You might have seen the sandwich board that says “Arcane” on the corner of 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 58th Street across from Ballard Market. If you follow the arrow, it will take you to Arcane Comics and More, located at 5809 15th Ave. N.W.

Arcane has become one of my favorite places in Ballard and has as much awesome literature gracing its shelves as any bookstore on Market Street.

For many years, comics were regarded as childish entertainment at best and a dangerous influence on young minds at worst. But in the past 25 years, comics have become regarded as a rich and expressive artistic medium.

The once-maligned comic has been reborn as the graphic novel, which are essentially several comics bound in book form. Graphic novels such as “Maus” by Art Spiegelman and “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi are even being read as literature in high schools and colleges.

The limitless format of the comic allows artists to describe events, such as the Holocaust (“Maus”) or the Iranian Revolution (“Persepolis”) to readers in new and powerful ways.

When I arrived in Ballard, I stumbled upon Arcane during one of my walks. I have been a lifelong fan of comics, but had stopped reading them.

When I wandered into Arcane, I asked Scott if he had any recommendations and he was more than happy to tell me about some of the newer titles that I had missed out on during my comics sabbatical.

I am sure that they have done this for many a customer. Arcane Comics and More is full of exciting and innovative comics, graphic novels, and “more” for fans of all ages.

Arcane has everything from the latest issue of Superman to “Understanding Comics,” a great piece of literary criticism by Scott Mc Cloud, and if you want something they don’t have, they will order it for you.

On my last trip I picked up the graphic novel “Pyongyang” by Guy Delisle, a French-Canadian who wrote about the time he spent in North Korea while working for a French animation studio. I also placed an order for a manga (Japanese comic) that I had wanted to reread for a long time.

Arcane has its legions of loyal comics buffs but it deserves a much wider audience as it does not get the foot traffic it deserves since it's just outside of the Downtown Ballard foot traffic area.

If you are looking for a new and exciting literary experience or really liked seeing “Watchmen” at the Majestic Bay and want to read the graphic novel, head over to Arcane Comics and More. Tell ‘em the 21st Century Viking sent ya.