At The Counter #13: The Comicon Staff Takes Over

Join us as we again join comics retailer Greg Gage to talk about the industry from the retail perspective. This week, regular writer Tony Thornley is getting ready for a much-needed vacation, so we turned the questions over to the Comicon.com staff for the burning questions they have.

Tony Thornley: Hey Greg! So first of all, before we turn it over to the staff, are you relieved to get a break from my yammering for an edition of the column?

Greg Gage: Um … no. Not at all. I … love your questions. Please. Do go on.

Tony: You’re just a few short weeks away from celebrating 22 years in business. What does it mean to you that your hobby-turned-business has lasted this long?

Greg: I’m insanely grateful to all our customers and everyone that’s supported us all these years. It’s unusual to be able to do what you’re passionate about and actually make a living doing it. This store started less than half the size it is now in 2004. I’ve been lucky enough to expand twice and really make this store into something I envisioned from the beginning. 

Tony: What are you doing this year to celebrate your anniversary?

Greg: Getting knee surgery 6 days after the big signing event. But, before that, we have a giant lineup for the anniversary this year. Steve Niles, Doug Wagner, Philip Sevy, Drew Zucker … that’s not even half.  

Tony: With that, we’re going to turn it over to the team!

Anton Kromoff: Do you do pull boxes for customers who are out of state, as there are limited options for single issues with Things From Another World shutting down? How does the collection of those work?

Greg: We certainly do! Typically, we just have a form of payment on file, then ship out all over the country whenever works best for people. I’ve had customers from all around contact me, and also people that have moved out of state and want to continue to support the store get packages every single month. 

Anton: Do you see people buying week-to-week or month-to-month titles? Or do you see people waiting until a few books are out and then coming in and picking up a handful of sequential issues of a series?

Greg: Typically people will pick things up on a weekly basis. Stuff sells out so quickly these days, most won’t want to wait too long to grab the hot books due to fear of either not getting them, or having to buy them at an inflated price online.

Benjamin Hall: What is currently driving sales at your store that is not from the Big Two?

Greg: Everything Invincible. As hot as Walking Dead was when the show first aired, that’s nothing compared to the excitement for Invincible. Smaller publishers like Mad Cave and Keenspot are contributing as well. Mad Cave, in particular, has had some great books come out lately.

Benjamin: What could draw younger crowds to comics in your opinion? 

Greg: Tying in to cartoons, movies, etc., but also watching that price tag. If you want kids to get into comics, you need to keep those cover prices down. A parent is more likely to spend $3 or $4 on an unknown comic than $5, $6, or even $7. 

Benjamin: Should romance comics be more of a thing?

Greg: Of course! I love romance comics. At one point in time, long ago, romance comics were among the highest selling books on the racks. I still love relaxing and reading through an old Patsy Walker comic from the 1950s or ’60s!

Tony: Interjection from me here. What other genres do you feel are either under-represented or an opportunity ripe for the picking?

Greg: Maybe one of the most overlooked right now is humor. Sure, there are some great, fun books out there, but for the most part they’re pretty serious. I love a good horror book or something just plain messed up and disturbing more than the next guy, but sometimes we just need to laugh at some goofy stuff.

Austin Gorton: What are you seeing as the state of the back issue market, following the COVID boom and the post-COVID bust/deflation?

Greg: Back issues are my bread and butter. I think the only deflation is in the perceived value, by which I mean “market value”. If you look at an actual price guide, books don’t go down in value. Now, they may not sell very well, in which case they get relegated to the discount boxes, but the actual value never decreases. Back issues are such an important part of my store, I wouldn’t have survived this long without them. It’s great to get new issues, but what happens when you read all of those? That’s where back issues come in.

Austin: What’s your go-to recommendation for a newbie who wanders in looking to get into comics (and/or does that even happen anymore)?

Greg: It definitely happens. My recommendation is to just pick up an issue and see if it’s something you’d be into. It doesn’t really matter if it’s issue #1 or issue #100. Just see if it’s something that connects with you. If you don’t want to do that, I always suggest trade paperbacks. That way you get a sort of stand alone story, or at least a pretty complete one.

Erik Amaya: When does it feel like a cover is driving sales? Is it great art or brand recognition (this includes the artist doing the work)?

Greg: It depends on who the cover artist is and if they’ve worn out their welcome yet. For a while, Stanley Lau and Mark Spears were two of the hottest cover artists around. Then they did so many that people couldn’t keep up and collect them all. It’s really hard to predict. J. Scott Campbell is super hot, then not so much, then back to his own brand that sells books.

Scott Redmond: When it comes to the merry-go-round of shiny new #1 issues, is there any sort of diminishing returns in sales the more a book keeps relaunching (Moon Knight, Hulk, etc.)?

Greg: Yes there is. Many — myself sometimes included — see a new relaunch as not a jumping on point, but a jumping off point. What I think may be escaping some of the publishers is that we’re completists, and if they stop a series, guess what? We’ve completed it. Where’s the incentive to just start over again? Also, more readers are realizing that just because it’s a #1, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a new story. Spider-Man has been around since 1962. They’re not just going to restart everything fresh for a relaunch. There’s still decades of continuity there.

Scott: Connected to that, do you see any true lasting significant differences in sales between constantly relaunching books and their long-running-in-the-high-double-digit-numbered compatriots?

Tony: This almost feels like a Marvel versus DC question to me too, especially since I haven’t seen a Marvel book that isn’t Spider-Man or X-Men go above 50 issues in five-to-ten years.

Greg: It kind of is. It seems that when DC relaunches, for the most part, it’s an actual reboot. Lobo just relaunched, but we haven’t had a Lobo series since the New 52. Fantastic Four just relaunched not too long ago, one month after the previous series ended. I think it’s about retraining people how to read. It’s helpful to suggest the first part of a new storyline to someone, not just a new #1. There’s no reason not to jump in on issue #146. It’s just another story.

Tony: And to wrap it all up, is there one thing that you wish that you had asked a retailer 22 years ago when you were just getting started?

Greg: Absolutely not. That sounds weird, but if I knew how difficult it would be and how challenging certain things were going to feel, I probably wouldn’t have done it. I like to say that when I started, I was just naive and dumb enough to succeed. Now I’m in too far too deep to quit! If I knew all this stuff, I more than likely would’ve been too intimidated to go out on my own.

Black Cat Comics is on the web at https://blackcat-comics.com/ and via all the usual social media channels. If you live in or are visiting the Salt Lake City area, you can visit the store at 2261 Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84106, or call Greg and his team at (801) 461-4228.