The Other Comic Books

Want to find the next big comic book thing for your store? Gonna scoop the movie studios by knowing about their mega-selling movie-tie-in before they do? TDmonthly Magazine talked with publishers, distributors and store owners to find out how retailers can find those up-and-comers that will bring the fanboys — and family-conscious shoppers — back to their stores week in and week out.

Comic book conventions, like Comic-Con in San Diego, are the first place manager Tony Edwards looks to stock the shelves of Golden Apple, one of the biggest comic book stores in Los Angeles. He prefers some of the very smallest self-published titles, which are debuted at these shows to find distribution and retailers. He notes that “many of the best alternatives have started out small,” citing work by The Hernandez Brothers and Craig Thompson as prime examples.

“We’ll try them out, and even when some of them go on to big publishing situations, many still like to try their new material with us first,” Edwards said. As for publishers that visit the shows to pick up titles, “Oni Press nurtures some of the little guys, as does Slave Labor (Graphics).”

Marty Grosser, an editor at Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest English language comic book distributor in the world, looks for “artists who have new books that are professional, well-written, and, especially with a consistent art style,” when he goes to comic book shows. “Art sells a book first.”

Grosser sees all-ages comics as one of the biggest trends sweeping the industry. “Not superheroes, which many claim to be all ages, but aren’t really, but books for younger readers. There’s not a great many out there,” Grossman noted, though he added that Owly, put out by Top Shelf Productions, and Archie, published by Archie Comics Entertainment, have always catered to this demographic.

Debbie Bishop, publisher and CEO of Angel Gate Press, has created a whole company that’s geared towards the all-ages market. “There aren’t a lot of companies doing family (8 and up). That was our goal: more kids. We throw in interesting science and trivia tidbits.”

These tidbits include everything from glossaries to geography. “There’s lots of action, but no boobs, no cussing,” Bishop continued. “And because of that, we’re finding whole new retailers that know they won’t get into trouble with Angel Gate comics. The libraries, too. And one motion picture studio is developing The Lost Shadow Boys right now.”

Looking for the latest comic book trend? Family may be it. What follows are a few keen titles picked by the experts themselves.