support your LCS

[MrBedrock]

I'll see Bedrock's Love and Rockets and raise him Fables (and that's DC). Castle Waiting is now, well, waiting on the bedside table.

 

Jack

 

Reading comics from the Library is great! They have to buy those somewhere...and it is usually from a local comic shop.

I like your taste Jack. Have you tried Acme Novelty Library?

 

[selegue]

I read a lot of comics from the library. I love it! Even finally tried bone!

 

BONE! YEAH!

I read all but the last collected volume (it's always out) from the library and liked it so much that I've been accumulating a set.

 

I agree about Blankets too.

 

Jack

[shiverbones]

Blankets may be the most poetically heartbreaking thing I ever read, literature included! I walked around in a daze afterwards for a couple days!

[selegue]

I'll see Bedrock's Love and Rockets and raise him Fables (and that's DC). Castle Waiting is now, well, waiting on the bedside table.

 

Jack

 

Reading comics from the Library is great! They have to buy those somewhere...and it is usually from a local comic shop.

I like your taste Jack. Have you tried Acme Novelty Library?

 

Yes, I like it a lot!

I've read more or less random volumes. I loved the Jimmy Corrigan series, even though it was heartbreakingly sad at times. My main complaint is that I sometimes need to keep a magnifying glass in reach to see all the detail that Ware includes, even when the pages are almost 18" by 24"! I'm no spring chicken, but my eyes are that bad! I guess that's not really a complaint -- more like a backhanded comment.

 

Some of Kim Deitch's stuff, e.g. The Boulevard of Broken Dreams and All Waldo, have been great library reads too.

 

Jack

 

 

[selegue]

Blankets may be the most poetically heartbreaking thing I ever read, literature included! I walked around in a daze afterwards for a couple days!

 

Did anyone notice the difference?

 

 

Jack

[shiverbones]

 

just me...

 

[Park]

Well said MrBedrock. There are certainly a lot of things wrong with modern comics these days, but there is still quite a bit of good stuff out there. You just have to wade through a lot of junk to find some gems. Your policy with TPB is a fantastic idea. I will check with my LCS and see if they would be willing to do the same.

 

I am 35 and I have a 21 year old nephew that buys damn near everything that comes out. A few years back, he was constantly badgering me to read some new titles as he knew the only new books I read were pretty much Spidey and the occasional mini series of the week. Well, he got me hooked on Y the Last Man and Walking Dead and Ex-Machina. These are not books I would have picked off the rack and gave a whirl.

 

I do have an online service that I subscribe to as it is hard to turn down 40% off but I still go to 3 or 4 LCS in town to buy supplies and TPB's and to try out the new occasional book that looks interesting. It is a hard supporting my LCS buying all my new books at $3.00 a pop, but at the same time it would take some enjoyment out of the hobby for me if I could not walk into my LCS every few weeks. It is pretty damn cool to still get the same feeling walking into a comic store at 35 that I got when I was 14. Sometimes to me that is worth the extra couple of bucks I save using an online service.

 

BTW any chance of you opening a store in AZ?

 

 

[MrBedrock]

BTW any chance of you opening a store in AZ?

Hopefully someday

[Davenport]

Reading this and the "End of the Modern Era" threads makes me wonder. Great points are made on both sides, but still... It makes me wonder if there are any other products that incorporate consumer sacrifice to stay viable?

 

At first thought it seems if consumers keep on buying, they'll just keep getting more of the same. Same or lesser quality, same of higher prices, same or weaker distribution methods. Why change, if marketplace pains are absorbed by loyal fans?

 

Anyway, I don't think comics are in danger as a genre or a medium. Graphic storytelling is strong, plenty of people love it. But the way monthlies are produced, packaged, priced and distributed could use a major overhaul in the consumer appeal department. Just sayin'.

[kimik]

I think the lack of new young blood coming into the hobby is a bit understated. There was a nice mix of older and younger (looked to be 22 and under) collectors at the local show I was at on Sunday. Granted, I did not sell a single book to any of the younger ones, but they did drop by to window shop my older stuff before piling into one of the LCS's 10 cent a book overstock sale. I also met some new SA/BA collectors, which was a nice change from past shows, including a couple of new BSDs (partners/founders with local IT companies that are raking right now) who gave me their cards.

 

Here is an interesting tidbit about the strength of the collecting community in Edmonton. There are three main chains of stores with three locations each - Warp, Wizard's and Comic King. Two (Comic King and Warp) have been around with multiple locations since the 80s and the newer kid on the block (Wizard's - formed by three former employees of Comic King/Warp in the late 90s) has now added a third location in Sherwood Park (a bedroom community just outside of Edmonton). The newest LCS chain, Happy Harbor Comics, has two stores and will be adding a third shortly. There is another store, Comic Fever, that has been around since the 80s as well, and store in St. Albert if I recall as well (another bedroom community just outside of Edmonton).

