Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 3, 2014 18:54:01 GMT -6
From:
herald-review.com/news/local/comic-book-lovers-finding-local-choices-limited/article_d1691095-bd01-5a5c-b9ff-4ba7bf2e3dc7.html
DECATUR — At a time when superhero movies are ruling the summer box office, it has actually become more difficult for comic book fans to continue their hobby in the Decatur area.
When downtown Decatur’s Capital Comics and Games closed its doors in November, shortly after celebrating its 10th anniversary in business, many local fans lost their lifeline to new comic issues. Local collector and comic artist Ed Lozano was among those disappointed fans.
“That was honestly a sad day for me,” he said. “I find myself torn these days because I really prefer reading comics with a physical copy, but buying them digitally is calling stronger every day.”
The preference for physical comic books is largely aesthetic but has practical reasons as well. Lozano, for instance, often donates used comic books to MacArthur High School for use in his wife’s special education courses, which is impossible to replicate on an iPad. Now in order to get those new issues, he finds himself taking weekend trips to Bloomington or Springfield.
Noah Tipton is another Decatur native and comic aficionado in the same boat as Lozano. Entranced by comic artwork ever since a childhood spent buying them from the 10-cent bin of Decatur’s Old Book Barn, he now says he’s been visiting a store in Peoria to do his physical shopping.
“I try to go out of my way to physically buy them from the independent stores because I know how tough it is for them to compete with the likes of Amazon,” Tipton said. “I totally understand the utility of digital comics, but for collectors there’s really no such thing as a ‘rare’ digital issue. You're not going to show one of those to your kids someday.”
Jerry Hinkle, the former operator of Capital Comics and Games, started as a manager and became the store's owner in 2009. He decided to get out of the physical comics business to focus on his own artwork but acknowledged the difficulties of running a retail comic book shop in 2014. He is in the process of setting up an online shop to sell back issues, but said he believes a physical store could still be successful in the Decatur area, even as the comics industry targets new methods of online publication.
“Sadly, publishers are thinking of online as the future and snubbing the physical book collectors who helped start the industry,” he said. “But I do believe Decatur could still support a comic store, keeping in mind that store is run as a business.
“This means keeping your costs down as much as possible and not overstocking your shelves. It's great to have variety, but remember that each issue that is not sold might not be returnable.”
New comic book issues are currently available in Decatur on a limited scale from The Newstand on Water Street and the Book World in Hickory Point Mall. Another future possibility may be area game stores, such as Mount Zion's The Hidden Lair, which opened in November. Owner Derrick Bradshaw has been a lifelong comic fan and said the business has debated the possibility of carrying comics on several occasions.
“I was very surprised that Capital was closing; I had just expected him to remain a staple as it was for the last decade,” he said. “We never thought about doing it in the past because that was Capital's thing, but after it closed we've had several people come in asking if we'll carry comics. We've also had some people asking if we would support them if they opened a comic book store of their own, which I would love to see.”
Still, it's difficult for a business owner like Bradshaw to pull the trigger on stocking comics. There's always a risk that the volatile product will sit on the shelf, and most distributors require sizable minimum orders for each issue. He also questions whether the culture of store patronage has changed for younger consumers.
“At the game store, we have regulars who come in because they just love the feel of stopping by and hanging out, and I wonder if that's become an alien concept to younger kids,” he said. “A comic store operator would really need to have his finger on the pulse of what people will want to read before it even comes out.”
Kevin and Krystle Callarman operate another game store in Warrensburg called Board Knight, and they too are wary of stocking comics. Even after their much larger store opens in March in downtown Decatur, in the site of the former Earthen Pottery, the owners don't expect to get into the comics business. They did, however, purchase some of Capital's former gaming materials.
“I think the biggest difference is that games have more social interaction; you can sit with a group and play a game at the store,” Kevin Callarman said. “A lot of people like comics, but you can end up with so much sitting on the shelf because of minimum orders. It might be too much of a headache to do.”
Still, fans like Lozano are holding out hope that they'll be able to get their new comic books without leaving town or ordering from Amazon. Because for all their CGI spectacle, movies like “The Avengers” can't fully replace the classic comic books of their youth.
