It has not been a good week for this guy.

It’s a tough time out there for everyone, and the impact is definitely being felt right here in the ol’ Vegas Valley. But let’s forget for a moment the financial woes of casino developers, the layoffs of thousands of casino workers or the nearly unprecedented high unemployment rates. Let’s talk about a real indicator of our economic downturn:

The closing of comic book shops.

In the last month, two of Las Vegas’ oldest and most beloved dens of four-color follies, Dreamwell Comics and Kool Kollectables, shuttered their doors after a combined four decades of service to Valley geeks and misfits.

Dreamwell, located on West Charleston Boulevard near Upland Boulevard, was small, cramped and took cash only, but maintained a dedicated clientele right up until it mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago. Those who know what happened won’t say for certain, though buzz around the counter at Dark Tower Comics up the road is that fraternal owners Don and Tim Karter got shafted on the timeline of their shop’s sale.

Kevin Church, pop culture blogger and writer of web comic The Rack, isn’t surprised by Dreamwell’s closing. “So, they priced comics at 10 cents [referring to Dreamwell's seasonal sidewalk sales], only took cash, and still couldn’t stay open,” Church related via Twitter. “Got it.” As he puts it, “many of them are shitty businesses that deserve to die.”

Kool Kollectables, originally located within spitting distance of the old Red Rock movie theaters on West Charleston, closed the doors on its 6,000-square-foot space in Commercial Center recently. Though the store’s website is still active, a call to the phone number on the site just gets you a “disconnected” message. Kool Kollectables was well-known for hosting role-playing games, and in full disclosure here, I participated in one of those Vampire: The Masquerade games hosted by KK back in the early ’90s. But if you tell anyone, I’ll never bring over my 12-sided die ever again! I mean it!

And if anyone doubts that the closure of comic shops can’t be directly related to the larger economic picture, writer Sean Kleefeld begs to differ. And if anyone thinks that Kleefeld has way too much free time if he can spin out a seven-part examination of the economics of comic books, then I say you’re damn right.