Relax Comics in Solomou 5 appears in living color, almost out of nowhere. Reaching for the entrance, you stumble over a centerpiece cabinet that usually attracts those who hunt for “key issues” or a carefully packed array of complete series. The arrangement goes one step above plain practicality, acting as a mural for local upcoming and renowned artists, all wrapped around in hundreds of paperbacks and original artworks on every inch of the wall.

Aggelos, the owner, welcomes everyone equally with a smile and with perfect suggestions for all forms of individuals and is always eager to express his encyclopedic knowledge of comic books and hip-hop culture for the art of it. It seems to be the norm that at that spot, for the past 23 years, there has been a handful of people entering every few minutes, each one glued to stay more than expected like they expect to encounter genuinely effusive conversations with other attendants.

I truly believe that such a place, so condensed with pages that describe a thousand worlds in a kaleidoscopic vortex of lightsaber green, chartreuse yellows and fluorescent pinks, cannot exist in any layer of the fabric of reality or fiction and be able to embody the word “Relax”. Yet, Relax Comics in Exarcheia does this without ever even trying.