“I still read as many of them as I can, as often as I can,” Lozano said. “I definitely think there's a strong following for comics out there, and we'll have to make our voices heard.”
herald-review.com/news/local/comic-book-lovers-finding-local-choices-limited/article_d1691095-bd01-5a5c-b9ff-4ba7bf2e3dc7.html
DECATUR — At a time when superhero movies are ruling the summer box office, it has actually become more difficult for comic book fans to continue their hobby in the Decatur area.
When downtown Decatur’s Capital Comics and Games closed its doors in November, shortly after celebrating its 10th anniversary in business, many local fans lost their lifeline to new comic issues. Local collector and comic artist Ed Lozano was among those disappointed fans.
“That was honestly a sad day for me,” he said. “I find myself torn these days because I really prefer reading comics with a physical copy, but buying them digitally is calling stronger every day.”
The preference for physical comic books is largely aesthetic but has practical reasons as well. Lozano, for instance, often donates used comic books to MacArthur High School for use in his wife’s special education courses, which is impossible to replicate on an iPad. Now in order to get those new issues, he finds himself taking weekend trips to Bloomington or Springfield.
Noah Tipton is another Decatur native and comic aficionado in the same boat as Lozano. Entranced by comic artwork ever since a childhood spent buying them from the 10-cent bin of Decatur’s Old Book Barn, he now says he’s been visiting a store in Peoria to do his physical shopping.
“I try to go out of my way to physically buy them from the independent stores because I know how tough it is for them to compete with the likes of Amazon,” Tipton said. “I totally understand the utility of digital comics, but for collectors there’s really no such thing as a ‘rare’ digital issue. You're not going to show one of those to your kids someday.”
Jerry Hinkle, the former operator of Capital Comics and Games, started as a manager and became the store's owner in 2009. He decided to get out of the physical comics business to focus on his own artwork but acknowledged the difficulties of running a retail comic book shop in 2014. He is in the process of setting up an online shop to sell back issues, but said he believes a physical store could still be successful in the Decatur area, even as the comics industry targets new methods of online publication.
“Sadly, publishers are thinking of online as the future and snubbing the physical book collectors who helped start the industry,” he said. “But I do believe Decatur could still support a comic store, keeping in mind that store is run as a business.
“This means keeping your costs down as much as possible and not overstocking your shelves. It's great to have variety, but remember that each issue that is not sold might not be returnable.”
New comic book issues are currently available in Decatur on a limited scale from The Newstand on Water Street and the Book World in Hickory Point Mall. Another future possibility may be area game stores, such as Mount Zion's The Hidden Lair, which opened in November. Owner Derrick Bradshaw has been a lifelong comic fan and said the business has debated the possibility of carrying comics on several occasions.
“I was very surprised that Capital was closing; I had just expected him to remain a staple as it was for the last decade,” he said. “We never thought about doing it in the past because that was Capital's thing, but after it closed we've had several people come in asking if we'll carry comics. We've also had some people asking if we would support them if they opened a comic book store of their own, which I would love to see.”
Still, it's difficult for a business owner like Bradshaw to pull the trigger on stocking comics. There's always a risk that the volatile product will sit on the shelf, and most distributors require sizable minimum orders for each issue. He also questions whether the culture of store patronage has changed for younger consumers.
“At the game store, we have regulars who come in because they just love the feel of stopping by and hanging out, and I wonder if that's become an alien concept to younger kids,” he said. “A comic store operator would really need to have his finger on the pulse of what people will want to read before it even comes out.”
Kevin and Krystle Callarman operate another game store in Warrensburg called Board Knight, and they too are wary of stocking comics. Even after their much larger store opens in March in downtown Decatur, in the site of the former Earthen Pottery, the owners don't expect to get into the comics business. They did, however, purchase some of Capital's former gaming materials.
“I think the biggest difference is that games have more social interaction; you can sit with a group and play a game at the store,” Kevin Callarman said. “A lot of people like comics, but you can end up with so much sitting on the shelf because of minimum orders. It might be too much of a headache to do.”
Still, fans like Lozano are holding out hope that they'll be able to get their new comic books without leaving town or ordering from Amazon. Because for all their CGI spectacle, movies like “The Avengers” can't fully replace the classic comic books of their youth.
“I still read as many of them as I can, as often as I can,” Lozano said. “I definitely think there's a strong following for comics out there, and we'll have to make our voices heard.”