In Defense of Comic Shops

I've mentioned before, there is a prevalent attitude in the comic biz that most comic shops suck. That we'd all be better off if they just disappeared, and bookstores became the default seller of comics.

There was a really harsh blog on Noah Berlatsky's The Hooded Utilitarian, which was written as a response to an article by Alan David Doane, about Comic Shop troubles, in The Comics Journal, #386.

The title of Noah's blog was "No Future," which gives you an idea of the content. To which I answered:

I can't tell you how utterly frustrating your comments are to a direct comic retailer (Pegasus Books of Bend, Oregon) who is trying his damnedest to make it work.

You say, "But, really, folks who want that kind of material are already well served by bookstores and online markets. Those stores have already moved aggressively into the market...."

We have 8 bookstores in Central Oregon. Barnes and Nobles has a section of manga, but outside of that I think you'd be hard pressed to find a total of 50 graphic novels, of which half would be Marvel/DC.

Whereas at Pegasus Books, we are carrying 7000 graphic novels; about 3000 manga (more and a broader and deeper selection than B & N.) Maybe a third of the remaining graphic novels are Marvel/Dc. The rest are indy's.

Not only that, but I carry children's books, cartoon collections, and a large number of art books.

I go out of my way to acquaint the casual browsers of the full spectrum of illustrations, from Edward Gorey to Frazetta to a full line of Fantagraphics.

To me the most revealing statement you make is:

"I haven't been in a direct comic market store in years...."