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Over the past few months I have commented on and off about my current disappointment with the comic industry overall. At first it was the storylines of specific comics, and then it expanded in to how I saw the companies doing business. Recently I had to deal once again with what has been probably the biggest thorn in my side over the years, and that is comic shops themselves.
In the years I have had access to an actual "comic book store" I have seen what is at best a hodgepodge business. They all center on comic books but other than that, there is always a large variance. Sometimes they carry collectibles, sometimes not. Sometimes they carry figures, sometimes not. Sometimes they carry apparel, sometimes not. You get the picture. I understand that is largely the owner's attempt to gear the store to other areas they will make some profit on, but it's always seemed as though they don't really "know" the things beyond the comics that will sell.
Since I moved a few years back I had the same experience at the "local" comic shop again. The owner carries way too much stuff and was constantly having to mark things down 50% in order to move them out. I didn't get this because his prices were already really low. He sold figures for a few bucks less than any other store did, yet other than me and a few other folks people didn't seem to buy them. As time went on the one person who actually "ran" the store in my eyes was let go, and that took things to a new unfortunate level.
I'm not sure how stores work where you are but in all but one case it seems as though there has been one person in the store who really knows the comics and everything else the store carries. This person usually also has a really good rapport with the customers. This person never seems to be the owner, at least not at the time that I was a regular of the store. This isn't to say that ever owner is "out of touch," but they don't have the connection to comics or the customers like the other person does. Anyway, the store that was my local store lost that person. That is when I went online for comics.
Now, I have been purchasing stuff online for years. It's been relatively "pain free" for the most part. The most consistent problems happened when I was working on my Master's degree and had to get my books online from various sources. So, I figured going online to get my comics wouldn't be too big of a deal, especially if I went with a company that toted their abilities and skills as an online comic book retailer. Well, unfortunately that hasn't been the case. I've managed to work out my delivery issues with this company each time (a probable about ever two to three months). It's usually no worse than a missing comic that just gets sent in a later shipment. However, recently I ordered a magazine (Torchwood) that had a limited edition cover. I ordered that cover and got the regular one. Well, I never got the limited edition cover. Then most recently I ordered a gift for a friend in my order. It wasn't in the box. Again, these things happen, but when I noticed the box couldn't have even fit the figure I hit a new level of frustration.
I contacted the company with a very curt, but what I believed was professional, email regarding the missing item. Afterwards I was just frustrated with the whole comic book industry. All my issues (no pun intended) with the quality of titles I have and do read, my problems with how the companies seem to be operating, and my problems with comic shops overall just culminated at that moment. I was thinking, "This is it. I'm done. This industry sucks and they are slowly killing themselves because of all these little factors."
Within the week I had received my missing item. I sent another email to the retailer thanking them for their timely fixing of the situation during the holiday season, and I received an email back thanking me for my email. I realized at that moment that I had actually found the "fire" that I have been saying has been missing in my connection to the industry for the past year.
I initially started doing this article as a way to look at the whole industry. I have talked about comic books, collectibles, apparel, movies and anything else I think connects to the world of comic books and the characters in their pages. I may have started my initial articles as a way to give praise to those titles, writers and artists that I think deserved them, but perhaps times have changed. Perhaps if I don't think the industry deserves praise I should say WHY. I've been pretty blunt about my dislike for Teen Titans recently. In the past I would have been more "understanding" but maybe the time for that is gone.
While I don't plan on being rude in what I write I do think it's time for me to step up and say what it is that I don't like when I don't like it. I am not the person who sets the bar for the performance of the comic book industry (and I would be scared if I was). We all set that bar, but I think it's fair that we all say something when we aren't happy. As long as it's with a critical mind and thoughtful consideration I think it is helpful. I will admit that in my quest for fire regarding my connection to comic books I never thought this would be the way it would play out. Yet, when inspiration strikes you have to take some kind of action. Now I know what mine is. For better or worse I'm still a comic book reader with a renewed drive.
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