Steve's Comic Relief responds!
In an earlier post I complained about what I saw as an insult to customers by the manager of Steve's Comic Relief in nearby Lawrenceville. Steve Gursky, whose name is invoked by the Steve's Comic Relief stores, responded -- and I have to give him credit for being a stand-up guy for doing it. Here's an excerpt:As the namesake, if not currently the owner, of Steve's Comic Relief, I can assure you that not only do I not distain comics, but am a strong advocate of them as an entertainment, education and social service medium. The union of words and pictures is a powerful medium which can tell stories in a unique and mesmerizing way... I'm pleased that our reputation is strong enough for you to give the Mercer store another chance. In addition to being "independent friendly" Steve's Comic Relief has always tried to be "customer friendly". Without our customers there is no Steve's Comic Relief.Readers of this blog know I value good customer service. The retail comic industry has for probably a decade been in a strange situation: the best customer service often comes from the people who know the products the best, yet that knowledge seldom translates into increased sales or even good business sense. You can love comics and sequential art, but you may not be able to keep your business open with love.
Another thing that's happened in the last couple decades, possibly fueled by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is the emergence of what Steve refers to as "independent" publishers. This basically means "not Marvel or DC." There's more on the shelves than in the days when you bought your comics from a turnstile in the drugstore. A LOT more. And besides the Turtles, independents have brought us titles as well-recognized as the Big Names of the Big Two: Hellboy (pictured), Spawn, and others. Competition has forced the Big Two to improve their product lines, resulting in a slew of recent movies for Marvel. Competition has also made the retail comics outlet a potentially more interesting and attractive place to shop. (Steve's in Lawrenceville fulfills that potential.)Retail competition, however, has forced the store owner -- even the comics lover -- to reach out to a "mainstream" audience (as opposed to people who read the Big Two as kids, or who are currently reading comics though in their 40s, both of which describe me).
Three big changes in the industry -- and that doesn't even account for the rise of the Internet and video, handheld, and PC games competing largely for the same audience's sequential art dollars. The effort made by Steve Gursky to reach out to a single customer and lowly blogger like myself tells me that he may have what it takes to survive these changes and prosper in the long term. I wish him well. And he's invited me to visit his store in nearby Levittown, PA, so as soon as I can find Levittown I'll take my kids and do that. :-)
Labels: young entrepreneurs
posted by Ron @ 9:17 AM
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2 Comments:
I've been there! terrific shop. but i don't see the connection between increased competition from other graphic-fiction publishers and the numerous DC/marvel movies out now, or did i misunderstand...?
"Competition has forced the Big Two to improve their product lines, resulting in a slew of recent movies for Marvel."
I guess I mean that Marvel and DC are being forced to get themselves out there with more than just comics, to fend off indie competition. Hence the Marvel movies. Get your name out there by any means necessary. :-)
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