Comics Marketing: The Return Of That Retailer

Angry fans and yet the book is selling better. How this makes him unhappy, I just don’t know. Stupid pandas.

The preceding bit was just to demonstrate that the retailer is ignorant in other areas, as well.

No, people will show up and talk about how much they like bad spelling because it shows that he’s keeping it real. He’s overcome with passion.
They will also show up and talk about how much they admire the rather curious use of “civilians.” I mean, I understand what it’s meant to convey - but to a retailer, a customer’s a customer, right? I mean, you can recognize regulars as opposed to new customers. But what the hell kind of treatment does a “civilian” get?

Well, this might not be what everyone is looking for, but I think his spelling of “incompetence” is simply precious. I mean, of all the words he could err in spelling, it’s the one that describes him! I think that says a lot!

Damn it, and Time Magazine just ran that article “Making an Arguement for Misspelling.”

Well played, comics retailer.

Wow. Bad reviews are borderline IMHO, but explicitly stating “don’t buy this” is just bizarre. Bizarro even.

I just got an email from Old Navy that told me the staff was disgusted with the new denim used to make their boot cut jeans, and that I should not buy it in order to send a message to Gap Corporate.

Most fans are not enjoying the new status quo, AND the books are selling better.

One of these things is not like the other …

The only criticism I’ve seen about the new status quo is that there was no reason to unmarry Spider-Man. Otherwise, most of the opinions I’ve seen are positive and I tend to agree (give or take). So that’s another one he got completely wrong.

Just keeps getting worser and worser (sp?).

The town the shop is located in is the title of a Death Cab For Cutie song from We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes.

The joke’s on him, since ASM #568 is far, far stronger than any issue Slott has written to date, and has dynamite JRJR art, and should lure the fans on the fence back to the fold quite easily.

You think this boils down to teh sense of entitlement that has poisoned our country? People run red lights because they should be able to go. They hurt folks that are some kind of obstacle to what they want. These two store owners are angry because they aren’t getting precisely the product they feel they deserve.

Man, idiocy abounds with retailers. Sure, tell your customers that the BATMAN R.I.P. tie-ins do not, in fact, tie-in. But tell them to drop? Ugh.

And Dan Coyle? I don’t think this retailer will let a good ASM book get in the way of his misspelled rage.

Nice to know a local retailer is telling people not to buy crap product. In an economy like this it takes some stones to tell people not to buy. My only problem is that he doesn’t provide any alternatives. There is nothing from Fanta, D&Q, Oni, Top Shelf, or any other decent publisher of comics to buy?

How about at least suggesting the recently Zot collection. There are hundreds of books not named Bat, Super, Spider or X, those books don’t need someone to champion them but someone to say hey maybe this does suck. But not giving an alternative makes it seem moronic.

So he’s opinionated, and he feels his opinions are worth more than sales. More power to him.

And, once again, the fact that people can’t see what a maroon this retailer is just goes to prove that we get the comics industry we deserve.

I like how this guy builds up his credibility by telling his customers not to buy a particular comic book and then totally sells out by then stocking that particular comic in his store.

I mean, maybe I’m wrong and he only sells comic books he likes. I would admire that while shopping at some other comic store with a wider selection.

Oh man, Evan. Thank you for reminding me about that!

Yeah, fuck people who express their opinions! They should all be lined up and shot, hung from the lampposts, each and every last one of them. And of course anyone who misspells and word or makes a typo is a complete and total idiot, because intelligent people could never possibly do such a thing. Seriously, though, you’re all dicks, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Yeah, fuck people who express their opinions! They should all be lined up and shot, hung from the lampposts, each and every last one of them. And of course anyone who misspells and word or makes a typo is a complete and total idiot, because intelligent people could never possibly do such a thing. Seriously, though, you’re all dicks, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.

*choke*

While I tend to think that this guy has not found the best forum for his thoughts about the books he sells, I do think that comics criticism has become a key component of the comics shop experience. It seems like a dumbass move to tell people not to buy something that you are trying to sell, but perhaps it also simultaneously invites folks to your store to decide for themselves if the criticism is valid, to debate the merits of the criticism itself. People get excited when someone tells them that their favorite character’s books suck and this guy may be setting up his shop as a place where you can come in and have these debates about various comics nonsense. I don’t read the spider-book in question but now I’m curious as to why this guy would implore me not to give him money for it, so I may have to take a walk by the shop and flip through it. If anything, he’s succeeded in getting me into the store, and I might end up seeing something that I would actually like to buy while I’m there, like Youngblood or this month’s copy of Wizard.

I guess I’m just trying to figure out/rationalize why this phenomenon exists in the comics industry. As a comics fan, I like to hear people’s opinions about the books that I buy and it’s nice when someone’s thoughts justify my reasons for not buying a book. Comics shops are often more like a place where we come in to exercise our egos, to be judgemental, to display our supreme knowledge of continuity. I think a lot of comics consumers want that kind of environment while others find it embarassing to be a part of. We should call them Comics Clubs instead of Comics Shops.

“why this phenomenon exists in the comics industry.”

It’s not just the comics industry. As the above clip shows, it happens in the music industry, and also in the books industry, restaurants, art galleries, theater companies… anywhere people try to make their hobby their business, but still treat it as a hobby. And as long as they’re happy “doing what they love” while barely making margins, or even losing a little money each year, then they can get away with atrocious business practices for years (and then don’t understand why they lose all their business to the “big corporate chains” that do crazy things like stock what their customers like and make profits).

It’s not just on the retail end either. Plenty of small publishers (that I have worked for) are just guys with money who thought “wouldn’t it be fun to run a newspaper?” without actually caring about making books that people want to buy. It’s a shitty way to run an industry.

Maybe I’m using this retailer as an example of what not to do without actually caring about his business one damn bit? I work in marketing. I think about retail all the time. I think about the message that our industry distributes internally and externally. When I see something like this, I feel like it should be pointed out. That’s why I posted it on my blog.