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My Pal, The Comic Shop Guy
My Pal, The Comic Shop Guy
Aug 13
Comics blogger and underground murder cult leader Kevin Church has kicked up a kerfuffle with his post criticizing a comic shop’s e-mail newsletter for suggesting in a review that their customers “Not Buy” an upcoming issue of Astonishing X-Men.
Not buy. A retailer, in his newsletter to customers, is telling people to not buy a comic book before it hits stands. He’s telling them in advance that he doesn’t think they should spend their money at his shop, on this comic. This is the stupidest goddamn thing I’ve seen lately from an industry plagued with stupid goddamn things. I don’t want my bartender telling me that I’m drinking the wrong damn thing; I don’t want the clerk at the record store giving me shit because I’m buying some motherfucking Yanni; and I don’t want the guy who’s selling me my weekly comics fix to tell me to not buy a fucking X-Men comic.
I tend to wholeheartedly agree, as have others, but the comments thread has featured some guest appearances by folks who seem to think the “Not Buy” suggestion somehow actually makes GOOD BUSINESS SENSE.
Their argument seems to boil down to, “A negative review makes me trust my comic shop guy/gal more,” which of course leaves aside that from a marketing perspective, providing negative reviews of anything to your customer base makes no sense fundamentally, compared to providing positive reviews of stuff they may like, explaining WHY they may like it. For some reason, these forms of positive heads-up are dismissed out of hand as being too much like “marketing,” which YEP, they are, since that is marketing’s chief goal: TO SELL SHIT.
Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about here; I’m more interested in the idea of “trusting” the person who sells me comics. Or more specifically, why?
Why do we need to like and trust the retailer who sells us comic books in the first place?
I’m not talking about liking the store itself, or the customer service; these are the baseline fundamentals that Alan David Doane has admirably underlined on more than one occasion. I’m thinking more of the ephemeral feeling I get from many comics fans (myself included) that their shop of choice must do more than provide the sensible retail fundamentals that any shop selling any item should offer.
I think comics fans are looking for Cheers.
They want a place “where everybody knows your name,” where you walk in and your “usual” (pull list) is ready and available, where they can commiserate on the vagaries and specifics of the art form and the industry, and where they get information they can “trust” on what is good and what is bad.
Furthermore, I think the primary reason BAD comic shops have been allowed to exist for so long is that in spite of their failings in the fundamentals of retail selling, they may offer that intangible Cheers vibe that keeps customers coming back, regardless of whether or not they wear deodorant, or vacuum the floor once in a while, or organize their wares in anything resembling a logical format.
I understand the mystique, on some level. When I was younger, I can remember thinking at times that “comic shop clerk” must be one of the coolest jobs on the planet. I’ve made retail decisions in the past myself based on whether the comic shop employees made good small talk or remembered my name. These days, I’ve actually worked geek retail many times at conventions, and am currently doing some freelance marketing for an online comics retailer, so most of the bloom has come off that particular rose.
Still, perhaps we all romanticize it a bit–the dashing young man in his faded Superman T-shirt and tattered jeans, unloading fresh comics every Wednesday onto the shelves, always there behind the counter to ring you up and offer words of encouragement or advice when needed, a modern-day Sam Malone in Buddy Holly glasses and an unfashionable ponytail.
We seem to forget that Sam Malone was more than just a bartender–he was an alcoholic, too.
This might be one distinction us comics fans need to make if we are to see any wholesale improvements on the retail side of things. Maybe we need to stop looking for unprofessional pals who can sell us comic books, and start demanding instead that our comics retailers provide the best RETAIL experience possible, even if we can’t take their advice on what to buy, what not to buy, and who to marry because they’re “salesmen.”
And on the retail side, maybe retailers who are also fans need to stop viewing their jobs as some kind of holy vocation and more as a business. I think many retailers already do, but as Kevin’s example points out, there are probably still too many alcoholics minding the bar in comics shops.
Until that changes, then as others have said, we do get the industry we deserve. All of us. Even Norm.
That’s very well-said. The attitude you’re describing reminds me of the people in writing workshops who think the only way to prove they are ‘honest’ critics is to hate and nitpick everything. I much prefer critics/reviewers/ workshoppers who are able to talk about why something is good and what a particular reader might find in it. That’s doubly true with somebody whose job it actually is to sell you stuff. I wouldn’t want to have every single title hyped at me as ‘greatest thing ever,’ but having an owner say, “I noticed you are buying a lot of X, have you thought about Y?” is a nice thing. Saying that absolutely nobody could possibly like a certain title is wrong-headed and bad business.
I think there are a couple of reasons why comics readers generally want their Retailer to be their “buddy”:
1. Comics fans are a fearful, friendless lot, let’s face it, porn collecting is still looked upon as more socially accpetable amongst adults these days, so anytime a comic fan finds someone who shares their hobby, they usually want to befriend that person. This goes double if said-retailer happens to be a cute girl. (Mind you I’m generalizing here).
2. You always want to curry favor with those retailers who you patronize the most. I’m always very nice to my bar tenders. Sometimes, this gets me good deals and almost always gets me quick service when they’re jammed. Some fans may assume that this will help them get “in” at their shop.
That said, I have no idea why anyone would patronize shops that are staffed/owned by the steroetypical Comic-Book-Guy. I do consider myself to be friends with some of the staff members at my shop and they will offer honest opinions of books if I ask them, mostly because they know if I don’t buy book A (that they think is bad), I will then buy Book B instead. They won’t insult me for buying something they think is crap of tell me off hand that somethig “sucks”.
