[1] [2] [3] In 1974, Jerry Norton Weist (1949–2011), an author, bookseller, and comic book and fantasy art collector,[4] formed a partnership with Chuck Wooley to open one of the first comic books specialty stores in North America, called The Million Year Picnic, named for a short story in Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles.
With the permission of EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines, he co-founded (with Bob Barrett and Roger Hill)[5] a noted EC Comics fanzine "Squa Tront," (1967 - 1983).
[12][13] In April 1987, the Picnic sold the first book of collected cartoon strips of Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes.
[14] During COVID-19, the Picnic stayed open for business through deliveries and mail order.
[15] In 2024, the Brattle Theatre celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Million Year Picnic with the Boston premiere of a documentary film, "The Picnic: A History and Homage to One of the World's Oldest Comic Book Stores and the People Who Made It What It Is," by Vincent-louis Apruzzese.