Posted in: Comics | Tagged: 2021, Comics, dc, heroclix, Magic: The Gathering, marvel

Comic Store In Your Future: 2021, What A Year for Comics And Games

When 2021 began at Rodman Comics, I decided not to replace two of our employees who had left on good terms. The economic slowdown caused by the pandemic made 2020 a punishing year for many businesses. The New Year looked to be just as bruising. We had no idea how sales would be; we played it safe with expenses.

The first day that the store opened in 2021, I went in thinking it would be a slow day and I could get a lot done. I had a line of people after opening and was swamped. That surprised me. January is usually a very slow month for retail. People had spent all their money on the holidays. We did not even have a sale going.

This year surprised me in ways I never expected. After being open for over a decade, we had a record-breaking sales day, which is no easy trick. Then we broke that record not long after that.

Sales were so good this year; we made some expensive decisions. We decided to replace our outside sign. The sun had faded half the sign so severely, the company we hired to work on the new sign thought the Rodman wording was supposed to be colored purple, while the Comics part was red, instead of both words being red. That looked awful when they first showed me what they had designed. Both words were colored the same  – and the sign looks great now.

I received an email about doing a HeroClix pre-release for the month of December; then, the next week wondered where the HeroClixs for the pre-release were. I emailed our supplier asking about it and was told it was canceled after they sent out the email asking if we were interested in doing a pre-release. That is the kind of year many have been having. Trying to plan things and then having things beyond our control happen.

Magic the Gathering heavily pushed their new set boosters, but the company offered almost no set booster stock of their latest release, Crimson Vow. What happens when something is difficult to get? People want it even more. We have plenty of draft boosters for Crimson Vow, so of course, there is hardly any demand for those.

Many stores desperately needed supplies throughout 2021. Comic book backboards, comic book bags, comic book boxes, penny sleeves, and more almost seemed impossible to get.

Image Comics announced no more second printings due to paper shortages. Will we see an upcoming Image title spike price-wise because of this?

Our comic sales slowed as 2021 closed. Even with the slowdown, hot titles came out in December. Devil's Reign #1 blew out the door. What was the most in-demand variant cover of Devil Reign #1? The Scottie Young one. I placed the biggest order I ever had for one of his covers. They sold out the Wednesday it was released, and we still had new customers asking for it.

Our sales on DC titles 2021 were so good our retailer discount in 2022 will actually increase. Far better than back at the start of 2021 when we were wondering if we would be able to keep our current discount.

After Marvel Comics joined Penguin Random House, we started using Penguin for Marvel comic ordering in 2021. I was amazed at how slow their website was. At first, I thought it was because my computer at home is over a decade old and somehow had difficulty with their website. I learned that this was not the case when using two other computers. Every item ordered would take 15 to 20 seconds to load. Meaning, simply typing in "10" for the number of copies I want for a title means I then have to wait for it to load before I can do anything else on the website. Then I would wait again after typing in the order for the next title. Multiply that for a month's worth of Marvel comics, and that was a big-time killer. When I could do all the Marvel and non-DC Comic orders on the Diamond Comics website far quicker, that was not good.

I use Penguin because it is cheaper than using Diamond for ordering Marvel Comics. Penguin also returns all my email questions. When I send Diamond an email, it never is responded to. Lunar returns all my email questions within a business day, and as a business, I try to respond to all non-spam emails within 24 hours. Penguin's website recently has shown improvements.

For years, I have written it is rare for movies and other comic-related media to help sell comics. Towards the end of this year, that changed for us. Eternals had a boost in sales after the movie came out. Hawkeye's new comic series sold amazingly well, in part, thanks to people enjoying the Disney+ Hawkeye show. Spider-Man had new people coming in thanks to the hype for his newest movie, No Way Home. That is good to see.

Recently famous comic artist George Perez announced he has pancreatic cancer. Doctors estimate he has six months to a year to live—truly sad news. Perez's art throughout the decades built up a big fanbase with his various work. He teamed up with writer Marv Wolfman launching the New Teen Titans, which became one of DC's most popular titles. He also teamed up with Kurt Busiek to revive the Avengers in the late 90s for Marvel. George Perez has done a tremendous amount of work in the comic industry over the years.

The year 2021 was not the year we had all hoped for. Most of us were hoping for more of a return to the way things were in 2019. 2021 for me was a lot of work for me, though when that work results in more money than I can. I also know I am getting older. Long gone are the days of me having a midnight Magic pre-release that lasts until 4 or 5 am then returning to open at 11 am. Then I was hosting a noon pre-release on that Saturday. Staying and having another pre-release at 8 pm that night, then returning Sunday at noon to work and host a Sunday pre-release. This year, I found it tough to have one Magic event per week after not hosting one for so long. Our highest Magic sales happened without gaming, so that took the wind sails for the return of Magic gaming events this year.

What will 2022 bring? Hopefully, it will be a good year for all and great for comics!

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