Comic Store In Your Future – My Walmart Overlords Are Making Me Money

Rod Lamberti of Rodman Comics writes weekly for Bleeding Cool. Find previous columns here.

Changes have to happen. It is human nature to fear change. The recent announcement that Walmart started selling comics with some exclusive content was a sudden change. I was surprised that after I first read about it that Walmart was already set up to start selling comics on July 1st. Which Walmart being Walmart sold them before that. When it was first announced I had customers emailing me and talking to me about it. Some worried about it thinking my store could take a hit business wise. I was shocked that Bendis would be writing his first Batman story and it would be going to Walmart. It is also going to be included with reprinted material for $4.99. My average customer is “okay” with paying $3.99 for a comic. Pass that price point and the higher it goes the less likely they will spend money on a comic. $4.99 to read a Batman Bendis story blunts my customers’ interest. DC is doing these100 page giant comics for $4.99 very oddly for Walmart. The covers from what I have seen are using old artwork from past issues. I love McKone’s Titans cover from back in the day but shouldn’t something new be used? New artwork to get new comic fans? Again, from the cover from the Teen Titans 100 Page Giant, to me it looks confusing to new readers. McKone’s Robin and Superboy are Tim Drake and Conner. The Super Sons have Robin as Damian and Superboy as Jonathan Kent in a story. That is not going to be confusing to new readers. One new Titans story. “Introducing” Sideways? It is not his first appearance. Nothing against Sideways but, he does not have anything to do with the Titans other than being young.

The Superman 100 Page Giant exclusive through Walmart at least looks like it is mostly about Superman. The cover looks like plenty of Superman. Though “Introducing the Terrifics” is misleading. I enjoy the Terrifics, though again they have nothing do to with Superman. In addition, the whole introducing line makes it sound like it is their first appearance. Making people who actually enjoy reading about the Terrifics in this one-shot a lot less likely to look for their series because they will think this is their first and only appearance. Unless, in the comic, it states check out the monthly Terrifics comic.

DC was already selling comics through Walmart in the past, though I tried looking for them in our Ankeny Walmart and never could find them, it didn’t kill the comic industry and I don’t hear anyone saying it hurt it, with what little I am seeing now I don’t see this time of DC selling through Walmart as being any different. Using artwork from years past for covers is cheap. It also says our best talent was from years ago and we have none from our present whose artwork is worth being on this cover.

DC managed to Nerf this in all ways. New material such as Batman by Bendis by itself for $2.99 would have been a bigger reason for comic collectors to track down the comic. By making these 100 pages for $4.99 new people that might be willing to make a habit out of comic collecting will discover that the 100-page format is rare for new comics will get to find out the hard way the average price of a comic book for fewer pages.

After typing all that up I then read this online on Bleedingcool:

“We’re putting new stories in there to attract the current fanbase… and our best-reprinted stories to bring in the more casual fan.”

In my mind, by doing reprinted stories and new stories in the same comic that cancels out what DC is trying to do.

That said I do want that box where when the comics are sold out it shows Superman weeping, that only Walmarts has. I did like the old Alan Moore story that the artwork is from.

On Saturday, I went up to our local Walmart and was surprised to find the 100 page Walmart exclusives. I thought what the heck, I will get the non-damaged ones that are still left, leaving copies hopefully for kids since kids are great comic readers, kids just want to be entertained and are not worried about how mint a comic is. I will throw some on eBay and have some in store for our customers. I put a set of four on eBay after failing to find any previous listings with a buy-it-now for $39.99 plus shipping. I thought I did something wrong with the listing. After listing it, I went to double check it and could not find the listing. Within a few minutes of me listing it, someone bought the set for $39.99. I was stunned. I thought since these had already been published and failing to find past listings that there was not any demand for them. My first search of completed listings was too detailed. I believe I typed in ‘Walmart Bendis Batman 1 100 page giant set’ or something and no one previously had a title like that. My second look at completed listings and I was thinking ‘no way’. The Teen Titans 100 page Walmart exclusive people were buying for $19.99? Sets of all for were going for over $39.99. Wow, I thought. I quickly listed the rest. My wife wanted to go eat in Grimes that night and they have a Walmart so I said great we could stop at Walmart afterwards. Yes, she was thrilled. Of course, then we were hit with the rain that made national news. One of the comics, even though I had it bagged up and under my shirt from the Grimes Walmart, I managed to get wet. It was the Titans one. The other one sold for $19.99. Along with shipping.

I did not do much with the comics I bought from Grimes that night. After taking a long time to get back to my store thanks to the rain, where my wife first picked me up from to go eat we were separated going home since the roads were flooding out. I went through the side roads and made a bad judgment call (I drove through a water covered street where another car had stalled out) I did manage to make it home. My wife ended up staying that night elsewhere and was not happy with me for driving through the water. The other part of the bad judgment call. I used our dog as an excuse to get home. Had a trampoline in our backyard. Just one problem, it was not ours. It was from two houses down and managed to flip into our backyard. Lucky, it did not hit the house or our fence. A few houses down a person did have water coming into his house. The water was in my backyard so I stayed up until two in the morning to see if it was going to make it into my house. Flooding is a change I can live without.

The Walmart exclusive news went from ‘I hope I am right and it does not hurt my sales’ to ‘sweet I am making money off them’ after selling more on Sunday. Odd fact, we can return comics bought from Walmart to Walmart but, we cannot do that with Diamond.

Sold a few in store for just $6.00 and people seemed happy with it. Trying to keep our existing customers happy and make money at the same time.

Again, changes are scary. As humans, we like to stick to what we know. Jobs that some are unhappy with people tend to stay working at because the “evil” they know is better than what they do not know.

Getting new customers is a challenge because we are trying to be a part of change in their regular habits. People that pick up their comics weekly are in a good habit for us. We have people that always have trouble with their pull boxes. It is a habit that we want them to change but they do not.

I am set in my ways. I still believe that comic stores can thrive. That comics have a lot of potential. I believe sales of comics should be a lot better. At times, I feel like Glass Joe from the classic Punch Out game. Body blow! Body Blow! Even after beat downs here at the business I still get up and believe. Granted sometimes I may be seeing triple and wonder how much more I am able to take but I still believe.

Periodically I like to make changes to the store. Try to keep it fresh so to speak. I had been wanting more glass cases for a while. Had a person come in and said he had two he was looking to sell. I figured what the heck. Two more glass cases meant moving other fixtures and making everything work. Took a lot more work than I thought it would. Went to pick them up and, of course, a downpour of rain was going on. Felt bad because while doing a lot of moving Darin Henry of Sitcomics called me to talk about comics. That is someone pushing his comics, which is great. He even offered to take returns of his comics that we had already ordered. I told him that I would use what we had left for auctions for our upcoming Rod Deals to try to get people into the line. The fact that he called did surprise me. The number of times I have spoken with people on the phone from Marvel or DC over the years is none. Did go to Kansas City and was able to eat with a group of store owners with DC’s Dan Didio last year.

I believe that every few years we should change things up in the store to keep it “fresh” so to speak. Change can be good. As I have stated before I keep hoping for positive changes that boost comic sales.

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