I'm beginning to realize that we had exceptional business in March and April. Jan. and Feb . were predictably slow, but after a couple of good months, I went into May thinking maybe we were in a new paradigm. Nope. Really, really slow.

Sales aren't actually all that bad, mostly because we've had a few big sales that have pulled the average up. But it feels really slow. Long minutes with nothing happening. It's strange, but it feels almost like rejection, sometimes, when people don't come in the door. That isn't what it is -- I've experienced it enough to know that it isn't personal. Its just the usual Bend seasons.

What brought this to mind was that we got some really late comics yesterday. ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, by superstar creators, Frank Miller and Jim Lee. A year late. And ULTIMATES 13, which is the 26th issue in 58 months. A lot of talk in the comics worlds about how this has hurt sales.

It did, but I internalized this damage probably 6 months ago. We lost most of the newbies that had been drawn into the store, already.

But I'm also trying to read the tea leaves as to why it feels there's not as much as energy in the comics world right now, and I came up with this.

The Spider man 3 movie is a flop.

Biggest opening of all time, but I still think its a flop. Because there is no enthusiasm for it. It probably would have been a very cool movie if they'd had nothing but Venom in it for the whole 2 hours....

I compare it to the huge excitement for Star Wars just before the 4th (1st?) movie came out. Anything Star Wars sold, huge, huge anticipation. And then it was as if someone punctured a balloon. The movies went on to make huge amounts of money, but in a strange sense, they were flops. It felt more like a duty to see the movies rather than something crucial and life enhancing.

Or, I could just be looking for reasons because the tourists aren't here.