By Lake Morris
Edited by Scott Waggoner
The economy has taken a beating – Boom! – that would test even a superhero, and comic book retailers – Pow! – are looking black and blue – Thwap!
Anne Hart, owner of West Columbia's Silver City comics, said that while business is steady, it is by no means booming, but she praises of her loyal customers.
"Our older customers have been faithful in getting their books," she said.
That loyalty breeds a social club atmosphere at the stores.
Comic Nirvana owner Jody Ross says his Lexington store offers a place where people can find others with similar interests to talk to.
"A lot of them really don't have anyone they can relate to in their school or workplace," Ross said.
Scratch ‘n' Spin owner Eric Woodard said that while social media is nice, it has nothing on the one-on-one conversation fans have at that West Columbia store.
"Going to the store and meeting that person by chance and striking up a conversation in something you are both interested in, you just can't beat that," he said. "Then you keep coming back once a week, and you eventually create a friendship."
The stores profits are being squeezed by publishers' decisions to lower prices began this year. Marvel lowered its prices from $4.99 to $3.99 per book, while rival DC Comics went from $3.99 to $2.99.
The comic book store has long battled a negative stereotype.
Ross said many stores are dirty, dark and unorganized and usually host strategy card games, such as Magic: The Gathering.
"Not an environment parents want for small kids," he said.
That environment was much different when comics were in their heyday, sold in racks anywhere from gas stations to barbershops. Reading declined after World War II with the rise of television, but picked up in the 1960s briefly with Adam West's "Batman," according to Jamie Coville, reporter for Comicresource.com.
The high point for the comic store and industry was in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
"Micheal Keaton's Batman movies were super popular, you had teenagers who were into more mature material being published for them and a speculator frenzy–people buying lots of new comics thinking they would go up in value," Coville said.
The Columbia area had two stores in 1990 and three in 2000. But there has been lots of change, with Silver City the only one constantly open since the ‘80s.
West Columbia's Acme Comics was the latest store to close last year after five years of business, leaving Silver City, Scratch ‘n' Spin, Columbia's Heroes and Dragons and Comic Nirvana.
Scratch ‘n' Spin is primarily a music store, but for the past eight months it has sold comics. After Acme Comics closed, Woodard picked up many of its customers and said that had added a nice amount of business.
"You rarely see pure comic shops anymore. They offer card games or movies. They are slowly becoming entertainment shops," Woodard said. "I thought it was another way to attract extra business, and so far it has worked well."
Coville said comic shops have been going to more than just comic books for a while, originally adding toys, T-shirts and card games.
The recession is difficult, but the stores also now face the change from paper to digital.
Both Marvel and DC offer digital comics, and a Jan. 4 report by Forrester Research predicts e-reader sales of 10.3 million last year will jump to 82.1 million by 2015.
Ross said that while it is something he is thinking about, the changeover in media won't be like it was with music and movies.
"Comics are collector's items, and the new media doesn't lend itself to that aspect," he said.
Woodard thinks e-readers could actually bring in new business.
"The nature of comics is collecting; having that tangible thing in your hands. The digital form is convenient, but it doesn't bode well for collecting. People could try comics out online to see if they like them, then come into the store and start collecting," he said.
Hector Rodriguez, president of the 10-year-old Comicbook Artists Guild, says it will take time, but the print and digital forms of comics will balance out.
"A lot of collectors aren't going to give up the books. A lot of people are still buying books," he said.
Coville said Diamond Comics Distribution, which has current deals with most of the major publishers, plans to sell digital comics through comic book stores.
"The idea is that people would go to a comic shop, buy their print comics and get the digital version for 99 cents," he said. But there are lots of skeptics, Coville said.
Comic shops would have exclusive material; the digital comic would not be available online for 30 days, and the price would be more expensive, Coville said.
Rodriguez said a bigger problem for many stores has been online purchases, not digital downloads.
"It will be more difficult for stores to find more creative ways to stay in business. That is why a lot now offer role-playing card games and movies," he said.
Rodriguez said many fans, when they move, migrate to new comic stores, but now that people can order their comics online and have them mailed to them, it could hurt local businesses.
The guild hasn't had any talks with publishers about e-readers, Rodriguez said, but he sees them coming soon.
Reflecting the recession, the guild said on its website that "comics just hasn't been yielding the return we all hoped for." In December, it dropped its dues and said it would exist on members' donations.
Eric Woodard, right, owner of Scratch n’ Spin in West Columbia, looks forward to Wednesday every week, when new comics are released, and his loyal customers pick up their weekly orders.
