support your LCS

[cd4ever]

 

Good lord...do I REALLY have to ACTUALLY spell out, and NAME great comics of the past? REALLY?

 

You YOURSELF don't remember them? haven't read any of them? there were so many? You guys DO collect comics, right?

 

Oh, wait...you guys think MODERN books are the 'renaissance' of the hobby, now I get it.

 

Epigones, that is all the books, and so called writers of them, are!

 

 

Another substanceless blanket statement.

 

Love the pseudo-intellectual last line.

 

 

English must be his second or third language.

 

American English is, I'm quite sure.

 

He's a huge Thanos fan I bet!

[DrWatson]

I posted this reply to Dale in another thread today, I hope this helps understand why people don't always go to their LCS:

 

 

MY POST:

Nuff Said comics gives, I think 42% off on pre-orders................

 

DALE'S POST:

Here ya go!

 

 

This is exactly what is wrong with new comics though. They are so ridiculously high that you have to discount them to sell quantity. And I don't see how any store can function when making 13 percent profit on their primary product.

 

What places like this do is to steal business away from a full service LCS by making it where they absolutely cannot compete.

 

 

 

MY RESPONSE:

 

The wave of the future is the internet. The new LCS is the internet.

 

The internet did not close down all those LCS's in the 90's, greed, poor business decisions, poor quality books and other factors did that. The good/better stores remaind.

 

I love LCS's, but unless one becomes a POP CULTURE store, that does indeed discount new books, they will lose readership and that would really be the end of comic books. Everyone here is saying that comic books cost too much and are dropping many monthly titles. How do we save readership, let alone get it to grow, if it is too expensive?

 

I buy almost all my NEW cd's, dvd's, and novels online. I pay no gas, tax, I do not have to deal with going from store to store to find what I want if it is out of stock and finally, I do not have to pay crazy prices at Best Buy or Barnes & Noble.

 

As I said, I love my LCS (both of them), but being able to buy and read double the amount of comics every month (and I spend $250-300 per month WITH my discount) when my LCS will only give me 20% off and charge me tax. is a huge difference. I still go to my LCS with my daughter and spend $, but who is going to spend $450 a month when they can spend $275?

 

William from Demolition Comics has, I think 5 comic stores (2 newly opened) and a huge internet site as well. His stores includes all sorts of pop culture. He is doing great. He understands the future.

 

Brian from A-1 has 3(?) stores and a great web presence on eBay. He is doing very well. He understands the future.

 

There are many other people doing the same. They do not steal business, they COMPETE for business. Future business.

 

Now, if we want, we can talk about WHY comic prices are too high, but I don't have an answer for that. If we want to know, we will have to ask Marvel and D.C. or Diamond as THEY are the ones setting the prices and giving the discounts in the first place........

 

I'll posit an alternative view that LCS can be BLAMED for the perceived downfall of comics.

 

At their height (GA/SA) comics were in grocery/drug/convenience stores and widely visible to the public. Now, save for a few titles with pre-arranged distribution, they largely go unnoticed by the public and are holed up in 'specialty' stores where the only people who see them are those who already know what they're looking for.

 

I guess that means we should hope for our LCS to all fail and put books back on public distribution, no?

I agree with that. When I was little, every time we went to the drug store or Carl Ownby's general store, I always had to have a couple of books. If my collecting of comic books today had been dependent upon visiting an LCS in the past then I would have been out of luck.

[jimm94]

I think Steve has a very valid point about the pure economics of it all when people have large pull lists, and how online shopping has changed the market. The reality is that a brick and mortar store obviously cannot offer discounts that compete with an online source.

 

What I still wonder, though, is how healthy the hobby can remain if LCS's were to all but disappear. Buying online is easy when you know what you want, but it seriously hinders the impulse buy and the possibility of checking out something new and/or different from what you are used to.

 

Overall, I think there are many great comics being produced today. However, I think two of the most frustrating things to me are the length of time it takes in monthly books for a full, substantive story to unfold (i.e. writing for trades, six month or longer story arcs, late books, etc..), and the inconsistency of a title as it transitions from creative team to creative team. Previous story lines and plot points are frequently all but forgotten when someone new takes over.

