Talking about comic shops
Please note: This was written circa 2010!
I truly love comic shops. Good comic shops, at least as I would describe them. I unfortunately don't stumble across that many that I truly truly like, but I do love me a great brick and mortar comic book store. I can get lost in them quite easily, just browsing and looking and experiencing. Comic stores do get some grief from time to time and sometimes that's warranted. Retailing is a very tricky business at the best of times and it's grown that much harder with online competition, fluctuating dollars (at least here in Canada), and rising prices. Don't ever underestimate how challenging that can be. Margins are low, risks are high and the financial rewards can be pretty damn small. The personal rewards can be great, but they don't pay the bills. And comic and book retailing is as much art as it is a business. While there are metrics that can be used to help predict sales, every retailer faces that tough decision of what to carry and what not to. When it comes to art and literature, tastes can be fickle. Not every book has the leverage of a Harry Potter, an Oprah pick, or a lofty industry award to help gain public awareness. Retailers often do a yeoman job of highlighting titles that you may never have seen otherwise. Often they'll take a chance, gambling that something will find an audience if they just order one. 'Course, poorer stores will refuse to take that chance and order extremely conservatively. I have a hard time picking on them for this behaviour, mainly because I was a retailer and I know how difficult it is. I also believe that this purchasing philosophy will ultimately hurt the retailer rather then protect them from ordering mistakes. Fundamentally, good stores take chances with what they carry inventory-wise and they deserve some love for this. And I think it's time I spread some of my own.
I should point out here that this isn't a ranking or, more pragmatically, a "this is better than that" kinda thing. These are just a sampling of the shops that I've truly enjoyed in one way, shape or form. It isn't meant to be some how all-encompassing or anything like that and you'll notice that it's definitely North American-centric. A few of these might not even be considered "full-service" comic shops (I'd define that, by the by, as stores that carry both periodicals ("floppies") and graphic novels. Hell, I may make another list some time down the road, too. I'm odd that way.
With that out of the way, here's my list (in no particular order) of comic shops that I really like.
Astro Books/Librarie Astro. 1844 Ste.Catherine St. West, Montreal, Que, Canada. Man, I love this store both as a store and for the ownership. They have been extremely good to both my wife and I and I've learned quite a bit from everyone there, especially Paul. He actually writes a periodic column that's worth a look, too. Want more? You can see a small video of Paul yabbering about comics right here.
The Outer Limits, 437 Moody Street, Waltham, MA, United States. A great all-encompassing store full of all kinds of great stuff. Besides, it's one of my wife's favourite stores. If that doesn't convince you, nothing I say will!
Comic Relief. 2026 Shattuck, Berkeley, CA, United States. What can I say about Comic Relief that hasn't been said before? Founder Rory Root was quite kind to my wife and I over the past few years and he certainly didn't have to be. Plus, it truly is a beautiful store. If you don't know, CR is built along bookstore lines (by that I mean it's inventory is arranged as you'd expect to see at a bookstore with category headings and the like that leads your eye and makes finding things quite easy). Oh, and there's a nice photo of my wife, Rory, and I below. Unfortunately, Rory died in 2008 and the store is not quite the same without him. Update 2011: sadly, Comic Relief could not continue without Rory and closed in February, 2011.
Comix Experience. 305 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA, United States. Brian Hibbs' ever cool store down in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Fran. Neat guy, neat store. And, of course, the always opionated Hibbs writes Tilting At Windmills regularly over on Newsarama. I may disagree at times, but I love that he's so passionate about the medium.
Flying Colors Comics. 2980 Treat Blvd., Concord, CA, United States. Great family friend store in Northern California. Not only has the store won an Eisner "Spirit of Retailing" Award, but owner Joe Field is also the founder of Free Comic Book Day. Not enough? Well, how 'bout some very cool TV spots over on Youtube? Flying Colors has been doing these kinds of spots for quite some time and the retailer in me is just a smidgen jealous.
Jim Hanley's Universe. 4 West 33rd Street, New York, NY, United States. Ah, Hanley's. If you're in New York, you gotta go see it. Jim Hanley himself is passionate and extremely articulate about comics (go take a peek at the Sequential Tart interview he did back in 2000). Update 2013: Jim Hanley retired and the store was sold to two of his staff.
Green Brain. 13210 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI, United States. This is one of the stores that I haven't been able to physically get to, but I'm including it because I really like owners Dan and Katie Merritt. My wife and I were lucky enough to meet them at a few Small Press Expo's and we really enjoyed the chats. Plus, the Merritt's founded Snap! The Comic Arts Festival. While I think it might be in hiatus, it was a great idea.
Comicopia. 463 Comm. Avenue, Kenmore Square, Boston, MA. Owner Matt Lehman is disgustingly smart. Like really, really intelligent. He spooks me. Plus he does yoga regularly. Smart, fit and regularly doing yoga? Spooky...
Perfect Books. 258A Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Me old shop. I ran the store for a number of years before embarking on this whole art thing and I still do miss it. Not a comic shop, but a truly wonderful little store. And, of course, it's the place my wife and I first met (whooo! Illicit co-worker romance!). If you're ever in Ottawa, please drop by. And who knows, chances are I might be floating around.
But don't just stop here. If there's a store that you believe in and love, single it out on your blog or website. Any little bit of attention can help!
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