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Dealing Cool #6: Black Cat Comics and a Funny Cat Anecdote

Published Sun, 13 May 2012 09:00:48 -0500

Greg Gage of Black Cat Comics provided a previous Dealing Cool retailer perspective, and now it's time to revisit his shop for new developments. What's changed in the Salt Lake City comics scene since our last sojourn into his shop? Prepare to enjoy a description of a great multi-store promotion and a story about the importance of stocking hand sanitizer…

MOVERS & SHAKERS

What are the hot items in your store this month? Even more interesting, what would be an item (or items) that surprised you?

As I mentioned last month, Daredevil is just killing. Every issue is seeing a sellout and it's success is fueling the Punisher and Avenging Spider-Man by including them in the crossover Marvel's having between them. All-Star Western is one of DC's New 52 surprises. Jimmy Palmiotti was born to write Jonah Hex and it continues to sell and read well. Maybe the biggest surprise lately is how far the mighty Justice League has fallen. The removal of Jim Lee on pencils has just destroyed sales. I knew it would hurt, but now people are feeling let down, betrayed even, that the art style has changed so dramatically. It's still good art, it's just that when you have one of the biggest artists in comics on a title, it would be a smart move to get more than six issues out of him.

SHOWING INITIATIVE

Was there any particular sales program or push in the past month, and how did it go over? What would you do differently? Any tips for other retailers on strategies they can duplicate elsewhere?

The obvious sales program to talk about is Avengers Vs. X-Men. Marvel did a great job of advertising the book and pushing the battle between two of comics' biggest teams. We had never done an early/midnight type launch before. The market in Utah just can't support that sort of thing. But since Marvel allowed retailers to sell AVX at 8:00 PM instead of midnight, we decided to give it a shot. Once again, fliers and social media announcements were key in getting the word out to customers, both regular and casual. We also decided to do it in conjunction with another store in the area, us being Avengers, them being the X-Men side, so we saw a lot of crossover customers wanting both teams' swag and bumping sales at both locations. Thanks again to Dr. Volts for the fun time!

HYPE VS. REALITY

Considering sales and customer feedback, how did a particular big-ticket series or event perform at your store?

Touching again on the AVX promotion, feedback was astounding and business was very good for that night. I heard a lot of comments on how fun a friendly bit of competition was from comic stores. We actually advertised each other's stores in a sort of battle royale theme. Usually, as I'm sure you all know, the level of contention between shops can get a little crazy, so it was refreshing for customers to know we can all get along! They thought it was great fun to visit both stores and get goodies from each. We also agreed to give a portion of the sales for that night to a local charity that does grief counseling for children that have lost members of their family or someone close to them. That alone increased the turnout and made it an incredibly fun (and profitable) night.

GUILTY PLEASURE

What's a favorite pick for your store, something you wholeheartedly endorse as a high quality and entertaining product?

Having stated previously that I'm a huge Tiny Titans fan, I'm pleased to say that an advanced look of Superman Family by the same creators is helping to ease my sadness of the Titans' demise. It's important to have an all ages book that doesn't look down it's nose at the audience it's intended for. Another I would put in that category is Reed Gunther. It's an Image book by Shane and Chris Houghton. Gunther tells the story of the titular cowboy that rides a tame bear who also happens to be his good friend. They get into all sorts of all ages mischief together. At times it can be a little dark, but it's always a hit with kids. One more book that I can't recommend enough is Image's Li'l Depressed Boy. There's just something about this book that connects with me. The art is perfect and the writing is top notch. It's just all there and the word needs to be spread about this terrific title.

THE DOWNRIGHT STRANGE

Any humorous observations from behind the counter from the past few weeks?

We do a lot of collection purchasing from customers and people just looking to unload their old stuff. As any retailer knows, most of what we see are stacks and stacks of overprinted books from the 90's that many, unfortunately, still think are worth their weight in gold. A few weeks ago, I had a gentleman bring six boxes of just that in. I started thumbing through them just to see if maybe there was the odd book worth a buck or two, when I began to notice a horrible stench. I pulled a few books out and saw some very bad water damage on the bottoms of them. I then noticed that the majority of them were like that. I then noticed a cat turd in one of the boxes and realized that, no, there was no water damage. But there was plenty of urine damage. I politely told him that I wouldn't be interested in his books, but thanks for coming in. And I didn't help him carry the boxes back out. And I ran out of hand sanitizer that afternoon. All in a day's work!

Greg Gage
Black Cat Comics
2261 Highland Drive, Suite A
Salt Lake City, Utah 84106
Phone: 801-461-4228
E-Mail: cybergage817@gmail.com
Website: www.blackcat-comics.com
Twitter: @blackcatcomics