 

There are also relatively few good "jumping on" points in most books. I grew up on Marvel, and have tried and tried to get into DC. But every time I buy a bunch of the books, I just sit there going "Who the heck is that guy?!?!", when the stories feature these really minor, obscure characters without effectively explaining who they are and why they are there. I just feel lost when I don't know the back story of Dr. Spandex or whoever, whose last appearance was 20 years ago in two issues of a JLA book or something. I'm sure there are DC fans who feel the same way about Marvel, but I think DC may be especially guilty of this.

 

Finally, I would like to share this with you all:

 

[500Club]

 

Good lord...do I REALLY have to ACTUALLY spell out, and NAME great comics of the past? REALLY?

 

You YOURSELF don't remember them? haven't read any of them? there were so many? You guys DO collect comics, right?

 

Oh, wait...you guys think MODERN books are the 'renaissance' of the hobby, now I get it.

 

Epigones, that is all the books, and so called writers of them, are!

 

 

Another substanceless blanket statement.

 

Love the pseudo-intellectual last line.

 

 

I'd be e more than happy to take my "pseudo intellect" and bet it against your pseudo mind, any day of any week...my man

 

B.Sc., M.D.

You?

[500Club]

But please.... don't bother posting any facts that would back up your position. Stick to vague claims of intelligence and non-specific posts about the lack of quality of modern books. Throw in some capitalization for emphasis.

 

We are still waiting for you to offer up what you feel to be examples of quality comic books.

 

I've offered several examples of modern work above that stands up to the best that prior ages had to offer.... and to tie all this in to the current thread.... several books that are worth picking up and trying at the LCS.

[sborock]

"I'll posit an alternative view that LCS can be BLAMED for the perceived downfall of comics.

 

At their height (GA/SA) comics were in grocery/drug/convenience stores and widely visible to the public. Now, save for a few titles with pre-arranged distribution, they largely go unnoticed by the public and are holed up in 'specialty' stores where the only people who see them are those who already know what they're looking for. "

 

I don't know about this.

 

I am 44. As a kid, I rode my bike to Mr. Fischers 5 & 10 and had $2 to spend on anything I wanted every week, I bought 12 cent comics and 25 cent annuals.

 

I only had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 to watch. 13 was PBS and 5, 9, and 11 were re-runs. Only one movie theater that showed new movies and one that showed old ones at a discount. Both only had 1 screen and no shows during the weekdays. I had no dvd's or any way to watch older movies other than T.V.. I had to get new music off of only a few radio stations of stuff THEY wanted me to buy and I had no recording devices.

 

I had no internet, or for that matter, no computer, no cell phone or cordless, so I had to be in the same room I was calling from or, if outside, use a pay phone for a dime. There was no just calling a friend for the heck of it as I was walking or bored on a bus, train and such.

 

This is just a small example why comic books were a good choice of entertainment, there was LESS to choose from back then.........

 

 

 

[Shootydog]

 

Good lord...do I REALLY have to ACTUALLY spell out, and NAME great comics of the past? REALLY?

 

You YOURSELF don't remember them? haven't read any of them? there were so many? You guys DO collect comics, right?

 

Oh, wait...you guys think MODERN books are the 'renaissance' of the hobby, now I get it.

 

Epigones, that is all the books, and so called writers of them, are!

 

Nice Straw Man. Well played

 

[DrWatson]

I am 44. As a kid, I rode my bike to Mr. Fischers 5 & 10 and had $2 to spend on anything I wanted every week, I bought 12 cent comics and 25 cent annuals.

 

I only had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 to watch. 13 was PBS and 5, 9, and 11 were re-runs. Only one movie theater that showed new movies and one that showed old ones at a discount. Both only had 1 screen and no shows during the weekdays. I had no dvd's or any way to watch older movies other than T.V.. I had to get new music off of only a few radio stations of stuff THEY wanted me to buy and I had no recording devices.

 

I had no internet, or for that matter, no computer, no cell phone or cordless, so I had to be in the same room I was calling from or, if outside, use a pay phone for a dime. There was no just calling a friend for the heck of it as I was walking or bored on a bus, train and such.

 

This is just a small example why comic books were a good choice of entertainment, there was LESS to choose from back then.........

 

 

That was me exactly! Except minus about 10 years. My point was that if I had to go to a specialty store in order to purchase or see a comic book, then it wouldn't have happened. We didn't have any. However, I do understand that "kids" today do have more distractions than we did when we were growing up, but wouldn't more visibility in more locations encourage more readers? I know, I know, the returns vs. no returns argument. After all it is a business and money is the bottom line.

