I know all the comic shops here in Phoenix are trying to do more. Samurai Comics for example hosts card game tournaments and has expanded their collectibles. Atomic Comics is practically an anime collectors store now.
@Zombedy, did Atomic Comics make a comeback? I was a regular of theirs until 2011, when they closed. Iāve not heard of them coming back in any way.
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@vroom apparently their efforts didnt help. I didnt realize how long it had been since Iād been, but you are right, they are goneš¢
dnno1 is correct. Itās evolving. Frankly, I left print behind about eight years ago. I know some people like the feel of actual comic books in their hands, but it doesnāt matter to me. In fact, itās more convenient for me. It saves space and I donāt have to make a commute to a comic shop. I have it all at my fingertips.
All the articles about the iminent collapse of the big two have been from sites with a shall we say charitable relationship with the facts. Short answer: no comics are not dying anytime soon.
Long answer: in the long run Marvel and DC will probably cease publishing traditional monthly comics and the direct market as we know it will cease to exist. Comics are expensive to produce and quick for the reader to consume. Each copy printed nets the publisher one sale and each copy purchased usually nets the retailer less (since you have to amortize the cost of all the copies that donāt sell) .
The direct market was built on the idea that comics increased in value. Unsold copies could be marked up at a fairly predictable rate and key back issues could be bought at a reasonable price and sold at a good margin. The wheels have come off this model in recent years. New comics no longer appreciate as a rule (with the odd exception of say Batman Damned #1) and the price of key issues is so high that only established retailers with deep pockets are able to deal in them.
The future of comics is in bookstores and digital. Trades offer a better value for money since they take less time to read and offer a more durable presentation that takes up less space. Digital is pricy but convenient and with the growth of digital subscription services its becoming increasingly easy to get alot of content for very little money. I think we will see a day where most if not all comics will be published in print as trade books rather than magazines and serialized digitally.
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My local store is great! They have a section of books, one of beads and rocks, one of clothes/bras/wigs for drag queens, another of cds, one of comics, one of incense, and one of cards. Also stuffed animals.
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