The Comic Shop Project

Lately I've been thinking about the "death of the comic shop". There's a lot of talk floating out there predicting it, though I don't know if I could subscribe to any of it. Certainly there's a lot to be anxious about. Online subscription services, big box booksellers, competition from free online content... either singularly, or taken together, have been seen as the harbingers of doom to many.

For me, the shop represents too much for me to do away with. Sure I pick up the occassional trade while browsing in Barnes & Noble, and sure I like a good deal on my comics, but these facts don't trump the fact that I value my LCS, and try to spend more time and money there than anywhere else.

Maybe (probably) it's a generational thing: before I had my own mode of transportation and my own source of income, I got all of my comics from the local 7-11. My buying habits were limited to what that vendor received in any given week (and more often than not it was completely random). I remember discovering my first comic shop, and it was a wonderful thing that I had no idea existed; a store devoted entirely to comics. It was a huge (in my memory) shop in Davis, California, near the college. We were on our way back home from a summer boating trip, and I bought two graphic novels (I had no idea they existed either): God Loves, Man Kills and The New Mutants. We lived no where near Davis, but as soon as we got home, my mom was game enough to find a closer shop and bring me there frequently.

"Better this than drugs" she reasoned.

Oh, if she only knew.

So the shop has a strong emotional ressonance for me. It shaped the way I chose the titles I bought. Able to browse a much larger pool of publications, my own reading experience expanded and deepened. Also, I got a giddy sense of anxiety on the drive to the shop. What would I find on the shelves that day? That probably doesn't sound all that special, but take into account that this was pre-internet, and going to the shop was an adventure unspoiled by... er... spoilers. To a certain extent, I still like to be surprised at what I will find. At the very least, when I have a little extra money, or feel a little bored/adventurous, I like to browse through what's there. I've resisted pull-lists, even, adding a little bit of unpredictability to the experience. In a way, there's nothing better for me than to learn I've missed something, and now have to hunt it down.

Lately I've been trying to visit as many stores as I can. At first, it was an effort to locate shops with dollar bins, but it's grown into something else. I don't know what it is, but my girlfriend convinced me I should write it all down. Seeing as this blog has been a bit directionless for the better part of a year, it might be a good way to generate content when I don't want to talk about the books themselves. My goal is to visit as many shops as I can in the greater Los Angeles/San Bernardino/Ventura areas, and review them. Through a combination of Google Maps and the Diamond Store Locator, I've started with this:

I've visted/frequented some of the shops already. Some I haven't. I'll try to rate them all on a common criteria:

• Selection: What kind of comics are carried? Mainstream superhero, alternative, manga? New comics, back issues, trades?
• Cleanliness/Organization: A big one, though I'm not too prissy. Sometimes I like a grungy shop... it usually means they've been in business for a while and have a lot of hidden treasures. Some of the newer shops I've run accross are too antiseptic and cold. I draw the line at filth, though. And bugs.
• Staff: Probably the biggest pet peeve that I have. I'm not that needy; I don't need to be handheld. I do like to be acknowledged. Snarky hipsters put me off. Also, some sense of professional conduct is appreciated.
• Bonus/Incentives: What's going to bring me back to the store? Discounts on pull-lists, dollar bins, trade programs, etc? Anything above and beyond just stocking and selling comics.

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I'm probably leaving something out, so I reserve the right to revise my criteria in the future. Also, if there's anything you feel I've overlooked, please leave a comment. I'd appreciate any advice or insight. As I usually try to get to a new shop on the weekends, I'll be running this new feature on Mondays.

The list so far (in alphabetical order):

3 Geeks
4 Color Fantasies
A Hidden Fortress
Amazing Comics & Cards
Astounding Fantasy Art Books & Comics
Beach Ball Comics
Brave New World
Bunky Brothers Comic Books
Candy Comic Books
Chamber of Comics
Collectors Asylum
Collector's Paradise
Comic Book Guys
Comic Bookie
Comic Bug
Comic Castle USA
Comic Cellar
Comic Connection
Comic Ink
Comic King Store
Comic Madness
Comic Odyssey
Comic Quest
Comic Vendor
Comics & Fun
Comics Factory
Comics Plus
Comicsmash
Continental Comics
Corner Store Comics
D J's Universal Comics
Dong Boo Comic Book Store
Dream World Comics [Simi Valley]
Dream World Comics [Venice]
Earth 2 Comics
Epic Comics
Flying Dog Comics
Funny Business [Moved]
Geoffrey's Comics Comic Cult
Golden Apple Comics
Golden Apple II
Gotham
Heroes & Villains
Hi De Ho Comics
House of Secrets
Jeff's Comics
JNJ Comic Books
JPM Comics
Kemp's Komics & Kards
Kings Comics and Cards
Korean Comic Book Store
Legacy 1
Legends for Fun
Mega Comics [now Dream World?]
Meltdown Comics & Collectibles
Metropolis Comics
Michaels Comic Book Shop
Mini Melt
Mini Melt Too
Orange Comics
Orbit Comics & Cards
Otherworld Comics
Players Comics & Cards
Pulp Fiction
Ralph's Comic Corner
Secret Headquarters LLC
Shooting Star Comics
Solomon Comics
The Flip Side
The Realm, Games & Comics
The Third Planet
Treasure Island Sports Cards & Comics
West Coast Fantasy

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P.S. This list is by no means complete. Leave me a comment if there's a shop that I've overlooked. I'd hate to think I missed something wonderful (or awful).

