Tag: comic book stores

September 4, 2013: Worst Day Ever for Comic Book Stores?

Aug. 30 Comics, Detroit Area Comic Book Store, News no comments

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, will be a day that owners of comic book stores will remember for a long time. For many comic book stores, it will be a perfect storm that they will pray will never happen again. It is a day which might break many comic book stores around the country.

Forever Evil / Villain Month

Forever Evil / Villain Month

September 4, 2013 Issue #1

The Villain Month allocation is hitting most comic book stores hard. Wednesday is the day they have to explain to the majority of their empty-handed customers about why they cannot get the collectible cover they want. There is going to be anger, accusations, and sadness. Owners and workers are going to have to deal with this.

September 4, 2013 Issue #2

The Wednesday will be the Wednesday after a holiday, so the Diamond shipments will hit stores a day later than usual. There will be a mad rush to get the comics out on the shelves as quickly as possible. In many cases, customers are going to have to be told to come back later to get their issues – if they will be able to get them at all.  This will be another series of blows hitting the workers and owners of comic book stores all over.

September 4, 2013 Issue #3

Along with over 25 Villain Month issue coming out on the fateful day, there are other big titles hitting as well. Forever Evil #1, X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1, the Star Wars Lucas Draft #1, Infinity #2, Superior Spider-Man #17, and many other big titles all all hitting on the same day. For many comic book stores, this will be the biggest shipment they have ever gotten on a day they have been dreading for weeks. This will have to be processed asap.

September 4, 2013 Issue #4

On top of all of this, I would not be surprised by long lines before the comic book stores open. Fans are going to line up for their chance to get the titles they want. So comic book stores are going to have to deal with long lines for a late shipment which will not have the amount of product they ordered for one of the biggest comic book events in years.

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Importance of Comic Book Stores

Apr. 23 Comic Book Collecting no comments

There is no denying that forces in the comic book industry continue to attempt to dominate the market with digital comics, but the comic book stores still survive. After half a decade of trying to force digital comics on the collector’s market, collectors continue to make purchases at comic book stores. There continues to be a place for comic book stores and the importance of brick and mortar stores cannot be denied.

Wonderworld Comics

Wonderworld Comics

Community Center

Comic book stores are where you can go to be with people like you who love the same type of entertainment media you do. You might be a DC Comics fan, a Marvelite, or someone who tries to go against the grain and read titles from smaller or independent companies – but you still are among people like yourself when you enter comic book stores. You are still among your own and you are in your community.

Human Interaction

Comic book fans love to interact with other comic book fans. Digital comics will never be able to replicate or duplicate the interaction a comic book collector can have with a knowledgeable comic book store employee or with another fan met inside any of the comic book stores in the country. Digital comics take away that human bond and always negate the basic human need of gaining justification from others of what we are doing. The human interaction you gain with other comic book fans in YOUR type of community center is at the core of the importance of comic book stores.

Not Going Away

Digital comics are not going away anytime soon. You can ensure that the community center found inside comic book stores never goes away. I have met countless comic book fans over the years and I celebrate the bond I have with them. You should to.

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Comic Book Stores are Like Casinos

Feb. 26 Comic Book Collecting no comments

I love walking into comic book stores and casinos. As a comic book reader and collector, there are very few places that give me the charge that I get when walking into a store and seeing shelves lined with comic books. Ok, walking into a casino can come close – but not close enough. A comic book store is a lot like a casino and I doubt there have ever been many people who have made the association between the two. For those who know me, you should have expected me to compare two of my favorite types of locations.

Comic book stores are like casions

Comic book stores are like casions

Bright Colors

One of the first things you will notice when walking into a casino or a comic book store is the bright colors all around. The casino owners use the bright colors to bring your attention to the slots, the table games and to the entertainment. Comic book companies use bright colors and visually-enticing covers to draw you in in much the same way. If a slot machine looked bland and devoid of flashing lights, would you stop and play? If a comic had a bland cover, would it catch your eye?

Location of Shared Interest

Walk into a casino and listen to the conversations patrons are having. With all of my trips to Las Vegas, I have heard the full gambit of possible conversations over the years, but the majority of people are talking about gambling, particular games, or winning money. If you walk into any of the comic book stores in the world, chances are good that most of the conversations will be about reading comics, particular comics, or the shared experiences of comic book readers. Casinos and comic book stores are hubs for people who share common interests.

The Big Gambles of Comic Book Stores

Chances are good that you might not actively think about gambling when you are in a comic book store, but you are – and others are as well. When you pick up an issue, you are taking a gamble that you are going to like it. When you purchase a variant cover for the collectability factor, you are betting on the issue increasing in value over time. In fact, I have heard more about comic book speculators in the last few months than I have about sports betting speculators.

Don’t forget that comic book companies are speculating with every title and storyline. They are betting on you buying each title they have. Sometimes they win and sometimes they lose. Owners of comic book stores are speculating when they place their orders. Sometimes they order the correct amount of a title, sometimes they get burned, and sometimes they wish they ordered more.

Leaving with Anticipation

Every time I have entered a plane leaving Las Vegas, I have anticipated my next trip to Sin City. Leaving comic book stores gives me the same feeling. I wonder about what types comics or merchandise they will have the next time I arrive and what types of conversations I will have while there. Now if I could only get free drinks in comic book stores…

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