Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jul 1, 2014 5:34:08 GMT -6
Southboro, Massachusetts, has a new comic shop, The Hall of Comics, which features a mix of new and old comics, superhero and indie titles. Co-owner Jake Johnston talks about the look of the store, which he designed with his wife Laurie: “Color was very important to us. We went with the primary blues and reds. It makes you think of Captain America. It makes you think of Superman (and) Spider-Man. And we wanted it to be memorable when you walk in here. Even if you didn’t buy anything, you’d go away remembering, ‘Wow, that’s a fun place to be. It’s exciting to be in there, even if I don’t necessarily find what I’m looking for that day.
www.telegram.com/article/20140629/NEWS/306299967/1237
SOUTHBORO — The "Justice League" now has a presence on Route 9, thanks to a new team. The logo of the new comic book shop, The Hall of Comics, resembles the Hall of Justice from the "Super Friends" TV cartoons that featured the fictional superhero team in DC Comics.
"The sign just resonates with people," said John Mangual, who owns the shop with Jake Johnston and Manole Saviolakis. "People see The Hall of Comics (and) the word 'comics' stands out and brings back the connotation, 'Oh, yeah, the Justice League.' And that pulls people in."
The Hall of Comics opened at 3 Turnpike Road (Route 9) on April 28, just before the 2014 Free Comic Book Day held on the first Saturday in May.
The shop offers 10 percent off all new releases for subscribers. The "Batman" and "Amazing Spider-Man" titles have been among the most popular so far, Mr. Mangual said.
"We had the pleasure of now one of our better spending customers brought his son in, (and) his first comic book was 'Spider-Man' No. 1," he said. "The kid was excited. The father was excited to share this unique feeling with his son."
Comic book collectors fall into three categories, Mr. Mangual said.
•Speculators are "trying to find out what the hottest thing is: Buy comics at cover price and turn around and sell them for hundreds of dollars."
•The hard-core fan has been "reading comics for years and years and years, and just loves it."
•And more kids and more girls are reading comics. "Women probably make up a third of our business," he said.
Mr. Johnston said he has asked new readers about their reading, TV and movie preferences.
"And the industry has made it easier," Mr. Johnston said. "It used to be, if you didn't like superheroes, you probably were out of luck. (Now) the indy titles are supporting that growth in female readership, because if you don't like superheroes, no problem. I've got a Western over here for you. I've got a sci-fi romance. There really is a book for everybody right now.
"These are our modern-day myths. The Greeks and the Romans had their deities. I think Superman, Batman, Spider-Man are just as important to us. And for whatever reason, that stigma of 'They're only for little boys to read at the back of the bus' has worn off."
The Hall of Comics has allocated specific space to new comics, back issues and other products.
"It was important to us to have a showcase of classic, key back issues that you're not likely to see in any other shop," Mr. Johnston said. Many are displayed above a row of white comics boxes, each labeled with a publisher.
"The people that are fanatical about owning the first appearance of somebody, they're going to want the actual book. We've got those," Mr. Johnston said.
Mr. Johnston said The Hall of Comics design that he and his wife, Laurie, implemented reflects "my vision for how we would do a comic book store.
"Color was very important to us. We went with the primary blues and reds. It makes you think of Captain America. It makes you think of Superman (and) Spider-Man," he said. "And we wanted it to be memorable when you walk in here. Even if you didn't buy anything, you'd go away remembering, 'Wow, that's a fun place to be. It's exciting to be in there, even if I don't necessarily find what I'm looking for that day.' "
The shop's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
www.telegram.com/article/20140629/NEWS/306299967/1237
SOUTHBORO — The "Justice League" now has a presence on Route 9, thanks to a new team. The logo of the new comic book shop, The Hall of Comics, resembles the Hall of Justice from the "Super Friends" TV cartoons that featured the fictional superhero team in DC Comics.
"The sign just resonates with people," said John Mangual, who owns the shop with Jake Johnston and Manole Saviolakis. "People see The Hall of Comics (and) the word 'comics' stands out and brings back the connotation, 'Oh, yeah, the Justice League.' And that pulls people in."
The Hall of Comics opened at 3 Turnpike Road (Route 9) on April 28, just before the 2014 Free Comic Book Day held on the first Saturday in May.
The shop offers 10 percent off all new releases for subscribers. The "Batman" and "Amazing Spider-Man" titles have been among the most popular so far, Mr. Mangual said.
"We had the pleasure of now one of our better spending customers brought his son in, (and) his first comic book was 'Spider-Man' No. 1," he said. "The kid was excited. The father was excited to share this unique feeling with his son."
Comic book collectors fall into three categories, Mr. Mangual said.
•Speculators are "trying to find out what the hottest thing is: Buy comics at cover price and turn around and sell them for hundreds of dollars."
•The hard-core fan has been "reading comics for years and years and years, and just loves it."
•And more kids and more girls are reading comics. "Women probably make up a third of our business," he said.
Mr. Johnston said he has asked new readers about their reading, TV and movie preferences.
"And the industry has made it easier," Mr. Johnston said. "It used to be, if you didn't like superheroes, you probably were out of luck. (Now) the indy titles are supporting that growth in female readership, because if you don't like superheroes, no problem. I've got a Western over here for you. I've got a sci-fi romance. There really is a book for everybody right now.
"These are our modern-day myths. The Greeks and the Romans had their deities. I think Superman, Batman, Spider-Man are just as important to us. And for whatever reason, that stigma of 'They're only for little boys to read at the back of the bus' has worn off."
The Hall of Comics has allocated specific space to new comics, back issues and other products.
"It was important to us to have a showcase of classic, key back issues that you're not likely to see in any other shop," Mr. Johnston said. Many are displayed above a row of white comics boxes, each labeled with a publisher.
"The people that are fanatical about owning the first appearance of somebody, they're going to want the actual book. We've got those," Mr. Johnston said.
Mr. Johnston said The Hall of Comics design that he and his wife, Laurie, implemented reflects "my vision for how we would do a comic book store.
"Color was very important to us. We went with the primary blues and reds. It makes you think of Captain America. It makes you think of Superman (and) Spider-Man," he said. "And we wanted it to be memorable when you walk in here. Even if you didn't buy anything, you'd go away remembering, 'Wow, that's a fun place to be. It's exciting to be in there, even if I don't necessarily find what I'm looking for that day.' "
The shop's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.