[500Club]

"I'll posit an alternative view that LCS can be BLAMED for the perceived downfall of comics.

 

At their height (GA/SA) comics were in grocery/drug/convenience stores and widely visible to the public. Now, save for a few titles with pre-arranged distribution, they largely go unnoticed by the public and are holed up in 'specialty' stores where the only people who see them are those who already know what they're looking for. "

 

I don't know about this.

 

I am 44. As a kid, I rode my bike to Mr. Fischers 5 & 10 and had $2 to spend on anything I wanted every week, I bought 12 cent comics and 25 cent annuals.

 

I only had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 to watch. 13 was PBS and 5, 9, and 11 were re-runs. Only one movie theater that showed new movies and one that showed old ones at a discount. Both only had 1 screen and no shows during the weekdays. I had no dvd's or any way to watch older movies other than T.V.. I had to get new music off of only a few radio stations of stuff THEY wanted me to buy and I had no recording devices.

 

I had no internet, or for that matter, no computer, no cell phone or cordless, so I had to be in the same room I was calling from or, if outside, use a pay phone for a dime. There was no just calling a friend for the heck of it as I was walking or bored on a bus, train and such.

 

This is just a small example why comic books were a good choice of entertainment, there was LESS to choose from back then.........

 

 

 

I'd like to offer up MARVEL as a scapegoat. Numerous competitive strategies on their part have driven comic prices up. Alternate covers (early 90s/shared blame), switching from newsprint, the acquisition of Heroes World (ultimately ending in a Diamond monopoly), the late 90s strategy of trying to increase market share by grabbing shelf space with endless new titles and limited series. All of this has gradually choked the lifeblood from the hobby.

[Ghost Town]

I only had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 to watch. 13 was PBS and 5, 9, and 11 were re-runs. Only one movie theater that showed new movies and one that showed old ones at a discount. Both only had 1 screen and no shows during the weekdays. I had no dvd's or any way to watch older movies other than T.V.. I had to get new music off of only a few radio stations of stuff THEY wanted me to buy and I had no recording devices.

 

I had no internet, or for that matter, no computer, no cell phone or cordless, so I had to be in the same room I was calling from or, if outside, use a pay phone for a dime. There was no just calling a friend for the heck of it as I was walking or bored on a bus, train and such.

 

This is just a small example why comic books were a good choice of entertainment, there was LESS to choose from back then.........

Good point. Just thinking about the TV choices I have now compared to 20-25 years ago, I'm not surprised people are doing other things than reading comics. Back then, I could read a Miller Daredevil and a Claremont/Byrne X-Men or watch Sanford and Son. Pretty easy choice. Today, there's The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, etc., etc.

[Dick Pontoon]

"I'll posit an alternative view that LCS can be BLAMED for the perceived downfall of comics.

 

At their height (GA/SA) comics were in grocery/drug/convenience stores and widely visible to the public. Now, save for a few titles with pre-arranged distribution, they largely go unnoticed by the public and are holed up in 'specialty' stores where the only people who see them are those who already know what they're looking for. "

 

I don't know about this.

 

I am 44. As a kid, I rode my bike to Mr. Fischers 5 & 10 and had $2 to spend on anything I wanted every week, I bought 12 cent comics and 25 cent annuals.

 

I only had channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 to watch. 13 was PBS and 5, 9, and 11 were re-runs. Only one movie theater that showed new movies and one that showed old ones at a discount. Both only had 1 screen and no shows during the weekdays. I had no dvd's or any way to watch older movies other than T.V.. I had to get new music off of only a few radio stations of stuff THEY wanted me to buy and I had no recording devices.

 

I had no internet, or for that matter, no computer, no cell phone or cordless, so I had to be in the same room I was calling from or, if outside, use a pay phone for a dime. There was no just calling a friend for the heck of it as I was walking or bored on a bus, train and such.

 

This is just a small example why comic books were a good choice of entertainment, there was LESS to choose from back then.........

 

 

 

But Steve, it's not an either/or proposition. Both of you guys are on the money. Yes, we had fewer options to choose from. But when we did go to the five&dime, drug store or convenience store, comic books were one of the options we had available, and they'd been there for as long as we'd been riding our bikes there, and even when our parents went there. They were an ingrained part of our pop culture landscape. That’s no longer the case. As Buttock notes, they’re holed up in specialty stores.

