Ann Arbor subcultures step into spotlight

Ann Arbor’s sub cultures aren’t always completely underground. Recently its comic book and body modification (think piercing, tattoos, etc.) scenes stepped into the limelight for a quick bow.Excerpt:Proudly perched among the fine dining and fancy boutiques of Ann Arbor’s Main Street is Vault of Midnight, a store whose vibrant blue exterior transfixes the gaze of any casual passerby. “Comic Books & Stuff” reads its wittily vague subtitle, and a peek inside clarifies why “stuff” is perhaps the only term that can sufficiently summarize the store’s impressive assortment of merchandise. Aside from new comic books, Vault of Midnight is packed wall to wall with graphic novels, figurines, board games, T-shirts, statues, manga and an enormous six-foot Uglydoll named Icebat.Indeed, Vault of Midnight is a veritable paradise for Ann Arbor’s aficionados of comic books and other cool “stuff.” The store offers almost 100 new comic issues each week and its entire comic collection runs into the tens of thousands. But behind the stacks of old back issues of “The Goon” is an incredible success story of an independent, locally owned business.Vault of Midnight first opened in 1996 in a one-room house on South Ashley.“We were so small when we opened, it was ludicrous. I opened with my entire collection and a couple thousand bucks,” said Curtis Sullivan, co-owner of Vault of Midnight, who was just 21 when the store opened. Read the rest of the story here and about body modification in Ann Arbor here.