Funny – I once called my LCS “Cheers, but with comics.” But they do a pretty good job as retailers, which is why they’re been in business for over 20 years.
Yeah, Phil, I’ve been thinking the Cheers thing for a long time, back when I went to my LCS weekly.
Now I buy exclusively online, because it’s simply cheaper, which is maybe what’s forcing me into this more ruthless retail mindset–I’ve already made the decision that if I want to enjoy this recreational hobby, I have to find the cheapest way possible to do it.
I have a friend here at work who collects and will patronize a number of different LCSes, just to “support” them. I wish I could afford to do that, but I’m greedy–I’d rather spend the money I save on MORE comics.
madmarvelgirl–Good analogy; I’ve been in groups with those people who assume “criticism” means you HAVE to be “critical.”
Jason, is there some nice lady at your comic shop you’ve got a crush on or something? I’m picking up some subliminal messaging in your post…
Again, I’m not saying it’s bad to befriend your comic shop owner–just that if that’s the primary motivator in your customer loyalty, you might want to take a close look at what you get in terms of customer service, discounts, etc from your LCS. And by “you,” I probably mean “me,” too.
Really great piece.
Makes me think of a certain comics shop that sort of had the best of both worlds — a friendly Cheers vibe (nice people, discounts for regulars, neighborhoody vibe) coupled with well-organized stock and a good retail experience. It changed hands and after that, it seemed like they were just *trying* for the Cheers vibe more than anything else (and trying a little too hard at that). As for the retail experience…I think I’ve told this story here before, but I’ll never forget the time New Fanboy Clerk took a few extra minutes whilst ringing up my purchases to paw through my stack of comics and issue a one-word review for each one (“crap,” “good,” etc). I wasn’t too inspired to return after that. (You know the shop I’m talking about, Matt.)
I will say that I think there are a few establishments up in the Bay Area that do a fantastic job of being both Cheers and fine retail establishments: Comic Relief, Lee’s Comics and Dr. Comics and Mr. Games (where the owner still remembers me and chats me up, even though I moved away 7 years ago).
“Maybe we need to stop looking for unprofessional pals who can sell us comic books, and start demanding instead that our comics retailers provide the best RETAIL experience possible, even if we can’t take their advice on what to buy, what not to buy, and who to marry because they’re “salesmen.â€
And on the retail side, maybe retailers who are also fans need to stop viewing their jobs as some kind of holy vocation and more as a business.”
I agree-which is funny, since on my blog I frequently recommend people not read crap. I recommend far, far more than I discourage however, partially because it IS a business and I loves the money (what’s better than $300 sales? Seriously??) and also because I love the industry, I love the books and I think you should only sell what you love.
That said, in our shop, so many of us are friends. Wednesdays get all our regulars, we hang out after the books are all out, and discuss the hauls. There’s a lot of ‘Oh, I loved this’ and ‘Oh, I hated that’ back and forth from everyone and I’ll tell a friend if I hated an issue, but not a stranger. I’ll tell that stranger if they like such-and-such, try such-and-such, because it’s good business and a good way to get repeat business. And that’s what we want. It’s more profitable and just as easy to garner repeat customers through positive recommendations.
Distinguishing between friends and customers is a fine line–lots of us hang out outside the store and they aren’t going to stop buying a book just because one of us aren’t liking it. Part of being a great retailer is recognizing that line, though.
The newer ones though, yeah, and those are the ones that comic book retailers need to focus on in positive sales and solid recommendations, rather than discouragements against a certain title. ‘It’s not for me’ is a fine thing to say, but ‘don’t buy this’ is dangerous, unless you’re positive it’s not to that customer’s taste–in which case, another title should immediately find its way into their hands.
La la la, this got wordy. Very good post.
Sarah–Ah yes. I think I remember that store well. They did manage to get me back into comics, though, so there’s that–or at least, their proximity to my home got me back into comics, nothing THEY really did or said.
Kristina–See, I’ve only been reading you for a short while, and I honestly didn’t know you worked in a comic shop. To me, that’s a success–as others mention over on the Church post, it’s one thing for a comics retailer to write honestly about comics on their blog. Especially when that blog is not directly connected to the store.
I think any business website and e-mail list is completely a marketing tool, and when you’re using them, you need to use them as marketing, to serve the goals of the business.
As an aside, I’ve commented on this before at your blog, but the only thing I hate about your recommendations Kristina is that they make me buy more comics. Hyperkinetic 1&2 are on their way to me as I type…
Having only read this entry, and not read anything about this elsewhere, then thing that strikes me a idiotic is the wording “Don’t Buy.” To me, it’s one thing entirely to give something, say, 1 out of 5 stars (thus impying that you didn’t like it *personally*); and giving something a rating that directly instructs your readers/client base not to purchase something… especially something like Astonishing X-Men, which you know the author has probably order 18 kabillion copies of.
But, yeah, good article.
This is an interesting post.
As a librarian, we’re always trying to make the library more like Cheers. (What we refer to as a Third Place — work and home being the other two.) Third Places should have community. Communities do require a level of trust. The way we build trust is by being knowledgeable, approachable and non-judgmental.
I think these are the things that everyone looks for in a LCS as well. You want to know that you can trust their opinions, you want to know that they’re reading the comics you tend to like, and you would never want them to judge you for liking something they don’t.
That said, it doesn’t make sense to say “don’t buy” or “don’t check this out from the library” because there is always someone somewhere that will like it, even if I don’t. Library displays will never have books out saying “librarian DOESN’T recommend.” Instead, it’s those we think deserve a second glance.