Comics in the news today

[drice6900]

Freep article

 

POW! Comics still pack a punch

Stores are evolving and customers are rediscovering the joy of reading

BY JULIE HINDS • DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • May 1, 2008

 

 

It's a good time to be a comic book fan.

 

The "Iron Man" movie opens this week, with several more potential blockbusters ("The Incredible Hulk," "The Dark Knight," "Hellboy II") soon to follow in his big metal footsteps.

 

Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, which is exactly what it sounds like. The industry and participating specialty stores here and abroad team up annually to give away an assortment of titles. It's their way of thanking old customers and luring new ones to the fold.

 

And in mid-May, Motor City Comic Con takes place in Novi. It's a mammoth gathering where the public can rub shoulders with dealers, artists, writers and stars of classic and cult movies and TV shows.

 

Besides all the events, there's the big picture, too. Comic book stores are evolving from dank, crowded retreats for hard-core fans into bright, inviting boutiques for the whole family.

 

Even better, the books are being read and enjoyed again, not just bought by speculators who tuck them away in plastic bags as a possible investment.

 

It would take a superhero to visit all the comic book stores in metro Detroit over one weekend, so here's a quick browse through five of them with distinct personalities.

 

 

 

Green Brain Comics, Dearborn

It's the question Katie and Dan Merritt get asked all the time: What's the story behind the name of their place?

 

When they bought the business in 1999, it was called Comics Plus. But they wanted something unique, memorable and iconic, a phrase that rolled off the tongue.

 

They wrote a bunch of words down, then paired them to come up with a name that sounded right.

 

Well, it is catchy. If there isn’t a superhero named Green Brain, there should be. The husband and wife have worked to turn their store into an open, inviting space. Their focus is the diversity of comics. They sell the latest Spider-Man, of course. But they also can steer you to intriguing graphic novels and local creations.

 

The Merritts are interested in boosting comics and the city around them. They draw a wide range of customers to Dearborn with special events like a 24-hour marathon where artists work around the clock on 24-page creations.

 

As usual, they’re making a big deal out of Free Comic Book Day. There’ll be visits from artists like James Kochalka (“Monkey vs. Robot”), a live DJ and free Jones Soda while supplies last.

 

They’re also offering extra free comics to those who make donations to some local charities.

 

It’s part of a friendly approach that makes Green Brain popular with customers and competitors. The best part of the job, says Dan, is “working with something that we love and people that share that love.”

 

 

 

Detroit Comics, Ferndale

Like Ferndale itself, Detroit Comics packs more cool things per inch than most spots.

 

Near the front of the store, there’s a vending machine where you can buy artwork for $5 a pop.

 

On a table display, you can’t miss the groovy paper sculpture, “Ego the Living Planet” (from the Fantastic Four), by a Royal Oak maker of paper action figures. And where else can you buy duct-tape wallets made by a 13-year-old Ferndale resident and comic-book bottle-cap magnets crafted by his mom?

 

Like other stores in the new world of comic retailing, Detroit Comics is modern-looking, funky and upbeat.

 

Brian Kelly set up shop in June 2007 with his wife, Lori, who’s credited with the sleek boutique style of the place.

 

She told her husband she wanted a store she wouldn’t be afraid to browse. For women who’ve been dragged to an old-school comic shop by a significant other, it’s an easy request to understand.

 

Brian, who formerly worked in film production, says it’s been a good first year. Clients from Detroit and surrounding suburbs enjoy the store’s upscale touches, including the wall space devoted to rotating art displays and special events like the Christmastime appearance of Metalliclaus, a misbehaving Santa wanna-be. Some local artists are coming to the store for Free Comic Book Day. Later this summer, Wolfman Mac is scheduled for a Dream Cruise appearance there.

 

If you drop by, check out the Roslin/Adama ’08 bumper stickers on the front counter for “Battlestar Galactica” viewers. Hip indeed.

 

 

 

Time Travelers, Berkley

Wow, there’s a lot of stuff inside Time Travelers.

 

Wall-to-wall stuff. Floor-to-ceiling stuff. The overflow of comic books, action figures, collector cards, toys and more fills the nooks and crannies of the 4,000-square-foot store in Berkley.

 

Owner Mike Lester puts the selection at about a million items. “I like to think we’re the Meijer Thrifty Acres of collectibles,” he says.

 

The name Time Travelers evokes the feeling of stumbling onto something that brings back a fond memory, whether it’s the giant rack of “Star Wars” memorabilia or some vintage ’60s toy from “Peanuts.”