 

Warp and Comic King survive on new books, tpbs, toys, etc. and do not appear to be active in the back issue market (I consider this to be pre-1980 comics) at all anymore from what I can tell. Wizard's is actively buying collections and has the best back issue selection of all of the stores, and they move a lot of the new stuff (moderns, tpbs, toys, card games, etc.) as well (they have the closest location to the University of Alberta = 30,000+ students). I do not know much about Happy Harbor, but they are very active in building a collector community in town and do carry back issues as well as new stuff. The owner of Comic Fever was slowing things down a bit due to taking on a new job the last time I was there, but he does have a decent amount of back issue stock in his store.

 

So basically we have at least 15 stores in the metropolitan area (I am probably missing a couple as well) serving a population of about 1 million people. Edmonton (and Alberta as a whole) has a relatively young population with high disposable income due to the energy industry (Canada's Texas). In addition, the city is home to 50,000+ university and community college students which provides a nice base of potential young collectors.

[Anfield Fox]

I started that thread and i think it was misinterpreted. I was simply sharing a few thoughts and saying that it was sad for me personally because after so long i had decided to call it a day. In no way was i suggesting like many people here do that everyone should go ahead and drop their entire pull list. The last thing i would want is for the modern comic business to crash and burn, if that happened it would also have a negative effect on vintage books and the future of the hobby all together. That said it's not my job to paint a pretty picture of the state of things and say everything is great when it's not. Sometimes the truth hurts.

 

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

[Davenport]

 

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

I don't understand why publishers won't do like the gov does with coins, or the PO does with stamps, and package Uncirculated examples for the collector. They know comics are collected. They know there's a market. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

I guess they're too busy producing 15 different variant covers to put some off-the-press pristine examples in special packaging for the collector.

[DrWatson]

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

I don't understand why publishers won't do like the gov does with coins, or the PO does with stamps, and package Uncirculated examples for the collector. They know comics are collected. They know there's a market. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

I guess they're too busy producing 15 different variant covers to put some off-the-press pristine examples in special packaging for the collector.

www.colossuscomics.com

 

Not to knock anyone else, but I think this service is great. I get a CGC 9.8 copy (your proof set, if you will) plus a copy to read and I don't have to bust my hump to do it. Some may think the price is a little steep, but once you figure everything into the equation, it really is an economical deal.

[Paratrooper]

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

I don't understand why publishers won't do like the gov does with coins, or the PO does with stamps, and package Uncirculated examples for the collector. They know comics are collected. They know there's a market. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

I guess they're too busy producing 15 different variant covers to put some off-the-press pristine examples in special packaging for the collector.

www.colossuscomics.com

 

Not to knock anyone else, but I think this service is great. I get a CGC 9.8 copy (your proof set, if you will) plus a copy to read and I don't have to bust my hump to do it. Some may think the price is a little steep, but once you figure everything into the equation, it really is an economical deal.

 

sweet, I'll take the Action Comics #2 CGC 9.8 plus reader copy then forgot it's just for modern krap.

[Jeffro.]

Also, I'm sorry but these aren't the characters that I invested years reading anymore. I picked up a new X-Men comic for the first time in years awhile back and didn't know who the hell these characters were or what was going on. And frankly, the issue wasn't all that good. Maybe it's because I hadn't read one in awhile but it was more than that. I didn't care one whit about the characters or the situation they were in. I haven't picked up another issue since. I didn't have this problem when I restarted reading X-Men in the mid-80s or any of the Marvels I picked back up then.

 

 

That's almost word for word how I feel.

 

For me also it's a matter of simple economics. These days my comic money is spread thin and I view it from the perspective of what gives me the most pleasure to buy, a 40 year old comic or several new comics? Right now what gives me the most pleasure is to budget for that 40 year old comic.

 

That said, the occasional new series does still peak my interest such as Y and Walking Dead. But Superhero stuff does nothing for me these days.

[DrWatson]

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

I don't understand why publishers won't do like the gov does with coins, or the PO does with stamps, and package Uncirculated examples for the collector. They know comics are collected. They know there's a market. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

I guess they're too busy producing 15 different variant covers to put some off-the-press pristine examples in special packaging for the collector.

www.colossuscomics.com

 

Not to knock anyone else, but I think this service is great. I get a CGC 9.8 copy (your proof set, if you will) plus a copy to read and I don't have to bust my hump to do it. Some may think the price is a little steep, but once you figure everything into the equation, it really is an economical deal.

 

sweet, I'll take the Action Comics #2 CGC 9.8 plus reader copy then forgot it's just for modern krap.

Remember, we are not allowed to derail threads anymore. It makes some people upset.

[OrangeNemesis]

i have to drive one hour each way just to get to my damn LCS. And all i get is 10% off for buying a bunch of books. No thanks. Its just cheaper to get everything i need online now.

[Paratrooper]

Aside from a lot of concerns that people have voiced regarding prices and stories, one of the biggest turnoff's for me was finding it harder by the day to find truly NM books. Now in this new CGC era it could be that im much more stringent but i have shared this with people before and most agree that the new high quality paper stock, a printing defect at Marvel and maybe a change in distributer practice has led to a sharpe decline in the grade of modern books. It's bad enough dropping 4 bucks on a new book but spending 4 dollars for a VF when the rest of my run is NM and i'll need to replace it is a real waste of money.

