Earlier this month a comic-loving friend told me Walmart is planning to put dedicated graphic novel sections in its superstores across North America.
With surprising animation, the normally introverted Batman enthusiast painted a picture of doom and gloom for the future business of local comic book stores.
The skies have opened! The end is nigh! The dark night returns! he cried.
I assured him there is no need to call in the Avengers. A mega-competitor like Walmart can be daunting, but Centretown’s quirky comic shops are more than up to the challenge.
As the comic universe continues to surge in popular society, these small spaces offer loyal geeks a gateway to a more genuine dimension.
The Comic Book Shoppe at Bank Street and Lisgar Street is as crowded and colourful as the pages of a classic X-Men issue. Punchy tunes fill the store – everything from rock classics to pop-punk to the one hit wonders of the nineties.
Competitors and friends duel it out on game nights in the basement. Shelves are stocked with new and old comic issues, waxy action figures, 20-sided rainbow dice, Magic cards, superhero underwear and more.
The guys and gals stocking them have special abilities of their own.
Need to know the issue where (SPOILER ALERT!) Spiderman’s sweetheart Gwen Stacy falls to untimely her death? They have the answer. Want to debate which obscure antihero is most likely to defeat the Man of Steel in a sword fight? They can do that too.Walmart would be hard-pressed to match the staff’s knowledge and customer service.
The promise of 40 per cent off the cover price may convince superstore browsers to convert into new readers, but the retail giant won’t be able to replicate the livelier atmosphere of local comic book stores.
Although the Silver Snail a few blocks south of the Comic Book Shoppe dropped out of the market last fall, Comet Comics, a new store, began its own story a month later just outside of Centretown at 1167 Bank St. Snail supporters have slowly moved their way there.
The announcement that Walmart is teaming up with Diamond Book Distributors, one of the largest distributors of graphic novels and pop-culture merchandise, comes after the second best year in DBD sales history and just before the release of Deadpool, the latest mask to smash the box offices.
Marvel Studio’s cinematic success is spawning a growing comic culture in the human world. No longer are dark demons and selfless saviours a niche refuge designed soley for avid nerds.
Comic books have taken over Hollywood’s big screens and are edging into the small screens that stream Netflix.
Comic style artworks are even popping up in galleries across Centretown.
It’s reasonable Walmart wants to tap into the popular market.
Carving out aisles for wholesale graphic novels adds another level of commercialization to the comic arts, but it cannot replicate the passion and community of the local geek store.
A fantastical subculture cannot be sold at x dollars and 99 cents. Magic does not fit into the realm of industrial white walls and discount household items.
For the Batman enthusiast who visits the Centretown shop every Wednesday on new comic day and sometimes Tuesdays “just in case,” it’s about much more than a cover price.