The Dreaming

I rarely review anything but am a long time Unilocal lurker. I went into this store to pick up a couple of things for my husband’s birthday. I was a little intimidated since I know very little of comic books. The guy working (I think he may have been the owner) was SO INCREDIBLY NICE and spent about 10 – 15 minutes helping me and giving me suggestions. He had a lot of knowledge and was so patient I seriously could not believe it.
Coming from someone that works in hospitality, I feel like I have high standards when it comes to customer service and this place gets top scores from me.

From the second we walked through the door, we felt welcome. The owner stood up and welcomed us in a way happier and friendlier than I’ve ever seen a shopkeeper do, then sat back down and started discussing the finer points of Batman with some Magic players. We poked through the whole store and he was never pushy. When we left he, again, stood up and waved goodbye in the happiest manner I’ve ever seen a shopkeeper do. The place has that classic dimly lit nerd shop feel– replete with pop machine!
Pros:
Game guides and books for every conceivable RPG and system. Quite comprehensive. I was very impressed.
Lots of complete board games like «Ticket to Ride,» «Catan,» etc.
Loads of comics and graphic novels.
Machine that sells tiny D20 system dice for $ 0.25.
Pop machine for those long D&D sessions.
Far enough down University Ave. that it’s quiet, relaxed and not filled with bros and lookey-​loos.
Cons:
Magic selection is a little thin and a little dated.
Summary: Come for the books, stay for the pop and mini-​dice.

This place almost never has any booster packs for sale of new MTG sets because they openly never order enough to run a booster draft and sell packs also. They almost never have booster boxes for sale (of anything… quite often) for the same reason. It’s really pathetic because this is the 4^th year in a row I’ve gone to the store and called them and had the same response, with quite literally no regard for the customer. Also, the place is dank, smelly, and smells deeply of neck-​beard.
There are some nice people that work there, let it be said.

The staff is awesome and knowledgable, plus very good conversation without the typical condescension of many comic book shoppes!
They also have a wide variety of comics from many different publishers including many smaller ones that sometimes slip through the cracks.

Some of the most informed and helpful guys I’ve ever met in comics! Great trade paperback and graphic novel selection, with weekly new issues and about a six month stock on backissues at cover price too. New and used gaming modules and open later night hours for RPG and boardgame play many nights, which is helpful when I get off work late. Anytime they’ve not had what I was looking for I special ordered it, came in the next week!

While the owner of the store is really nice (I’ve only met one of them anyway), I’ve gotta say, my boyfriend and I have not felt welcome here overall. I tried to brush it off, but one of the employees decided to have some kind of vendetta against my boyfriend for no apparent reason. Everyone seems to get along with everyone, including us, but not this employee. Frankly, it’s kind of creepy. We came here for several months to play RPGs, but it got to the point where we just couldn’t stand it anymore. I’m never going back.
As for comics and games. They stock a good selection of comics and they often have a nice, though small selection of board games. They also have room to play RPGs. Such a shame, it seemed like such a nice place.

The Dreaming gets 5-​stars not only for its clean layout, great, helpful owner, and good selection of tabletop-​gaming, comics, and dice, but it gets 5-​stars because of the people who call this place their home-​base. This shop hosts tabletop gaming nights and the Pathfinder love (basically D&D 3.75 edition) here seems to be very high.
I came during my lunch break to look at the newly released D&D 5^th edition books, but immediately one of the people who didn’t even work there was happy to help me and explain his opinions about the new game. Then the owner came out and was also very kind and told me that he didn’t have the starter set in stock, but offered to call me when it came in if I wanted to wait. Then yet another big friendly guy came in and talked about how much he was enjoying the 5^th edition.
This is a good shop with a good bunch of guys that frequent this place, and that kind of love deserves 5-​stars.

Nice staff, and a good collection of TPB’s. Prices are average. They also have some random MTG cards. They have events like DnD, MTG, etc there from time to time. The magic crowd there seems nice, they are pretty casual though. So more skilled or experienced players MAY not have as much fun there. Not saying it is always this way, but was when i was there.

Great comic shop. I wish I could come out the neighborhood more. I live in Redmond, so with the 520 always closing for random reasons, it’s hard to make it out regularly for MTG drafts, etc. But I would definitely be more frequent if I lived on the West side. Nice people, cool events and atmosphere.

I love this store! My boyfriend is a huge gamer and I’ve always been a little hesitant to go into comic book/​gaming stores because I wasn’t sure if I (a non-​gamer) would be welcome. Aaron not only made me feel welcomed, but steered me to a wonderful selection of artist books (BROM) and comics I had forgotten about!
Love this place to pieces!

