Comments on: The Comic Book Industry needs Innovation, PRONTO!

By: Webmaster Book

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By: Carnal Comics

Carnal Comics — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:51:33 +0000

Well it’s fun to dream about what might replace Diamond after March when the vast majority of independent and adults only titles will no longer be available in comic shops. But it’s very unlikely that the ideas mentioned above will be up and running in 2 months. So if you are a fan of stuff by Top Shelf, SLG, Eros, Carnal, Radio and many other indie publishers – most of them will have to “Go Dark.” You’ll still be able to buy their old stuff online, but their output of new stuff is going to drop like a rock until some other viable distribution system gets up and running. Be prepared to wait years rather than months for something like that to get going in any meaningful way.

Though I hope I am proved wrong…

By: Adam Black

Adam Black — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:28:15 +0000

Comic shops definitely need a make-over. I haven’t set foot in a comic shop in years, because they just don’t offer any variety. I can’t remember the last time I found a comic shop that carried more than Marvel, DC, Image, some White Wolf games on a spinning rack, a hodge-podge of display cases with HeroClix, Magic: The Gathering, and Pokemon cards…with a bunch of old comics in boxes that they just can’t get rid of anymore. In the past 15 years or so, I’ve lived in three different states and seven different towns and cities in those states, and the comic shops in every location was just the same old thing. Over and over again. It was like walking into Wal-Mart. Soulless mediocrity.

There was one shop in a little college town which I found about fifteen years ago, and, after I moved, would drive over a hundred miles to visit/shop as often as I could. The owners of that shop had a great selection of independent books and other, weirder things. It was a place to go and *discover* things, not just a Wal-Mart for comic books.

The owner of this shop had her old, boxed comics stored in the back, with a printed-out checklist of what was there. She’d put the list on the front counter and save herself a lot of room. She used the extra space to set up a revolving slew of independent titles, hard-to-find stuff, and whatever else struck her fancy. It was great.

Everytime I ask a shop owner where the real independent comics are, they always give some variation of “independents don’t sell” as their excuse. If Hollywood has taught us anything, it’s that you can sell dog shit on a stick if you hype it enough. And the lady who owned the little college-town shop was always exited to show you the weird thing she’d discovered since the last time you were in. I spent upwards of fifty bucks in her shop every time I walked in, and not a penny of that was spent on guys in tights beating the shit out of each other *again*. I wasn’t the only one, either. The best part about this story: that shop is still in business and going strong.

I wonder if the problems comic shop owners are having are because they’re selling the same tired old junk month after month.

Comic shop owners: make your shops *fun* again. Make it a place where people can come in and find something they didn’t know existed.

Make it about discovery.

By: Tom Williams

Tom Williams — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:05:40 +0000

I always thought that setting up the comic shop more like a chain bookstore would be a cool idea. Have the reading area, maybe a gallery space for original art, etc.
I like the whole in-store wiki/ordering idea. It sounds more like a software app that, if created, could run on touch screens placed in key spots around the store. It can be internal and tie into the POS system.

By: DustinP

DustinP — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:41:50 +0000

Good post. It’s true, some comic shops are quite overwhelming too, while its cool walking through 2 foot wide pathways with comics stacked to the roof – it’s sometimes hard to navigate and I can imagine that if you don’t know what your doing when you go in you will be quite lost lol.

Linked you over at Webcartoonists.com

By: gsekse

gsekse — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:49:07 +0000

I dunno why a retailer can’t get your point from what you wrote here. You basically stated that retailers should put more “flash” in their stores. A store full of comics will not attract the MTV crowd. They want pop and flash and instant entertainment. Sure you will get some kids hanging around without buying but you also will get people with money to come in and look. The old marketing game of “whatever gets them in the door” still applies. Depends on what client you want to sell to. But… if they want to pay you to come around and tell you in detail what you just described here, more power to you DJ.

All that being said, I’m not sure if “comics” can stand up in a storefront market. I really suspect they are going to be an excellent internet and/or convention sale item. Comics are going to be collector type items. I can read HBN on-line, but maybe I want the print copy to get autographed and save as a collectable.

By: D.J. Coffman

D.J. Coffman — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:42:28 +0000

Yeah, each situation will be unique in some way.

When I said Auctions– I kind of meant say, if you had a REALLY awesome or rare product in your store, and you had it up online for auction as well, and the little touchscreens or instore stations for bidding on the item. It increases the WANT or the “got to have” factor when something is in front of you that you know people around the world are bidding on or possibly could, impulse bidding in store! hah. I’m sure Todd would get that! hahahah

Also, expand the ideas to this fact… say you WERE linking to Ebay shops in your store, you know Ebay has an affiliate service? You can make a nice percentage everytime someone buys anything through your instore keosk. Or offer to buy it through you, as “want” lists, etc. think about this… there are dudes who teach “how to use ebay!” and everytime they get someone to sign up, they make 100 bucks a user. Alright– I’m done blabbering into cyberspace! Hope this has planted seeds in some minds.

By: Colin McMahon

Colin McMahon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:32:10 +0000

Ray – I doubt any retailer was offended, just say you have exactly the same sales tool I have to try to figure out what the heck to order each month. A small picture and a couple sentences really doesn’t do it. I don’t think it makes that much profit for Diamond.

DJ – I think I discounted the idea a little too quickly. Creating a site with links to specific pubilsher sites and the like could certainly be beneficial. Having previews and such on it would be great. Linking to other retailers selling the same stuff I have for less or to eBay auctions doesn’t work to well for me. Its the same reason I don’t link through my website to CBR or Newsarama articles. Why throw the fact that you can buy the same things I sell for less of an internet retailer in their faces? I personally think that half the fun of buying comics is looking around to see what all is out there. Now Todd would love to have someone link to him to buy back issues, but the fact that I am meeting complete resistance in trying to move him from cash registers to POS systems tells me that his embracing technology won’t happen soon.

Isotope is a unique case, so don’t be too quick to ascribe that model to all. Jason at Riot in Harrisburg wasn’t able to do it. Maybe in the strip or in Oakland, but not in the South Hills or most of America. But certainly his attitude can be copied and modified. And should. We do need to find a better way to create excitement about coming to the store and about comics in general.

You have stuck the germ of an idea in my head, but I am going to have to finesse it to make it work better for my situation.

By: D.J. Coffman

D.J. Coffman — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:01:09 +0000

Okay. 4 somewhat angry retailers emailed me asking for solutions, which puzzles me. Not sure why this post would anger anyone. If you want innovative solutions from me, I am available for consulting at $200 an hour, 5 hours minimum.

By: Ray Cornwall

Ray Cornwall — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:42:25 +0000

“Hey Ray – Trust me, us retailers also have to lug around a copy of Previews to get our info. And it gets better when Marvel and DC completely change the contents of the book with just a blurb in an email, like the Obama Spidey fiasco.”

Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought I had heard something about a Previews PDF. If I’m wrong, I apologize to any retailer I’ve offended. Then I’ll wonder why the hell Diamond doesn’t put out a PDF. I mean, if I have to, I’ll pay $1 for a digital PDF. Are the $3 catalogs really some sort of profit center for Diamond? I just can’t see it.

There was a time when I’d have told DJ that he would have to take the quarter bins out of my hands only when I was dead. I *loved* quarter bins. And if properly utilized, they can be used to motivate new “full price” purchases. But is that the best use of space anymore? I dunno…