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Vault of Midnight's future downtown Detroit location.

(Courtesy Image)

DETROIT - Downtown Detroit will soon add a comic book shop to a cache of newly-opened businesses.

Ann Arbor's Vault of Midnight comic book and board game shop will open at 1226 Library St. in Detroit, under a wing of Dan Gilbert's Z Garage parking deck.

According to a Monday release, the store will fill a 2,000-square-foot space around the block from Punch Bowl Social and Henry the Hatter, and down the block from the Library Street Collective art gallery.

Vault of Midnight expects to open the Detroit location by the spring.

Akin to a downtown Ann Arbor location on Main Street, the Detroit location puts the shop in retail space below Dan Gilbert's massive 10-story, 1,300 space parking garage.

"As soon as we saw The Z and The Belt, with their bold artwork and graphics, we knew we'd found the perfect home for our Detroit location," Curtis Sullivan, co-owner of Vault of Midnight, said in a release. "Vaults of Midnight exist in real, brick and mortar buildings in real, vibrant communities and there is no place more exciting right now than downtown Detroit. We are thrilled to bring something new and completely different to the mix and become part of the city's historic resurgence."

Vault of Midnight has locations in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. It opened in 1996, and won the 2010 Eisner Award for "comic book-related excellence."

According to a release, the Detroit location "will have a distinct look, feel and design with a glass window facade and custom shelving and fixtures" from Michigan companies.

"Comic books and the entertainment they inspire have created a billion dollar industry and the interest just keeps growing," said Steve Fodale, Vault of Midnight co-owner, in a release. "People who visit us downtown...will love our selection."

During construction, the shop will have a banner displayed out front featuring artwork from a Detroit artist.

The comic book shop is filling one of the last open retail spaces in Gilbert's Z Garage, which now includes several restaurants, art spaces, a sneaker shop and yoga studio.

"The Vault of Midnight team built their business around the excitement and vibrancy of visual imagery and that's exactly what we did with The Z and The Belt," said Dan Mullen, Executive Vice President of Bedrock Real Estate Services, in a release. "The shop fits perfectly with our vision for Library Street, its innovative retailers and the area's amazing works of art."

Ian Thibodeau is the business and development reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. He can be reached at ithibode@mlive.com, or follow him on Twitter.