Comics for Thought: No, You Can’t Come In

Comics for Thought: No, You Can’t Come In
By: Damien Wood

It used to be that you could pull a comic book down from the news stand on a whim while visiting the corner store, or from the magazine rack while doing the groceries. At one point you had options, but as time goes on, fewer and fewer places are willing to carry comics (in their typical, monthly format, anyway). These days you’re down to the stores that specialize in them, and even they’re not as numerous as they once were.

Of course, in the case of these comic shops, they’re the source of their own problems.

The modern comic shop is pretty much the last resource for those of us who include comics in our regular reading habits, yet it’s also one of the more self-destructive forces in an industry that desperately needs to stop damaging itself. Many are as bad as the publishers themselves when it comes to the near-complete lack of promotion on the products they’re supposed to be pushing, and that’s assuming they even know said products. There’s nothing quite like seeing the glazed-over look of an employee who’s just been asked a simple question about that which he’s supposed to be selling to you.

Worse still is the fact that most comic shops now just aren’t friendly places for the casual reader (the kind we need), whether said reader is a kid looking for their first heroic adventures, a girl looking for something more sophisticated or just anyone who’s looking for something other than men in tights. If you’re not the typical, twenty-something, spandex adoring fanboy, you’ll notice the chill as soon as you walk through the door. If you venture beyond the employees’ limited knowledge of what’s just been released to the mainstream racks, then odds are you’re not going to find what you’re looking for.

Now, that’s not to say that all comic shops today are some sort of twittish “superboys only” clubs. There are good ones around, and they’re the ones that will hopefully survive the sad state of the rest. I’m lucky enough to have found a place that suits my tastes.

But if the scenario above sounds familiar, then you likely don’t have the mecca of modern comic shops in your area, and you’re going to have to force whatever you do have to be what you want it to be. Speak with your wallet. Don’t let their attitudes fool you. They want your money. They need your money. As long as this is the reality, you’re the one with the power. Stand strong and make sure they know what you’re into, and then make them order it. Have everyone you know who’s interested impose the same.

Your local comic shops won’t do anything on their own. You’re going to have to give them the reason to carry a greater variety of product and cater to a wider range of readers. You’re going to have to stop them from shooting out the last good leg they have left.

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The opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the writer, and are not necessarily representative of TNI.

When not enlightening the masses and saving the world in service of TNI, the entity known as NmX attempts to carry out a semi-normal life as a writer and a student of journalism under his not so secret identity, Damien Wood.

Look for his online projects "I Will Speak. You Will Listen." and "Mental Puppetry" sometime in the near future.