PRINTRock Bottom Comics picks up the slack as Barnes & Noble pulls DC comics
The future of comics might be digital, but the demand for print editions endures
Photo courtesy of DC Comics
November 17, 2011 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Comic book characters are known for their strength and dexterity, but after a recent Barnes & Noble announcement, it is obvious these superheroes are not prepared for everything.
According to Publishers Weekly, Barnes & Noble permanently pulled 100 DC Comic titles from its shelves on Oct. 7 after the comic company agreed to give digital copyrights to Amazon. Although customers can special order comic books from Barnes & Noble’s website, digital comic books will now be available on Amazon.com and the Kindle Fire, which was released this week.
However, small comic book stores, such as Rock Bottom Comics in Columbia, are not suffering. Store clerk John Doerflinger says he thinks sales of print editions will jump, specifically around the holiday season. He says he has already witnessed a loyal community fan base since he started working at the shop five years ago. “I know half of my customers on a first name basis,” Doerflinger says. “I’ve watched their kids grow up.”
Comic book fans scour Rock Bottom Comics’ shelves for the glossy gems, including Superman, Batman and other stories of heroes and heroines. Fans appreciate holding their exclusive copies and have cherished the books since childhood. Ryan Anderson, 26, enjoyed reading Age of the Apocalypse, an X-Men spin-off, as a kid. He stopped reading it once he grew into adulthood, but he is starting to buy copies again to frame and hang on the walls of his home.
“It’s good artwork, and (Rock Bottom Comics) is a good store,” he says in regards to actually being able to obtain a print copy of the comics. “I don’t want the books to fade away.”
Although the existence of comics is not fading away anytime soon, printed comic books will not be as readily available in national retailers as they are in local comic shops.
Adults are reminded of their own childhood when they first walk into Rock Bottom Comics. DC Comic titles, including Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, are stacked on blue book shelves and are individually wrapped in plastic like Christmas presents. Doerflinger stands behind the clerk’s desk and character figurines hang on the wall above.
Although he acknowledges the popularity of digital comic books, he says there will always be fans who want hard copies. He says the retailer’s cut is “childish,” especially because DC Comics relaunched all 52 of their No.1 issues this summer.
Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman received summer makeovers — sleeker costumes and more muscle — copies of the Justice League were reissued on Aug. 31, according to USA Today. The other 51 titles were released in stores nationwide in September.
Although Josh Nichols, the web developer who built the Mid-Missouri Comics Collective website, admits he enjoys the visuals used in comic books on his iPad, he purchases his printed books from Barnes & Noble when he does not want to wait for an online order to arrive.
“Barnes & Noble is removing a way for me to get a comic,” Nichols says. “If they don’t want my money, I prefer to give it to my local comic book shop anyway.”
