Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 28, 2014 21:01:28 GMT -6
SALEM — Silver Moon Comics and Collectibles held a soft opening last week in the Museum Place Mall, but it was delayed about an hour due to a late shipment from a distributor. It’s that kind of glitch that’s led those opening Silver Moon — Salem’s second comic book specialty store — to say they have a superhuman task to get the store ready for a grand opening Sept. 6.
On its first day, Silver Moon already had dozens of titles lining the walls of the nearly 1,800-square-foot store, from “The Amazing Spiderman” to “The Uncanny X-Men.” Customers wandered in not long after the store opened.
It is opening in a city that already has a cavernous comics and collectibles store, Harrison’s Comics and Pop Culture at 252 Essex St., just a couple of blocks away. There’s also Newbury Comics at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, and Jerry’s Comics and Collectibles at 296 Cabot St. in Beverly.
Silver Moon and others are poised to capitalize on a resurgent interest in comics and related merchandise, such as the classic Wonder Woman cookie jar Silver Moon has for sale.
Sales for comic books and merchandise are up this year, according to The Comics Chronicles, or Comichron, which tracks sales by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Sales of comics, trade paperbacks, graphic novels and magazines were up more than 2 percent, or about $303 million, year-to-date in July. For the month of July alone, Diamond’s sales were $53 million, which Comichron says is up 92 percent from the same month 10 years ago.
And even though comic book sales were flat so far this year, Diamond reported they were still up 12 percent above 2012 levels. As anyone who has walked into a comic book store in recent years knows, it’s not just about comics. Sales of merchandise was up 10.4 percent for the first half of 2014.
“What it all points to is that the health of comic book specialty shops is better than ever,” said Chris Powell, Diamond’s vice president of retailer services, in a statement on Diamond’s website.
Another sign that interest in comics is back: a nearly flawless copy of Action Comics No. 1, Superman’s 1938 comic-book debut, just sold for $3.2 million, according to the Associated Press. It’s believed to be the highest price ever paid for a comic book.
On its first day, Silver Moon already had dozens of titles lining the walls of the nearly 1,800-square-foot store, from “The Amazing Spiderman” to “The Uncanny X-Men.” Customers wandered in not long after the store opened.
It is opening in a city that already has a cavernous comics and collectibles store, Harrison’s Comics and Pop Culture at 252 Essex St., just a couple of blocks away. There’s also Newbury Comics at the Northshore Mall in Peabody, and Jerry’s Comics and Collectibles at 296 Cabot St. in Beverly.
Silver Moon and others are poised to capitalize on a resurgent interest in comics and related merchandise, such as the classic Wonder Woman cookie jar Silver Moon has for sale.
Sales for comic books and merchandise are up this year, according to The Comics Chronicles, or Comichron, which tracks sales by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Sales of comics, trade paperbacks, graphic novels and magazines were up more than 2 percent, or about $303 million, year-to-date in July. For the month of July alone, Diamond’s sales were $53 million, which Comichron says is up 92 percent from the same month 10 years ago.
And even though comic book sales were flat so far this year, Diamond reported they were still up 12 percent above 2012 levels. As anyone who has walked into a comic book store in recent years knows, it’s not just about comics. Sales of merchandise was up 10.4 percent for the first half of 2014.
“What it all points to is that the health of comic book specialty shops is better than ever,” said Chris Powell, Diamond’s vice president of retailer services, in a statement on Diamond’s website.
Another sign that interest in comics is back: a nearly flawless copy of Action Comics No. 1, Superman’s 1938 comic-book debut, just sold for $3.2 million, according to the Associated Press. It’s believed to be the highest price ever paid for a comic book.