I don't understand why publishers won't do like the gov does with coins, or the PO does with stamps, and package Uncirculated examples for the collector. They know comics are collected. They know there's a market. Seems like a no-brainer.

 

I guess they're too busy producing 15 different variant covers to put some off-the-press pristine examples in special packaging for the collector.

www.colossuscomics.com

 

Not to knock anyone else, but I think this service is great. I get a CGC 9.8 copy (your proof set, if you will) plus a copy to read and I don't have to bust my hump to do it. Some may think the price is a little steep, but once you figure everything into the equation, it really is an economical deal.

 

sweet, I'll take the Action Comics #2 CGC 9.8 plus reader copy then forgot it's just for modern krap.

Remember, we are not allowed to derail threads anymore. It makes some people upset.

 

I'm the Trooper, I do whatever the hell I want

[kidcolt]

Great post.

 

I support my LCS because I like the owner. He is a nice guy who really loves the hobby and really tries his best. However I think he feels like he is fighting a losing battle. Very few young readers, his gaming cards and other stuff is all thats keeping his store open. He is the first to admitt that alot of the new comics are junk and that they are over priced, sometimes his honesty hurts his sales. However most of his customers respect him for that.

 

The other comic store in my area has a decent selection and is a far better looking store. However the staff there make me feel like they are doing me a favor by supplying my comics. If you try to ask them a question they usually won't even lift there heads from the newspaper they are reading while sitting behind the counter. This store has so much potential but the staff and owner (who is worst) is holding it back. It is only surviving because of its selection of gaming, comics, toys, statues, UC and TP not because of the staff and their customer service skills. These places need to realize that they don't survive without the customer, customers are not an inconveience.

 

 

I am using Jim's comments as a springboard because I think his point is a very valid one. The stories involving the characters we loved growing up are not as compelling to us now as they were when we were first being exposed to them. Unfortunately that is the nature of entertainment. It is hard for any entertainment property to hold the public's attention year after year after year. And to expect those of us here on these boards, who are primarily back issue fans, to be excited about the new Spiderman or Hulk or Superman storyline is asking alot.

 

But as a store owner, it is my and my staff's job to make our customers aware of new and compelling storylines. There are many new comics that are coming out now which are interesting, literate, vital, compelling or whatever adjective you want to use. Just as there are great new movies, video games, television shows etc. The only way to save the LCS is to figure out a viable way to make people aware that there are stories being told in comic format that they might be interested in.

 

I started out as a Marvel fan, through and through. I read everything Marvel published throughout the seventies. In the mid-eighties three books changed my approach to buying comics. Batman, The Dark Knight Returns showed me that superhero stories could be written that could challenge me as a reader. And Love and Rockets and Eisner's A Contract With God showed me that there were other areas that comics could explore. But each of these books really pointed out to me that what I loved was the medium of comics and not just the characters.

 

So to anyone on here that says that comics aren't as good as they used to be, I would like to make a couple of suggestions. First, ask yourself if you would actively read a new comic title if it were something new and different, well written, and compelling to you. In other words, do you still love the idea of a good comic? Second, go to your LCS and have them recommend something totally out of your realm to try out. (One thing we do at Bedrock City is offer our customers a full, no questions asked, return on any new graphic novel or trade paperback if they try something new and don't like it.) Ask your LCS if they would let you do the same thing. (If they won,t, give me a PM) Give something new a try and see if you can rekindle your love of reading a new comic.

 

That is the best way to help your local comic shop, and the medium of comics as a whole.

[Dale Roberts]

Also, I'm sorry but these aren't the characters that I invested years reading anymore. I picked up a new X-Men comic for the first time in years awhile back and didn't know who the hell these characters were or what was going on. And frankly, the issue wasn't all that good. Maybe it's because I hadn't read one in awhile but it was more than that. I didn't care one whit about the characters or the situation they were in. I haven't picked up another issue since. I didn't have this problem when I restarted reading X-Men in the mid-80s or any of the Marvels I picked back up then.

 

 

That's almost word for word how I feel.

 

For me also it's a matter of simple economics. These days my comic money is spread thin and I view it from the perspective of what gives me the most pleasure to buy, a 40 year old comic or several new comics? Right now what gives me the most pleasure is to budget for that 40 year old comic.

 

 

That said, the occasional new series does still peak my interest such as Y and Walking Dead. But Superhero stuff does nothing for me these days.

 

Don't you see the problem with this statement. "I picked up a new X-Men comic for the first time in years awhile back". Why should a comic publisher keep the comic just the same, when readers like you drop off for years at a time? If it is not interesting enough for you to keep reading, they have to try something new. Just because 1 issue of X-Men was not what you expected, doesn't mean all new comics are bad.

 

Personally, I long for the days when Marvel had a "house style" and art styles and writing styles did not fly all over the place from arc to arc. If they did change artists or had a fill in, you didn't really notice that much. I guess that is one reason I have really enjoyed Ultimate Spider-man so much. The book has been consistent and good from the first issue to current.

 

I am not trying to tell you what to buy, and I definitely not trying to encourage someone to buy every piece of junk that is put out today. I am talking more about the store than the product.