Comics Needs Bubble Tea Culture?

Here's a reaction to Free Comic Book Day that indicts the grating, overnerdish atmosphere of the local comic book shop. Put aside the possible arguments that if someone hates an entire medium that's a different issue than just hating comic book shops or some comics, or the fact that if you dislike a shop so much to write about it, you probably shouldn't have been shopping there in the first place -- even when the shopping is for free stuff. The interesting question raised here is this: with all the rhetorical energy spent on raising the quality of the comic book shop experience, has there been a great improvement? And, to follow up, has there been enough of an improvement? It's not like this is a new issue, not anymore.

I don't know if it's possible to answer that without everyone getting defensive, and my gut instinct says that people should be able to run stores any damn way they like. It's still worth floating the question. One might be able to say that competition should take care of shop models that don't work, at least over the long haul, but there's plenty to indicate that the engines driving the Direct Market don't really put a high premium on growing the number of shops, let alone backing elements of a particular store model, so long as certain needs are met.
 
posted 1:14 am PST | Permalink
 

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