Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 6, 2014 21:07:22 GMT -6
Time Warp Comics of Boulder, Colorado, celebrates its 30th anniversary in the midst of what owner Wayne Winsett calls a “golden age” of comics, with a greater variety of comics attracting a wider audience to the medium.
www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_26661138/time-warps-30th-anniversary-boulder-comes-amid-golden
When asked his occupation, Wayne Winsett's response is simple: He's in the entertainment industry.
As the owner of Time Warp Comics in Boulder, Winsett is a purveyor of escapist literature — tales of adventure, honor, tragedy, fantasy, humor and love.
"We are selling entertainment here," he said. "We're selling something that people can forget their troubles and just read and enjoy."
Earlier this week, Winsett marked his 30th anniversary of running Time Warp, a comic books, games and collectibles shop at 3105 28th St. in Boulder, just north of Glenwood Avenue.
October is serving as Time Warp's anniversary month. The milestone will be highlighted at events such as Saturday's 24-Hour Comics Day, in which Time Warp will play host to nine artists who will create a 24-page comic book in a 24-hour span.
It's the fifth year that Time Warp has participated in the daylong event, which begins locally at 10 a.m. and runs until 10 a.m. Sunday.
Thirty years in, Winsett still loves the day-to-day operations, the challenges that come with the job and the time spent helping new and established customers discover what would become their favorite titles.
And in Winsett's 30 years of running Time Warp, business has never been better.
"Comics are just generally accepted in society," he said, noting the difference in activity from years past is "night and day, really."
Superheroes are splashed across popular culture, via blockbuster movies and critically acclaimed TV shows and video games; the artistry and words within the comics and graphic novels have grown in sophistication; and the digital revolution that was supposed to be the industry's death knell has bolstered interest in the physical books and related collectibles, he said.
Sales of print comic books totaled an estimated $780 million in 2013, up 6.1 percent from the year before, according to the Comics Chronicles, a comics research and information website. When factoring in digital sales, the market was estimated to be $870 million in size, an increase of nearly 8.1 percent.
The industry's overall sales have doubled in the past 10 years and since 2011 have been on a steady incline, Comics Chronicles data shows.
"I think right now we're going through a Golden Age in the publishing industry," Winsett said.
The diverse slate of offerings now — from graphic novels such as the best-selling "Saga" to unique takes on classics such as the zombie-fied "Afterlife with Archie" — have a broad appeal, he said. Winsett's seen a return of children to his customer base and more female customers than ever before.
The customer makeup of his Boulder store is 50-50 split, men and women, he said.
Winsett is expecting a wide swath of his customer base to come at varying points during Saturday's 24-Hour Comics Day event. In addition to being able to watch the artists work, the store will have giveaways and sales every three hours.
Jay Sternitzky, who runs the 24-Hour Comics Day event locally and suggested it to Winsett a couple of years back, will be writing a story with artist Mateo Cantu.
"Wayne asked some of us to do stories based on the 30th anniversary of the shop and some old strips and images friends had made in the past," Sternitzky wrote in an e-mail to the Daily Camera.
Sternitzky has been a customer of Time Warp since 2001. The shop and Winsett have helped to "keep sequential art relevant in Boulder," he added.
"Friendly, knowledgeable and, unlike 'The Simpsons' Comic Book Guy, actually wants to talk to you," Sternitzky wrote.
Winsett's passion for the medium, Sternitzky added, was demonstrated by a recent industry honor. Time Warp was one of 12 finalists worldwide for the 2014 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award.
When Winsett hit another milestone recently — he turned 60 last week — thoughts of eventual retirement surfaced. Winsett knows he would never close the store and instead sell it to another comic book lover; however, such a transition would be years away.
Winsett still gets that adrenaline rush every day and the Christmas-like feeling every week when the boxes of new comics arrive.
"I've seen a lot of great quality businesses come and go; to have the longevity we have had and still have a viable business is something I'm very proud of," he said. "I feel very, very fortunate to be here."