 

Sure, many bigger metropolitan areas have an LCS. But what about the majority of smaller towns all over the country that don’t? Comics are no longer as readily available as an entertainment option like they once were. I don’t see how you can deny that. It’s a combination of access and myriad other entertainment options combined that have driven down sales. The fact that traditional superhero comics seem geared towards older fans doesn’t help either.

 

Now, unlike Buttock, I wouldn’t point the finger at the LCS, but rather on the unfortunate change in distribution methods that took place since we were kids.

 

[the blob]

I don't see why Marvel/DC or some third party hasn't set up vending machines for comics. This would make it a lot easier for a convenience store to handle carrying them without worrying about damage/returns/theft.

[sborock]

"Now, unlike Buttock, I wouldn’t point the finger at the LCS, but rather on the unfortunate change in distribution methods that took place since we were kids. "

 

I agree, I was just stating in my original post, things change and LCS's have to change with them. I was just adding some more reasons comics were more popular than today. Remember, with the coming of television, comic sales dropped a ton.

 

In 1953 the estimated comics published were almost 74 million a year, by about 1957 those #'s dropped to about 13 million That is only a 5 year swing........

 

[gorgoguy]

You know, this post and one I read last night about reading new comics got me back in to my LCS. I hadn't been in for many months. My LCS usually smells like cat pi$$. Why, because they have cats in there. Now, I dont see cats and comics as a good mix.

 

I was amazed to find when I went in today, I could almost not smell it anymore. They had removed the cats, and the carpet to boot. I dropped my $20 and enjoyed some new books.

 

Thanks for getting me back in.

[DrWatson]

Well, there you go. Congratulations on your purchases. Nothing beats a cat pi$$ free LCS. (thumbs u

[1Cool]

I like a lot of Bronze storylines and some of the Silver issues are pretty good but I would have to say that the some of the current stories are as good or better than some of the ones from when I was growing up.

 

Old Favorites - Watchmen, Dark Knight, Uncanny X-Men 160 - 250, Tales of the Teen Titans, Byrne Avengers.

New Titles - Walking Dead, Fables, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate X-Men, Daredevil, Hellboy, Detective Comics and Batman, Spiderman.

 

I don't think its the story or the fact that they are more grown-up (since kids now are way more grown-up at the prime comic age). Its got to be the price and better options for the money. Teen boys not out getting laid are on the computer making comics/videos now instead of waiting for a month to find out if Spidey will kill the Kingpin.

 

LCS should work with the schools and maybe Marvel/DC can include small comics into video game boxes or DVD boxes. There has got to be a way to start the ball rolling and then kids will look for LCS.

[djpinkpanther67]

Here in the Fort Hood/ Killeen/Temple area there aren't a lot of places to choose from without driving over an hour to Austin, Dallas or Waco.

I'm frustrated with both of my LCS's. The one where I have my pull box (not for long) doesn't understand the concept of giving me a HG copy. Mine always have fingerprint smudges and creases. His excuse is most of the customers aren't serious collectors, and HG isn't an issue with them. The back issue boxes are another example as they bag but not board the books. This causes multiple creasing from people flipping through them with reckless abandon.They say boarding them isn't worth the trouble, as people really aren't buying them. My reply to that was that I would be happy to buy a lot of them, as would other people, but the problem is that 98% of them aren't a desireable grade, but COULD have been, had they simply boarded the books. BTW they charge NM prices no matter WHAT the grade, which brings me to the fact that both of the shops, including the new one that just opened, have a bunch of back issues on the wall (ironically, a great deal of them are mine, from when I traded my doubles to try to get caught up with some moderns), but have NM prices on books that aren't even close to that grade. When I pointed this out, they basically blew me off. IMO it's a shame because there are people who want to get into the hobby but don't have a lot of experience or knowledge of grading, etc. They see an old comic on the wall with a $150.00 price tag on it purchase it, thinking they have made a wise investment, only to find out later when they have been suckered. If the hobby is lucky, they just treat it as a learning experience. If not, they become disgusted and quit the hobby altogether.

[MrBedrock]

 

...i'm nobody you've met before.

This is the single greatest thing I have ever read!

And let's keep it that way, shall we? (thumbs u

[DrWatson]

Welcome back from Vegas, Rich. I assume everything went off without a hitch.

[october]

 

...i'm nobody you've met before.

This is the single greatest thing I have ever read!

And let's keep it that way, shall we? (thumbs u