he got back to the store, the phone rang. A reporter from the Worcester Telegram said, “We see you’re petitioning to change the name of Marmon Place to LOIS LANE… do you have time to answer a few questions?” So began the BIGGEST windfall of free publicity and goodwill That’s Entertainment has ever received!As a comic bookstore, we thought the Lois Lane name was a PERFECT fit for the private road alongside the store and that our customers would get a kick out of it. We did worry a little that the various levels of government involved might see the petition as a waste of their time. But after the Planning Board approved it (if we paid for the expenses), an enthusiastic Board member actually came into the store to tell Ken how much they all LOVED the idea! In time, the Public Works committee moved it along to the full Council for their August 14, 2012 meeting, and Ken attended in case there were any questions or concerns raised. There was a very contentious item on the agenda ahead of ours that night, and tensions ran high. When that issue was eventually tabled until the following meeting, the chairperson announced that the next item was “a petition by That’s Entertainment to change the name of Marmon Place to… Lois Lane.” Laughter erupted and the mood of the room changed instantly-- an early indication that our sign would make people “super” happy! Soon our petition was approved unanimously!The next day we posted an image of the Council’s official order on Facebook and saw a cascade of thumbs up, more than ever before or since, as word spread like wildfire! Although the progress of the petition had been well-covered in the media at each stage, the approval generated another TORRENT of articles in print and all over the internet! The Worcester Telegram wrote that "a bit of whimsy in Worcester is a good thing" and we were glad people understood that it was all done in the spirit of fun!When the approval process had played out, we were in touch with Jim Kempton at the DPW, who couldn’t have been more helpful! He even had the sign made with “Lane” written out rather than abbreviated as “Ln”—a very important touch! On Friday December 28, 2012, despite a snowstorm, the new sign was finally installed. A celebration at the store followed on Sunday December 30, 2012, featuring an official unveiling and free sketches of Lois by former Superman artist PAUL RYAN, who also agreed to judge a very competitive Lois Lane LOOKALIKE contest. The Telegram devoted almost a FULL PAGE to the event, photos and text.The sign became a popular spot for photos, a beloved local LANDMARK, and a source of amusement to Worcester visitors! All was well until July 2018 when the sign, along with the pole to which it was attached, went MISSING after it was taken down during sidewalk construction and left laid at the side of our building overnight! Naturally, the media ran with the story that Lois Lane had been KIDNAPPED! There was a gratifying groundswell of support, and it seemed the entire community was sad and disappointed about the disrespectful theft of something intended for everyone’s enjoyment.Then MIRACULOUSLY, about one month later, the Lois Lane sign was discovered abandoned behind Webster Square shopping plaza by the brother of a long-time customer, who returned it to the store triumphantly! The media and our customers REJOICED over Lois Lane’s unexpected “RESCUE”! The street sign was soon reinstalled by the Worcester DPW while Ken MacLeod, reporter and anchor at WBZ-TV News, interviewed Ken, Chad and Jim Kempton nearby on the sidewalk. In addition to television, print and internet media, WAAF radio also picked up (and goofed on) the feel-good story!We buy a lot of advertising and we run a lot of promotional events, but no single idea has ever brought That’s Entertainment as much media coverage and ongoing fame as the Lois Lane street sign!#pop45 #pop45countdown #thatsentertainment #worcesterma #loislane ... See MoreSee Less

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    That's Entertainment

    6 days ago

    That's Entertainment
    Pop 45! Moment #9: WINNING THE EISNER AWARD The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award.In 1996, the most prestigious award that was available in the comic book business was "The Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award", named for the comic book writer, artist, and genius, Will Eisner. I wanted this award!Ken Carson tackled this big project for That's Entertainment. He got right to work and within a short time he got us nominated for "The Eisner." That was the easy part! Now we had to convince the panel of judges that we deserved to win this. We were required to submit documentation about our physical location and the quality of our store image, our inventory, our support of small and innovative publishers, our community activity, our customer service policies, and much more!Ken needed to include some "visual aids" with the package for the judges to consider so he began to collect some of the old photographs and articles from local newspapers. He also came up with the idea to enlist the help of two of our loyal customers to produce a short videotape movie about the store. Memo Salazar and Aaron Banyai were both talented filmmakers and they had a clever sense of humor. I had been involved in minor parts of two previous film projects of Memo's; one was a very funny look at a local county fair and the other was a low-budget, full-length movie in which I portrayed the owner of a comic bookstore (what a stretch!). My "big" scene was filmed in our Fitchburg store one night after we closed and although the finished scene was only about four minutes long, it took almost an hour to film. Although I was snubbed by the Academy of Motion Pictures (and didn't even get an Oscar nomination!), it was still fun to be part of the movie-making process.Memo offered his creative gifts to make a short video about our store. He filmed the store building, the displays of new comics, back issues, and collectibles. He interviewed customers who were willing to give testimonials about our service and vast inventory. He filmed some of our employees as they described their function in the That's Entertainment hierarchy. I was filmed describing our decades of experience in the comic book hobby and business and our commitment to expanding the community awareness of both the comic book industry and our stores. Memo used a clever technique to try to convey the huge size of our store to the viewers. He placed himself on a wheeled cart and filmed while Aaron moved the cart up the aisles so the whole length of our retail space was apparent. When Memo finished editing the film, Ken packaged up the videotape, all the pictures, testimonial letters, and documentation needed for the panel of judges. We didn't win.After our narrow "defeat" in 1996, we were honored by being nominated again in 1997, and with a little additional information, we won The Will Eisner Spirit Of Comics Retailing Award at Comic-Con International: San Diego '97. A few weeks later I received the beautiful statue and the award certificate in the mail. Our business was now recognized internationally for its passion and dedication to our customers and comic books!#thatsentertainment #pop45 #pop45countdown ... See MoreSee Less

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    • Upcoming Events at That's Entertainment!

    MtG - Wednesday Draft Night - (Fitchburg Store)

    MtG – Wednesday Draft Night – (Fitchburg Store)

    Join us every Wednesday Night 6pm(sharp)-10pm for a night of Magic Draft.
    Unfortunately, we are unable to add late attendees due to restrictions on Wizard’s event software.
    Entry – $15+ tax dollars plus tax (players receive three packs to use in the draft)
    Players should bring their own tokens, life counters, etc as needed. Store sells sleeves for those interested in sleeving their cards.
    Prizes given out as store credit.
    This event is great for beginners and experienced players.
    Kids ages 13 and under must be accompanied by a parent. No drop-offs please.
    Please check our website for schedule changes or cancellations before attending www.ThatsE.com
    OR
    check our social media pages:
    FACEBOOK
    https://www.facebook.com/ThatsEntertainmentNorth/
    INSTAGRAM
    @thatsepics_north
    Our store is located at 56 John Fitch Hwy, Fitchburg MA | (978)-342-8607

    Read More...

      04/02/2025

    6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

    One-Shot Thursdays - "Under the Pale Ghost Moon" - April 3rd - (Worcester)

    One-Shot Thursdays – “Under the Pale Ghost Moon” – April 3rd – (Worcester)

    One-Shot Adventures for the Month of April

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      04/03/2025

    6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

    One-Shot Thursdays - "King of the North" - April 3rd - (Worcester)

    One-Shot Thursdays – “King of the North” – April 3rd – (Worcester)

    Read More...

      04/03/2025

    6:00 pm - 9:00 pm