Image Comics Community

That might be a good policy for every business... but then you would probably have to stop hiring human beings since most of them are complete jackasses. I for one am rooting for the Zombie Apocalypse.

hahaha agreed

I love my comic shop! and not just because I work there.
Its just a small comic shop, Everyone who works there is real cool and nice and most of the customers are awesome. I also love how we sell back issues new and used. Its fun to go through and see all the older comics or see some cool old collection people bring in for trade.

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There needs to be a chainstore comic shop though. I'm talking about national chainstore, not just in certain cities or states. I like some of jerad's ideas. Shops really need to make the stores more walkable. Get rid of all that junk that's piled in every nook and cranny you need to walk around and over. They can sell the used and old stuff online while the newer and more relevant stuff gets put out instores. The products need to be diverse: comics, books, merchandise, DVDs, CDs, magazines, and generally stuff more than comic book related stuff: for instance, fantasy novels sell a whole lot. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have some video games.

The Boston area has Newbury Comics, they're probably the most likely of anything I know to go national, but I highly doubt they will the market being what it is.

newbury is awsome, if more comic book shops were like them there would be more shops around the country, you cant just sell comics and think yer gonna do great, newbury got mad stuff

I love my store. Granted, it is the only store I have gone to so far. The guys that work there are really cool and don't judge my purchases. They helped me pick out my first few books and stuff. They definitely made my adventure in comics very enjoyable to start. The store itself has no clutter and is VERY organized. Floppies are organized alphabetically. Trades and stuff are organized by publisher, then alphabetically. Everything is off the floor, so there is a feeling of openness. Plus, I love the smell of the comics when I walk it. (Yea, I know. ) Every back issue is prebagged too.

Things I would change:

1. Image Signings? It is a very small store, but I would love to see some Image guys in there. I know they have had a few Marvel and DC guys.
2. A little advertising by the street wouldn't help. I only went into the place the first time was because I got my hair cut next store and realized it was there. (So happy I got that hair cut now!)
3. As others have said, I wouldn't mind raffles and contests to get more engaged with the store and the comic community. That would be awesome. Most of the businesses around my LCS have awesome Christmas parties, crawfish boils, etc.
4. I definitely agree with all the other stuff. A comic club would be great, maybe a different publisher every week? It doesn't even have to be a formal sit-down deal, just all the guys in the store talking about stuff.

I know it is not my store's fault, but where are the young people? I must be the only person there who doesn't have kids. I'm not saying the older guys are awkward or anything. They are all cool guys, but it is tough to make friends with people 10 years your senior. This is really more of a problem I will most likely grow out of, though.

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Pull List: Saga, Danger Club, Invincible, Chew, Animal Man, Aquaman, Supergirl, Earth 2, Dancer, The Flash, TWD, Before Watchmen, Harbinger, and Swamp Thing

I think that one of the difficulties of saying "how do we improve comic book stores" is understanding all of the dynamics of the question.

Of course, the staff of any business should always be professional. The facilities should be reasonably well lit and clean. One those points, I think everyone here is in agreement, however the printing and distribution of traditional format comics is not a mass market industry, but a small market hobby. Which means that the people that read comic books are deliberately seeking them out and most people don't.

As it relates to the condition of the stores, the attitude and vibe one gets when entering the store is all a reflection of the nature of this niche market. In my opinion, the market does not cater to the casual consumer or the spontaneous consumer (if they even exist) and the environment is a reflection of the consumer base it DOES cater to. The comic book industry has cultivated a perception that comics are superheroes and that genre has a limited appeal...

Someone mentioned the idea of a chain or franchise model and at first I thought it was impractical; but there are chain bookstores, so what's the difference? Well, the industry model for comics is based primarily on concepts from Marvel and DC. These two companies represent more than 70% of the market... That's like going into a Barnes and Noble and 70% off all the books and movies were about either Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. Yikes! So first order of business would have to be that all publishers hired creators to create original material, rather than service tired characters from a 50+ year old catalog (i.e., be more like Image).

Sometimes I think about book stores and DVD stores. Both are dying out. Heck even Best Buy had to rethink its tactics recently, so the idea of improving a book store that only sells comics (as opposed to B&N type stores that sell both comics and regular books) is a tough one.

An idea that comes to mind is creating atmosphere, like a coffee shop does. I mean, sure some coffeshops have great coffee, but really its more about the vibe. It could be something as simple as a huge dry erase board where customers can write their own reviews of comics/doodles or whatever. Or have raffles and giveaways for posters or trades or sometihng. I dunno, its more about creating an experience within the shop that's more than just "Hey, here are some comic that you can buy online or at any other comic store."

I'm inclined to agree. It's a very nuanced game to create a comic book store which uses the chain model and is successful like big chain stores and chain coffee shops.

Although, I think that it's hard to compare with the coffee shop model because a comic book can be enjoyed virtually where a good cup of coffee has to actually be there physically in order to be enjoyed.

Ultimately, going to a comic book store is more ritual and fetishism than a practical method by which someone can consume ideas in the modern age. In my thinking, if the ultimate goal is to disseminate stories/ideas using comic books as the venue (profitably), then comics will be distributed digitally and supplemented by print editions if the material should merit. Creating a network of viable comic stores is not something that I see as being particularly connected to that idea...

The comic bookshop is more about the social component, the community (imo). I like the idea of being able to go to a shop and fellowship with people of similar interests... but I don't see much of that anymore...