Tags: the comic shop project

FCBD 2008

I'm lucky that since they started Free Comic Book Day seven years ago, the powers that be agreed that it would be held on the first Saturday in May. This mean that FCBD always falls within a week of my birthday. As an added bonus, it seems like all the big Summer comic book movies also open around the same time, starting with 2002's Spider-Man. This means that at the time that the comics world is blowing up, I am flush with sweet, sweet birthday cash.

Usually, I try to visit as many shops as I can, often including one that I have either never been to before or am rarely able to get to. Last year, I made the pilgrimage to meet my hero (and yours) mighty Mike Sterling and his shop up in Ventura. This year, though, I stayed relatively close to home. I want to the shop I frequent most that has a nice graphic novel selection and copious dollar bins (looking to stretch that birthday loot).

It turned out to be slightly heart-breaking. When walking into the shop, I was met with the familiar FCBD sign, with an added note stating that only one comic would be free, that any additional books would cost 25 cents. That seems so opposite of the spirit of FCBD. I know individual shops are allowed to make up their own policies about how many books to give out, but it just seemed wrong that they would state up front that they would charge.

Please keep in mind I'm not upset for myself. I'd gladly pay to offset some kid getting some free comics (say, coming in from off the street, having just seen Iron Man in the movie theatre one block down, asking a lot of questions about SHIELD and Iron Man, which is what happened while I was in the shop). FCBD is about bringing in new readers, I get that. I'm not one of these ass-hat types that pushes the kids to the side so that I can get something that I could totally afford for free (which I've seen too many times at cons). I know that this is some kind of tax on the ugly obsessive types that have to have everything, who are already in the hobby, who don't really need the freebies. I don't know. I can kind of understand the intent, but there seems like a better way to handle it.

I guess I have to chalk it up to watching those kids asking the clerk what SHIELD was, and instead of handing them some free comics that might get them to come back, he just gave them a short two-sentence answer and let them leave. I guess it's the thought of some parent bringing their kids in because they saw the sign, or read about FCBD in a mainstream newspaper, and seeing the hand-written addendum stating that if they wanted more then one comic, they would be charged.

I left without buying anything that day, not knowing if I would come back to that shop. I had to process. I took my business to Comics Factory in Pasadena. The atmosphere was better there, abuzz with a lot of non-comics readers coming in for the first time, asking questions. They had a much better system for dealing with free comics moochers. They allowed one the choice of twelve titles from their selection, which made more sense. People aren't going to pick up all the titles (unless their completist, missing-the-point nerds), they're just going to pick up the ones that have the appropriate age-level and genre for their own tastes. Most of the ones I picked up, I picked up for my nieces.

I also broke down and bought some back issues. I've given up the ghost on completing some runs I have purely through dollar boxes, just because I want to read them. I was able to close the loop on Sleeper, seasons 1 and 2, picking up the five missing issues for cover price. Not bad, in the end. I also got caught up on Criminal (Brubaker, again!) and finally brought home Jack Kirby Fourth World Omnibus: Vol I. This has been criminally absent from my collection for too long. Having just read the introduction by Grant Morrison, I'm struck by how much it matches Neil Gaiman's intro for Evanier's Kirby: King of Comics, mostly by starting off with "I never met Jack Kirby...".

And, also, Iron Man totally rocked, but you already knew that.

Tags: fcbd,

Is It Me?

I don't know if this is something to crab about since I never look for excellence in professionalism in the comics shop retail arena. Tell me if I'm overreacting.

I was anxious to get out of the house after being cooped up with a cold for a few days. I tagged along with the girlfriend as she ran to look up a few items at Sam French. I knew there was a comics shop down the block from there, so I walked down and killed some time. I used to frequent the store when we lived in the area, but I think they had a different owner then.

The shop seems cleaner, yet more disorganized than I remembered. I know that makes no sense. The new stuff is very neat and organized while some of the older detritus (lots of 90's leftovers) seems to clog endtables, piled high for deep discount (lots of sundamaged Robocop action figures, for example).

The kids running the shop seem like the young hipsters that would want to work in a comics shop: Kind of detached, almost too cool for the place. The kind that would immediately talk about customers behind their back the second they left the shop (which I was witness to).

The thing that got me was that when I brought my purchases up to the register, I was asked if I wanted bags and boards. I usually decline when asked, though my regular LCS throws them in for free. Please note that I had a few "new" comics and a few older comics, the point being that the older items were already bagged and boarded. "No thanks," I said.

So, imagine my surprise that the clerk proceeded to remove the bags and boards from the back issues I was purchasing.

Is it me, or does that seem incredibly cheap?

The experience kind of soured me on the whole store. Granted the older issues were going for cover price, but if they were, say, $20 a pop, would he still have repossessed the bags and boards? I don't think I'll go back there anytime soon.