this article is about a comic shop . for other uses see that s entertainment . that s entertainment type private industry comics pop culture collectables genre retail founded worcester massachusetts u.s. 1980 founder paul howley headquarters worcester massachusetts u.s. number of locations 2 area served new england key people paul howley products comics video games dvds magic the gathering toys role playing games vinyl record albums trading cards autographs owner paul howley website thatse.com that s entertainment is an eisner award winning 1 2 comics and collectibles store in worcester massachusetts . michael warshaw concisely referred to the store in a worcester magazine article on 5 5 05 as the pop culture emporium located in the ancient former auto dealership at 244 park ave. 3 the store has also been called the purveyors of pop culture in worcester specializing in the philosophy of the underground ... you ll uncover comics graphic novels music zines games t shirts and other arbitrary items that bring joy to those who hold the ethos of a particular generation dear to their consumer hearts . 4 the store was first opened by paul howley in 1980 5 at a 2 000 sq ft 190 m2 location on chandler street in worcester . in october of 1989 he added a second location with the purchase of a comic shop in fitchburg massachusetts . at the start of business on july 1 1992 that s entertainment had been moved into its present location a 20 000 sq ft 1 900 m2 building on park ave. in worcester and a 10 000 sq ft 930 m2 retail and events space was created . 6 the store stocks comic books including alternative comics and new indy titles 7 trade paperbacks and related items . the store also carries other trading cards including sports cards and magic the gathering along with anime role playing games vintage video games and systems and other toys and collectibles . 8 9 in 1997 that s entertainment was one of three stores that received a will eisner spirit of comics retailer award from comic con international san diego . the award named for comic book creator will eisner recognizes an individual retailer who has done an outstanding job of supporting the comics art medium both in the community and within the industry at large . 1 2 that s entertainment s reluctant acceptance of life after the on line auction was the subject of a six page article in the may 2000 issue of the national magazine inc. the article by writer anne marie borrego was titled how i learned to stop worrying and almost love ebay . borrego examined how that s entertainment specifically as a traditional brick and mortar collectibles retailer was contending with the sudden growth of on line competition in the collectibles market . 10 on july 18 1998 harvey ball the earliest known designer of the smiley 11 appeared at that s entertainment to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the design s inception . ball met fans and signed smiley pins and art as well as some copies of the watchmen comic . 12 television pioneer rex trailer appeared in 2006 to mark the 50th anniversary of boomtown by meeting his fans singing songs and signing autographs . a video report on that event is posted to the worcester telegram website . 13 in an encore of sorts on september 11 2011 trailer appeared at the fitchburg ma that s entertainment to meet fans sing songs and sign free autographs as he marked the 55th anniversary of boomtown . trailer sang a song he wrote to honor the victims of 9 11 i appreciate you . 14 that s entertainment has participated in the annual world wide free comic book day every year since the event was launched . in 2009 the store presented a pro am comic jam inviting aspiring artists of all ages to meet with a group of professional artists to compare perspectives on comic art . it was the fourth occurrence of this event since 1996 . 15 in march 2011 that s entertainment petitioned the worcester city council to change the name of the private street running alongside the store from marmon place to lois lane . 16 certainly the character lois lane dating back to 1938 in superman comic books and moving on through radio shows television shows and movies etc. is a high profile beloved and timeless icon the petition stated . the worcester telegram opined that the proposed name was a good match for that s entertainment which among many things is in the superhero comic book business . 17 in august 2012 the petition having previously passed the planning board and the city council public works committee gained the final approval of the full council . in welcoming the change the worcester telegram declared a bit of whimsy in worcester is a good thing . 18 on friday december 28 2012 the new sign was finally installed . a celebration at the store followed on sunday december 30 2012 featuring an unveiling free sketches of lois by paul ryan and a lois lane lookalike contest . 19 20 references edit a b comic con.org awards a b http www.sequentialtart.com article.php id 455 sequential tart warshaw michael 2005 05 05 . rational absurdity and diner food . worcester magazine . retrieved 2008 06 09 . dead link manning doreen 2010 04 15 . that s e celebrates that vinyl sound . worcester magazine . retrieved 2011 04 19 . my life with comic books the history of a comic shop . . retrieved 2008 06 07 . my life with comic books the history of a comic shop . . retrieved 2008 06 07 . alternative comics indy friendly stores listing yelp comic book maven celebrates 30 years of that s entertainment published in worcester telegram & gazette tuesday april 12 2011 . retrieved 2011 04 13 . borrego anne marie 2000 05 15 . how i learned to stop worrying and almost love ebay . inc. magazine . retrieved 2008 06 08 . honan william h. 2001 04 14 . h. r. ball 79 ad executive credited with smiley face . the new york times . p. c6 . worcester telegram march 6 2009 http www.telegram.com article 20090306 news 903060414 1 eworcester & template eworcester niles david 2006 12 10 . rex trailer . telegram.com video . worcester telegram . retrieved 2007 11 07 . owen paula j. september 1 2011 . boomtown s rex trailer ridin into region . telegram & gazette . retrieved august 26 2012 . worcester magazine http www.worcestermagazine.com content view 3928 marmon place meet lois lane . by steve foskett published in worcester telegram & gazette may 2011 . retrieved 2012 08 16 . street may get city rewrite as lois lane by nick kotsopoulos published in worcester telegram & gazette tuesday july 24 2012 . retrieved 2012 08 16 . that s entertaining park ave. store lands lois lane by editorial staff published in worcester telegram & gazette wednesday september 3 2012 . retrieved 2012 09 03 . city street becomes lois lane will small byway take on super powers by craig s. semon published in worcester telegram & gazette wednesday december 26 2012 . retrieved 2012 01 01 . lois lane takes the spotlight by craig s. semon published in worcester telegram & gazette monday december 31 2012 . retrieved 2012 01 01 . external links edit that s entertainment official site coordinates 42 15 56 n 71 49 08 w 42.2655 n 71.8190 w 42.2655 ; 71.8190 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title that % 27s entertainment comic shop & oldid 700451735 categories comics retailersindependent bookstores of the united statesretail companies of the united statesretail companies established in 1980hidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010coordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 18 january 2016 at 16 14 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view