What I Do In The Shadows...
of the Comic Book Store
Get your mind out of the gutter… It’s not that kind of post.
I work at my Local Comic Shop three days a week and have some interesting roles to play each day. I’m sure there are more efficient ways to do many of these tasks, but when the store has been around over 50 years some ways are handed down one generation of Comic Shop gremlins to the next generation Comic Shop gremlins.
Every store is different so your mileage and your shop may differ. Professional driver on a closed course. May not be valid in some states (California tends to be on that list).
Shhh… it’s a secret
Comics arrive to the shop sometime towards the end of the week. When I started these boxes wouldn’t be touched until Monday. That has changed. Comics from each distributor are checked in and sorted usually this is done before Monday, so when I walk in I have to deal with a couple of long boxes filled with this week’s comics. Each person checking in comics has their own way of doing it which means I sometimes have a mess to deal with. As a former school teacher, I am used to being thanked for my flexibility so compared to school stuff this can be mildly annoying, but survivable. They are usually in alphabetical order which is not the order they are put out on the wall. The person checking in the comics is given a list with the title, variant cover, and how many we should have in the shipping box. If they just put them in the boxes in that order my life is a bit easier.
Monday, Monday Can’t Trust that Day
I could do this once the boxes are sorted, but that would actually be more confusing since people don’t pick up their pulls on one specific day and we can’t sell new comics until Wednesday. So on Monday I show up and start by pulling all the boxes we have for customers who are regulars and have comics pulled. There are currently nine short boxes for these people. One for legacy customers, seven for regular pull customers, and one labeled “extended” these are people who don’t pick up their books regularly and have so many comics it causes problems when integrated into our regular pull customer boxes. I tend to refer to these as the “Comic U-Stor” or “imaginary” customer boxes. There might be a perfectly valid reason for them to not pick up their books, but I’m not aware of it- I’m not high enough up the food chain or maybe “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy” Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 5) 🙄
Recently we started to mark customers who hadn’t picked up their comics, a colored Post-it denotes how long their comics have been in the box. So I go through and mark those who are still there from the week before. At the end of the week someone is supposed to call to remind those who are overdue that they have comics and ask (politely) if they still want to have comics pulled. After an undisclosed number of weeks and calls (the official rule is two) their comics will be returned to the floor. 🙄 I have been reporting the data, but after weeks of just getting the response of rolled eyes & exasperated sighs, I’ve stopped. It doesn’t seem to make a difference. We’ve switched over to email updates, but many of these folks who are imaginary customers haven’t been in to give us their email address - since they are imaginary.
After updating the comics still in the boxes I’m given a list of the comics that have to be pulled from each distributor and the names of who want them. I count the names and write the number on the sheet. There are a few people who either work for the shop, used to work for the shop, or inhabit another dimension (a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind) I go through and mark these names so I can deal with them before I do anything with the normal pulls.
Once I’ve gone over each distributor’s list I start counting the physical comics I need to fill the orders along with any ratioed variant covers that weren’t pulled when the comics were sorted. Ratioed variants are variant covers that shops get if they order a certain number of a title. Comics are pulled and put into a box. This is when I usually deal with the special folks, putting their comics wherever they are supposed to go. That way I only have to create a portal to the netherworld a handful of times instead of for every title.
Pulling Comics
When I started we would put Post-it notes on a comic with the person’s name, phone number and the date it was on sale (that Wednesday). Each week we’d write a note for each person… I suggested we try something different and use a Silver Age backing board with the name and phone number on it. That way we could save time each week by reusing these boards. Special notes could also be put on these. We have customers who want their comics bagged and boarded, those who don’t want to be called, or other things.
From here it’s pretty much pull the comics, grab the board for the person who wants it, put them in a bag, then put the bag into the box in alphabetical order. Yes, we have dividers to help keep things organized. If the person hasn’t picked their comics from the previous week I find their bag and add comics to it. Rinse & repeat for every title and variant cover. Rinse and repeat for each distributor.
Size Matters
Some things don’t fit in a short box. These get marketed as “O/S” or oversized. I put a Post-it on it with the customer’s name, phone number and the date. An “O/S” Post-it goes on the customer’s board so the person giving them their comics knows that they have other books. Usually these are things like Conan which is magazine size. These get put in the Oversized box behind the counter along with the other pull boxes ready for people to pick up their comics on New Comic Book Day - Wednesday!
The Alphabet is not the rule, it’s more like a guideline.
Once this is done I consolidate the distributors and put everything in “Rack Order.” Rack order is a mysterious thing which only makes sense to a few select people. You know that quote from Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5. A few comics end up with sections- Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, and X-Men have their related titles grouped together along with a few others. Mature, and All Ages Comics are also grouped together. Your local comic shop may do things differently. I know some put each weeks new comics in one section and then integrate them into the rack the next week. Others have their comics in pure alphabetical order… I’m just a simple comic shop gremlin and use the Nuremberg defense when asked why we do things the way we do.
Just Another Tuesday
I come in later on Tuesday to get the rack ready. This means I look again at the rack list and see how many comics are new and need space on the three walls of comics that comprise “the rack.”
