Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: comic shops, Comics, Comics Etc., entertainment, Ian Guest, indiegogo, Robert Leonard

A Pop Up Comic Store Saves Brick And Mortar Shopping In The UK

By Oliver MacNamee

In a world where we are hearing more and more of the bricks and mortar comic shops closing down, whether that is through ever-decreasing readership, over-priced product by the Big Two or because of the drive to digital, it is pleasing to see that in Lemington Spa at least, the opposite seems to be happening. Or at least, that is the wish of the two entrepreneurs and comic book fans behind Comics Etc., Robert Leonard and Ian Guest both of whom have been running their own pop-up comic book store successfully enough over the last half a year or so to consider taking the next step and opening a shop front, which the most common question asked by their customers whenever they appear somewhere around Lemington Spa.

But, they can only do this with support and word of mouth, of course. With the opening of a shop front Leonard and Guest hope to offer a wider and more diverse selection of stock. Running a stall means being very limited in what they can currently offer and this means sticking to what you know will sell. With a shop comes the space for more diversity, indie press presence as well building on an already thriving comic book fan base. This can only be a good thing for comics in the long run.

Running their campaign through an alternative funding website to Kickstarter, Indiegogo (find their funding page here), the boys are not asking for much, and their gift bundles for pledges range from name checks on a proposed weekly podcast (a great way to remain in contact with your community) to a whole plethora of goodies and 10% off for a whole year either online or in store, so no need to worry if you live in the local area to support this great project. I've got my eye on the bespoke tees that come with a £45 pledge. A new comic book store anywhere in the world should be something we as a comic book community should shout out about. And, I'm happy to do that for the guys. If you're an artists reading this, please drop them a line as I know they are keen to get involved in the local comic book scene as well as help promote Midlands based artists, professional or up-and-coming.

Their campaign is up and running now and runs until June 4^th 2014, so, plenty of time to consider supporting this possible LCBS.

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk. Or don't.

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