The Four Color Media Monitor

Here's news on the Longmont Times-Call of one of the fewer comics store that are opening as opposed to closing, with the distinction of selling games as much as comics themselves, as this must be how the managers can make it sell something, in a store that'll open at the end of the month:

Longmont soon will have a new comic book and games store, thanks to Steve Falcon from suburban St. Louis. He’s expanding his comics and games business in a town that “grabbed us,” he said.

[...] His market research showed Longmont’s income levels and demographics are a perfect fit for his business.

Does the township really have people who'd take to specific items they sell? I'm sure it would also depend on what series and stories they sell, old and new. As I've long felt, the Big Two should be avoided so long as they keep Quesada/DiDio in any key position.

The article, however, turns to ambiguous fawning after quoting another former retailer:

The comic book industry is better and stronger than ever before, he said. A lot of great stories and great art tied with great movies and TV shows is helping the industry, Winsett said. It appeals to all demographics, from ages 7 to 70, he said.

Sales of comic books at comic stores across North America are about $500 million annually, said John Jackson Miller, a curator and founder of Comichron, the largest public database of comic sales, and an author of comic books. In 2018 the combined sales of comics, including digital downloads and print sales at Amazon and chain book stores across north America, was a little less than $1.1 billion.

There are an estimated 2,000 to 2,500 stores devoted to comics, graphic novels and games in north America, Miller said. “Individual stores are stronger today,” he said.

I'm sorry, but not only is the sum of stores he gives awfully paltry compared to what may have existed in the past, it's laughable to just give a superficial picture of what's working for the industry or not. There may be comics from smaller companies that are doing well in terms of story merit. But if their print and sales numbers are so hilariously low as they've been for over 40 years, and story/artwork from the mainstream has plummeted, then you can't just say the industry's doing better without citing clear examples. Without objectivity, there's no point in this kind of coverage.

I wish the owner of this new store good luck with their new venture. But any products they sell lacking merit aren't bound to serve the business well, and not everyone's going to enter the medium blindly in their quest for escapism. This does tell, however, what the strategy may be in the future for retailers who want to sell comics - they'll be dividing space for games and other such merchandise as much as the comics within their store unit, and in the end, they'll probably wind up relying more on games than comics.

Labels: msm propaganda, sales