Interesting article from the Boston Globe yesterday. This story isn't just important to comics fans, but to book readers and anyone involved in the print medium.
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| Greg Nicholas and Douglas Toomer browsed new issues at Comicopia in Boston.… (Kayana Szymczak for the Boston Globe) |
Holy Internet, Batman! (Never gonna let that go are they? It's been 45 years since the Batman 60s TV show but to this day stories about comics involve reference to it usually in the form of Holy.. or POW! BAM!...)
Some retailers fear online sales of titles will strip them of revenue from print copies
June 24, 2011|By John Dyer,
Globe Correspondent
WORCESTER — For nearly 40 years, Paul Howley has made his living by selling comic books. That’s Entertainment, his flagship store, employs 20 people and sells more than $500,000 a year in glossy new comics. He displays them stacked floor to ceiling, encouraging customers to browse.
But life as Howley knows it may soon change, as the industry rides a digital wave that has already transformed publishing. DC Comics — publisher of titles featuring Superman and Batman, among other characters — said last month that it will soon start selling digital versions of new comics online, on the same day printed copies are available in stores.
“Once one of my customers buys a comic online, then DC Comics has them forever,’’ Howley said. “They don’t need me. They have no interest in keeping people like us in the middle. This really is, in the long run, cutting our own throat.’’
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE Overall, a good article but the bottom line is no matter the industry you MUST be prepared for change and burying your head in the sand and hoping it will go away will not solve it. It didn't work for Strawberries Records and Tapes stores and it didn't work for Borders.
Finding a way to stay relevant in an increasingly digital world is the key for retailers.
