Retail Therapy
Articles
Bud Plant is calling it a day: A conversation with the comics retail pioneer
Bud Pant’s Incredible Exit Interview by Zach Rabiroff.
Gabe Fowler on Desert Island’s past, present and future
Zach Rabiroff talked with Desert Island owner Gabe Fowler in the wake of the store being kicked out of its home and a successful GoFundMe campaign to find a new location.
Flying Colors Comics
Shop owner Joe Field talks about his long history in comics retail business, and what his own experience might say about the state of the industry today.
Pure Folly Books
Retail Therapy returns to talk to Edward Uvanni, owner of Pure Folly Books in Hudson, New York, about his decision to close the store.
Sunset Falls on Sunset Park: Joseph Koch on Closing his Comics Warehouse
The site of countless comics-buying pilgrimages will vanish this summer, as the Koch Comics Warehouse, a towering trove of pamphlets, books and everything else, closes down for good. Zach Rabiroff chats with proprietor Joseph Koch about this decision, and what happens next.
Retail Therapy Pre-Mortem Edition: Geoffrey’s Comics and Hi De Ho Comics
In light of the news that two California comics retail institutions will be closing at the end of the year, Zach sits down with Geoffrey Patterson II of Geoffrey’s Comics and Hi De Ho Comics.
Morgan’s Comics
Out in North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Morgan’s Comics seeks to be a community gathering place. Zach sits down with Morgan Albritton herself to hear about how it’s going.
Dreamers & Make-Believers
It’s hard enough running a comic book store during a pandemic, but how about opening one? Dreamers & Make-Believers pulled if off, going from pop-up retailer to brick-and-mortar in Baltimore, and Zach’s got the story.
JHU Comic Books
Zach is on Staten Island today, grilling the owners of a longtime New York retail chain about taking over and staying alive.
Laughing Ogre Comics
We catch up with Gib Bickel, manager of the Eisner-winning Columbus, OH comic shop Laughing Ogre Comics, about decades of history, the love of a good story, and the Ogre’s perspective on today’s distribution-related challenges.
Golden Apple Comics
Zach checks in on the Los Angeles celebrity comics mecca that started his own personal journey, Golden Apple Comics. Ryan Liebowitz is on hand. Websites, distribution woes, publishing endeavors, start-up production companies, and decades of comics history are all up for discussion.
Black Cat Comics
It’s off to Salt Lake City to speak with Greg Gage about back issues, what it’s really like to deal with all those new distributors, and how companies like Marvel & DC might get things back on track: the answer probably isn’t in a movie theater!
Mile High Comics
Zach speaks with one of the most well-known comics retailers in the world, Chuck Rozanski, who has refused to let capitalism, right-wing zealots, a coal-covered floor or a brain bleed stop him from doing what he loves: running Mile High Comics.
MyComicShop.Com
Zach speaks to comics retail fixture Buddy Saunders about how he went from the early days of comics mail order to online comics behemoth – and all the direct market stores he ran in the meantime.
Atomic City Comics
Retail Therapy returns to Pennsylvania to take a look at a different perspective on selling comics in Philadelphia, as Zach sits down with Michael Yates of Atomic City Comics.
Big Bang Comics
Ireland’s Big Bang Comics reports to Zach and TCJ about the changes they’ve seen in the old school single-issue comics retail model, and whether a periodical-focused store has an economic future.
Partners and Son
Come on in! Zach Rabiroff visits Partners and Son, Philadelphia’s curated zine shop and gallery space, and the force behind the Philly Comics Expo.
Wig Shop
Jeff Alford, the human being behind Wig Shop, shares how his retail journey as a cool website featuring comics he likes and wants to get behind has transitioned from a fun hobby to a legitimate business over the last few years.
Pulp 716 Coffee & Comics
Keith Silva catches up with Pulp 716 about how the pandemic has changed–and in some cases improved–sales at their two locations, how they deal with people new to comics, and how to best make money off your haters.
Ogre’s Grove
Keith talks to Justin Sinnott (the “Ogre” of “Ogre’s Grove”) about the recent shift in distribution, and how he thinks it might actually improve things.
Fatbottom
Nicholas catches up with Nico Rodríguez about how things have been at Fatbottom, the popular Barcelona comic shop in the wake of Spain’s response to the spread of COVID-19.
Sterling Silver Comics
Longtime comics retailer Mike Sterling walks Keith through how COVID-19 has impacted his California based shop, Sterling Silver Comics.
Lambiek
Nicholas Burman visits Amsterdam’s legendary comic shop Lambiek for a bit of their history, as well as their prescription for handling their COVID-19 influenced present.
Comic Book Hideout
A lifetime in comics has prepared Glynnes Pruett of California’s Comic Book Hideout for just about anything, and that includes dealing with a global pandemic.