 

There are current hot items, too, like anything about Iron Man or Indiana Jones, which are benefiting from the summer movie buzz.

 

The store, which is participating in Free Comic Book Day, has been around since 1990.

 

Asked about his reputation as a tough bargainer (there are comments from fans and critics of the store on the Web), Lester just says that he prices things fairly, so he tends to say no if people ask for deals.

 

He says his bigger-is-better approach to retailing means he offers a lot the smaller stores can’t.

 

But he’d rather talk mood than quantity. He says he sells things that bring back the good times of youth.

 

“When I have a bad day, I look at things like my old comic books and my bad day doesn’t seem so bad,” he says.

 

 

 

Vault of Midnight, Ann Arbor

How did Curtis Sullivan get into comic books as a career?

 

“Huge dork,” says the peppy co-owner of Vault of Midnight in Ann Arbor. “I did model rockets, painted miniatures, built model kits of trains. If it was in the hobby shop, I did it.”

 

The store, which opened in 1996, has been in several locations, including a house and a former gas station. Its current space on pedestrian-packed Main Street is loaded with designer toys and trinkets (like a packet of surly, cigarette-smoking breakfast foods) that give it the atmosphere of a grown-up playland.

 

Although fun products pepper the roomy store’s two floors, Sullivan says comic books, new and vintage, are still the main attraction.

 

“I’d put our comic selection up against anyone,” he says. A current best-seller is the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” series.

 

The smart, laid-back college town vibe ties the whole thing together. The staff has an unofficial contest over who reads the most comics each week, with Sullivan and co-owner Steve Fodale locked in a race.

 

“I’m averaging about 60 books, and he averages 80 and 90,” says Sullivan, who’s also planning a comics-themed public access cable show.

 

On Free Comic Book Day, the store will hold a BattleLore game tournament, and there’ll be Superman ice cream from Washtenaw Dairy.

 

“It was our biggest day ever in sales last year,” says Sullivan, estimating a thousand people dropped in for a visit.

 

 

 

Comic City, Novi, Canton and Pontiac

Jill Smithers recalls when comic books were more of a speculator’s game. People would buy them without ever touching them, the better to preserve their future value.

 

At one point, she thought about putting up a sign that said “Read it.” As Comic City approaches its 15th anniversary next month, she’s happier with today’s climate.

 

“People are coming in; they’re interested in the story; they’re interested in reading,” she says. “Maybe 15 years ago, people wouldn’t know what the story was about.” Jill and her husband, Bob, have built a mini-chain of brightly decorated, family-friendly locations in Novi, Canton and Pontiac.

 

When they started out with one store in Canton, Bob, the real comics buff, initially kept his job in sales at K-B Toys. Jill, a relative novice, worked the counter. Figuring she’d better read the merchandise, she tried out “Sandman.” “I had no idea what I read, but I liked it,” she told her husband.

 

Today, she advises schools and public libraries on their collections and helps parents navigate trends like manga ? what’s this ? for their age-appropriateness. On Free Comic Book Day, Comic City will have raffles with a grand prize of a $100 shopping spree.

 

If you win it, she might recommend a graphic novel like “Pride of Baghdad,” a story inspired by real events that follows several lions who escape an Iraqi zoo after it’s bombed.

 

“You read that and tell me it’s not literature,” she says.

 

 

 

Where do you buy comics?

 

What's your favorite comic book store? Is it included here or are there other local shops you'd recommend? Login or register and leave your comments at the bottom of this story. Tell us where you buy or browse new releases, vintage titles, graphic novels, action figures, designer toys and other memorabilia.

 

[Duffman_Comics]

The best part of the article has nothing to do with the "reporter" (as usual).

 

It's not 1971 : "POW! Comics still pack a punch". Gee, how original and demonstrative of yet another media airhead that just doesn't "get it".

 

 

That aside, great differentiation between the various Detroit stores (thumbs u

[mica]

The best part of the article has nothing to do with the "reporter" (as usual).

 

It's not 1971 : "POW! Comics still pack a punch". Gee, how original and demonstrative of yet another media airhead that just doesn't "get it".

 

 

That aside, great differentiation between the various Detroit stores (thumbs u

I groaned at that as well. But fortunately it doesn't keep happening as some articles have in the past. Great text for the stores.

[cloudofwit]

Usually the writer of the article isn't the same person who wrote the headline (but either way, the airhead label is applicable to the headline writer).