A recession is coming — maybe sooner than later — and the sad truth is that a lot of the places you visit for news and information and entertainment are not likely to survive the next downturn. I can pretty much guarantee that, in part because government funding for arts and letters has dried up, Seattle will lose bookstores and media sites and movie theaters in the next recession. And one of the biggest recession casualties I've been fearing lately is comic book stores.

It's been a bumpy time for comics shops in Seattle, even in a supposedly decent economic climate. Downtown's Zanadu Comics closed last year, and Ballard shop Arcane Comics moved north of city limits a few years back, though Ballard did get a new shop last year when Grumpy Old Man's Comics, Art, and Collectibles opened, and Push/Pull Gallery is still going strong.

This week, though, saw some unabashedly good news: Capitol Hill Seattle blog broke the story that Phoenix Comics & Games on Broadway is expanding into the space next door. “This is very exciting as a store owner," Phoenix's Nick Nazar told CHS. "I’m really grateful to our awesome community for backing us."

Yesterday, I congratulated Nazar on the upcoming expansion, and he took me on a little tour of the space, pointing out where new features will be. The expansion will create more gaming space and also put storage space closer to the sales floor. There will also be a larger and more expansive front counter space, and a more welcoming front-of-store experience.

I picked up my usual weekly haul of comics — the latest issue of Silver Surfer: Black is the most beautiful, weirdo-cosmic installment yet — and left feeling good about the future of the shop. Nazar, in his impromptu tour, seemed anxious in the way that small business owners usually are, but he also seemed hopeful about the possibility of welcoming more people into his business. It's enough of an infectious joy that it inspires even the most confirmed cynic to feel a tiny bit of hope in his heart.