The news came as a shock to many over the weekend, that Brian Kozicki, the long-time and jovial owner of on West Middle Turnpike in town, had died suddenly Saturday.

Although few details were available Sunday, ' Facebook page posted a message announcing Kozicki's death. "Buried Under is sad to report that our fearless leader, guiding light, and for all intents and purposes, founder, Brian Kozicki passed away suddenly on the morning of Saturday August 18, 2012. The lives he touched are countless. If you are one of those and want to remember and reminisce, we will be at the store until five o'clock or so," the message read.

Details of Kozicki's death were unavailable Sunday. Calling hours are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Holmes Funeral Home in Manchester.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here. Shortly after the announcement of Kozicki's death, condolences and reminisces began to roll in on the store's Facebook page.

"I am truly stunned and can't believe I'm reading this. He was a great guy. He made such an impact on me in my childhood and I still shop there today. There was an action figure I wanted for my birthday when I was 10 or 11 and my mother could not track this thing down for anything. She went to Brian and he was able to find it. It was a Marvel Rogue action figure. I still have it till this day and I am now 29," wrote Nicole Vaillancourt.

"Although I'm relatively new to the comic book scene, Brian treated me as if I was a seasoned veteran, he treated me with the same attention and detail I imagine he would a customer of 20 years, he encouraged my comic book interests and has turned me into an avid reader, thank you Brian, you will be truly missed," wrote Greg Sarkozy.

Several days prior to Kozicki's passing, on Thursday, August 16, marked the 18th anniversary of Kozicki's ownership of Buried Under Comics. "Just want to say it has be 18 years ago, today that our Fearless, insane leader, Brian, has owned and kept BURIED UNDER going. Lets hope for another 18 years of all of us enjoying this AWESOME place," the store posted on its Facebook page that day.