This place brings me back to my first comic shop in Camp Hill, PA. Super friendly staff who know what they’re talking about. The place is clean and organized. While there may be some geeks hanging out chatting, they aren’t obnoxious like some guys I’ve found in other shops.

Aron, the owner of The Dreaming, is quite possibly the nicest person in the world. The store is tiny and the shelves are crammed full of awesome things, but Aron knows where everything is and will gladly help you find that one book you’ve been searching for.

Wow! What an incredibly fun and welcoming environment.
I don’t read comics but I stopped by here while I had some extra time. As soon as I walked in the employee greeted me warmly. Not with the half-​hearted mumbling but with a full voice and eye contact. That means a lot to me.
The employee also sat at a table in the middle of the store rather than behind a counter. This helped make it more friendly. He only went behind the counter to ring people up.
The next thing I noticed was a group of people playing a tabletop game. They were clearly very into it and it made the atmosphere more lively. It’s nice to know there’s a place like this for fans of Dungeons and Dragons and the like.
As I don’t read comics I didn’t end up buying anything. When I walked out the owner thanked me for dropping by.
Truly great service.

A very well run store. The owner is exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and inspirational. Any questions are quickly! You are most likely walk out of here with a few more ideas on what to buy.

I really liked this place. The people in the place were super friend, and they actually talked about comic books and had opinion. i like going into comic book stores where people are friendly, and they talk about things. It feels like being in a community. Some comic book stores I have been in feel too much like shopping at Macy’s. They just want you to come in given them your money and leave. There’s a reason why I shop at comic book stores and not Amazon for this, it’s for the people and the atmosphere. If the people working their suck, and are distant and not engaging I either leave and buy elsewhere, or am inspired to shop at amazon. The Dreaming was a really welcoming place I felt comfortable at, and if I lived in Seattle I would go back here regularly.

After coming back from school in Oregon last year, one of my first goals was to find myself a comic shop (an interest I had only developed during college). After going around to a few different shops, I stumbled across this lovely place on the outskirts of the U District and fell in love. They have a boundlessly friendly and knowledgeable staff and client-​base. They never seem to forget a face that is even vaguely familiar. They have a FREE (actually, more than free, since it comes with a discount) box subscription service, which is great. Their board game selection is sparse, but is clearly carefully selected and chosen to cater to their clientele.
This is everything a good shop should be.

I love The Dreaming! Aaron, the owner, is literally one of the most cheerful, friendliest people I have ever met. Although I don’t really read comics, I am into tabletop games, and they either have or can order just about anything here. My only gripe (and it’s a small one) is that, at least the last few times I’ve been there, they only had Speckled Chessex dice sets. I buy dice like some girls buy shoes, and I would love to see more variety in the dice! Shiny, glittery, swirled, frosted!

A wonderful little shop with a great selection and wonderful staff. I will give five stars when they realize they have too much shop for that tiny tiny space and move it somewhere with a parking lot so more people can enjoy it.
Word of warning: Watch your parking CAREFULLY. Udistrict parking cops will lay in wait to give you tickets for parking too long! Not that this is any fault of the Dreaming… but it is something that might sully your visit if you get a ticket.

The best comic store in Seattle. I don’t live anywhere near this place, but I make the commute, happily for the amazing customer service. They might sell out of an issue you’re looking for, but it’s really convenient to set up a pull list, to make sure that doesn’t happen again. And apart from that question mark, the management, and the regulars are ridiculously friendly and helpful.
This is the kind of place where you can walk in and strike up some nerdy conversation, or you can just waltz in, buy your issues and leave, if that’s your personality. There’s no atmosphere of judgement or elitism (and trust me, I read some terrible books!), and there’s no snooty, «looking down the nose» attitude, whether you’re a new or old comic fan. You’ll be greeted with a smile every time.
The only downside I have to mention, is that the parking can be a small nightmare if you’re there during a busy hour, or a busy day of the week. This is definitely a case when you want to take the bus. There’s plenty of street-​side parking, but I was amazed at how quickly it can fill up. However, when parking is available, there’s free parking up and down its immediate block (with two– and one-​hour limits on those free spaces). If you go further down University, you’re back to Pay Meter parallel spaces.

Best comic/​gaming shop I’ve been in. The owner is the nicest and most welcoming person you can possibly imagine and he’ll chit chat with you about anything for as long as you want to. He’s cultivated a good culture as well rather than feeling out of place and judged by the other patrons you feel like people just want to share what they like with you.
I don’t really have the time I used to for reading comics or playing games, so I haven’t bought anything here in a year or so, but every time a I pass I feel a nostalgic tug to head in and sometimes I do.
If you ever need anything related to comics, D&D, other role playing or Magic cards, this is your place. It honestly does not get any better than this.