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John Vest on Comic Book Shops Then and Now
posted September 5, 2008
 

I read the Forbidden planet post and your comments and decided to stop by my local comic shop after work yesterday. I've been doing business with that comic store in southwestern Virginia since early 1983.

I was talking to the owner and thinking about the Forbidden Planet piece. She said that it's her subcription service that keeps her business going. She mentioned that she's avoided turning her shop into the "cookie cutter" kind of store that Diamond typically showcases. She said the 90's definitely thinned the herd in shops and the new businesses coming into existence have a different focus (toys, games, all books with no comics or back issues). She felt that her shop had maintained its individuality. The thrill of comic shops back in the early 80's was the existence of all the new independent comics which were at your fingertips (with contempory work in them by creators like Jack Kirby and Howard Chaykin). It was a new and interesting transition from the newsstand. Comic buying had evolved from picking up The Scorpion at your newsstand (before the title and publisher quickly died) to ordering American Flagg at your comic shop every month.

Looking at the three dollar books on Top Shelf's webpage, a pleasant surprise from them which I purchased when it was new was 24 x 2. I became aquainted with David Chelsea's work years ago browsing at a comic book store and the cover of David Chelsea In love #1 caught my eye. The sad element about the comic book market is the shrinking number of outlets and the sharp regional differences in what comic shops offer. I miss both the existence of comic magazines like David Chelsea's earlier title and the experience of finding them in a random way.