Posted in: Comics | Tagged: coronavirus comics, destination venus, regie rigby

Comic Store – What Is It Good For? Regie Rigby of Destination Venus

Published Wed, 13 May 2020 11:00:10 -0500

Decades ago, Regie Rigby used to write about comics for the same websites I did. These days he runs one, Destination Venus, a small comic shop inside a cinema in Harrogate, which has also transformed him into the comic book store for Thought Bubble. I wrote about his store last Thought Bubble – in a world where we don't know if we'll be having another one this year. He writes for Bleeding Cool,

These are difficult times for comic stores. This is not, of course, anything resembling news. These are difficult times for everyone right now and in any case it is always a difficult time for comics stores. The old joke that the only way to become a millionaire in comics is to "start with a billion and work your way down" is uncomfortably close to the truth, whether you're a creator, a retailer or a collector. But in these times of pandemic and shut-down disruption, I've been forced to think very seriously about whether I – and small independent comics stores like me – are going to be able to stay in business. In fact, I found myself having something of an existential crisis.

I mean, what are we for? This is not the eighties anymore. The days when comic stores were pretty much the only place to get most comics, and even to get information about comics, are long gone. Everything your local comics store sells can be obtained easily online – often at lower prices than the ones we have to charge. And of course, if you order online you don't even have to leave your house – whatever you want will be delivered directly to your door, why on Earth would you want to make the trek to your local store? Especially when your "local" store might well not be all that local.

Since the pandemic caused the entire anglophone comics industry to shut down the ever-present harbingers of doom have raised their volume a little. "This is the end for comic stores!" they say. "The direct market is doomed!". And yes – I'm certainly going to struggle, as are my friends who also work in comics retail. Comic shops were closing at a depressing rate even before the pandemic. Bottom lines are tight and profit margins are small. I confess that these days I tend to do the accounts in my head because if I do them on paper the numbers look too depressing. But nobody owes us a living, and we don't have any kind of inherent right to exist. If comic stores are to survive we need to give people reasons to come to us. Are there any? Are comic stores really worth the effort?

As I said, I've given the matter a lot of thought, and I truly believe that they are. You see, a good comic book store is more than just a place to buy comics and merch. We are that, to be sure, but a good comic store is also a hub. A meeting place. A sanctuary. A place of discovery. Alongside comic conventions, local comic stores, whether they are independent or part of a chain, are the thing that makes comics a culture, and not just a mere product.

A decent LCS should be accessible to everyone – from the old school fanboy who can recite the issue number and market value of every Marvel key issue by heart to the old grannie who is looking for "something nice for my grandson" to the arty intellectual type who has read an article about comics in the Guardian to the fourteen-year-old girl who thinks Harley Quinn is cool and wants to know more, and all points in between. That's certainly what my store aspires to be, and I flatter myself that for the most part, we achieve that.

A decent LCS remembers that it is a gateway, and that we are not, and must not be gatekeepers. I see my store as a place where people can come to find comics – whatever comics they choose – and get some help to find the kind of comics they want. Myself and my staff are fans. We love comics, and we love to talk about them. If somebody comes in looking for recommendations we can listen to their preferences and make recommendations that will actually fit that customer's preferences. Sure, there are algorithms that can tell the online purchaser "if you liked that, try this" or "customers who bought this title also bought", but while the software gets more sophisticated all the time those digital recommendation generators are a fairly blunt instrument.

Face to face with a customer, the staff in a comics store can bring in recommendations out of left field and give honest opinions based on detailed customer preferences. We can put books into the customer's actual hands and get their immediate response – and we actually know what we're talking about. All of this means that we can introduce new readers to books they would simply never have found on their own.

If that were not enough in itself, you simply cannot overstate the social importance of a good comic store. Marvel Movies may have made it possible for teenagers and adults to like superheroes without the derision I remember as a kid in the eighties, but being a genuine comics enthusiast remains a niche activity. But once you're in a comic store you are going to meet other people who love this glorious medium as much as you do. We had so many long chats about comics, Star Wars and Doctor Who with some of our regulars that we started a podcast for goodness sake! Not all stores are fortunate enough to have the space, but we're lucky enough to be able to fit a sofa in, and we're directly underneath a coffee shop.

As a result, we are at the heart of a community, for some of our regulars, something of a refuge (one customer's wife described us as her husband's "haven"). If you've ever felt like the "only geek in the village" you'll appreciate how important that this can be. It's fair to say that most of the people I regard as my good friends I've met in a comic shop and we bonded over comics. I really don't think that would have happened in quite the same way if all of our comic buying had been online.

And in the end, it's communities that are the foundation of a culture. Comics culture needs local comic stores. Local comic stores need you.

I know what you're thinking "he would say that, wouldn't he?" and full disclosure, yes – I own a small comic store in a small Northern town. But you'll notice I haven't told you which one. This isn't about me, and this article is not an advertisement for my store. I want you to support the store that is local to you. There might not be one in your actual town (although check, because you might be surprised – my store has been open for fifteen years and there are still people who find us and remark they're glad the town has a comic store "at last"), but in most urban parts of the U.K. you probably won't have to travel far.

Seek them out. Set up a pull list. Visit regularly – maybe once a month or once every couple of months. You'll soon find yourself part of a community. You'll make new friends. And your comcis reading experience will be enriched as you discover titles you never would have picked up if the enthusiastic staffer behind the counter hadn't thrust it under your nose because they just knew you'd love it. (I would never have bought issue #1 of Saga had the owner of the store I now run hadn't done exactly that. Turned out to have been a good decision.)

Local comic stores are here for you, and we're here for the medium. Support us, and everybody wins.