I will go through the rack to check space available and see what needs to be rolled off (moved to the back issue boxes) or if something needs to be ordered. We should only have the last three issues of a comic on the rack- anything older than that should get rolled off to our back issue boxes on the floor. If any of the three past issues are sold out, I list it so if it can be ordered it is ordered. Could we check our sales vs. our orders electronically? Yes, but I have been told that isn’t as accurate as a a physical count- I use the Nuremberg defense here.
I will then start making space for new comics. Moving comics to make room for new titles and variants. Another thing that seems to be more of a thing are second, third, eighth printings which need room also.
I usually start at the front of the alphabet (the east wall) move to the end of the alphabet (westwall). From there I deal with the south wall. I make spaces clean up the comics already there (straighten each title making sure each issue on display can be seen) and if need be I will place other comics in the space as holders and “NEW” signs to denote the space needed. This means pretty much touching and/or moving everything. I then put out the comics - but I have gotten my hand slapped for having all the comics out too early, since they can’t be sold until Wednesday. So I can’t really start putting things out until 7:00. Inefficiency is something I’m going to have to work on.
It Must Be Thursday… I Never Could Get the Hang of Thursdays
I work behind the counter on Thursdays so I’m usually either helping people or doing other duties as assigned. The day starts out with me powering on stuff like the display lights and TV loop. I also put up all the chairs behind the counter, requiring me to stand. When you sit there you aren’t seen as people come in, and you can’t properly greet people since you can’t see them either. The young people working like to sit, and look at their phones. I’ve set an alarm so I know when to unlock the door, and flip the sign to “Open.” Before that I’ll see what might have been left for me from Wednesday. I tend to make a few❓tags to put on things I don’t know why they are where they are. More as reminders to the Wednesday crew to clean up stuff before they leave. I’ll also take the boards from pull customers who picked up on Wednesday and alphabetize them to help cut my work on Monday. Then it’s wait around to say “Welcome in! Is there anything I can help you with?” It’s funny when I come in after the store opens, because whoever is working is sitting behind the counter head down and just yells a welcome out without knowing it’s me. It’s basically it’s like this disembodied voice shouting at you. 🙄 “ I am the great and powerful OZ… Welcome to the comics shop and pay no attention the the person behind the curtain.”
Other Duties as Assigned
Sometimes there will be comics that need to be “bagged and tagged” these are older comics that have been sorted by value. These need to be put into a bag, taped close, and priced. Roll offs might be in a box also. Just like older back issues these are bagged and tagged. If I have help, someone else might do this when they arrive.
Once everything is bagged and tagged these comics need to get out on the floor. There also might be some books waiting in the “New Back Issue” box or the “Bus Stop” box. The “Bus Stop” is a place for customers to put back issues they changed their mind on giving us the opportunity to put them back where they actually belong instead of wherever the customer thinks they should go.
Throughout the day there are people coming in - some Thursday regulars (Rick, Phil, Daniel to name a few) - one reason for having comics pulled is you don’t have to worry about missing something that came out Wednesday. 😁 This is a chance to catch up with them. Then again it’s also time to talk with new customers and try to help them find what they want.
Typical Questions
Throughout the day people either call or come in with questions that after a while seem to be Deja Vu all over again.
Do you have Pokémon cards? Sometimes, but we are small potatoes so the big box stores get them more frequently than we do. We limit customers to one pack- but we don’t add anything to the MSRP like many shops.
Are you buying comics? The shop might consider looking at comics from the 1960’s or before. But right now probably not. We don’t have the manpower to go through everything in the back room as it is.
Do you have (pick random comic)? Sometimes the customer knows exactly what they want, other times it’s like going into a library and saying “I’m looking for a book. I don’t remember the author or the title, but it has a blue cover.” While we don’t have our inventory digitally, I will try to figure out what you want and find it for you. If I can’t find it while you are in the store, I promise I probably will locate it 20 minutes after you leave.
Do you have (pick random recent “hot” comic)? Umm… if it isn’t on the rack probably not. I know since I put the comics out. Sadly, I usually check and have to answer - “We had it yesterday, but it sold out.”
This one is rare since most people don’t know it even exists, but once they do…Can I see your “To Be Displayed” box? This is like a secret menu item. This is the box of higher priced (above $10) that haven’t been put out yet. It’s very random, and you never know what is in there unless you look you can’t look unless you ask.
The biggest thing is - ask. No matter the shop. Unless you are being obnoxious we will try to help you. Each person who works at a comic shop has their own area of expertise- I’ll let you know if it isn’t something I normally read or know much about. That doesn’t mean I won’t do everything to help you, it just means I’m probably not as knowledgeable as you are. My colleagues may look like they are busy (on their phone) or doing a really good job of ignoring you. Still ask them, they know more than you might think they do.
It was amusing one day a lady came in wanting to speak to the owner about something (he was at lunch) she had pretty much written me off as some loser who works at a comic shop. Over the conversation she mentioned that she had gotten her degree in Education while her late husband was focused on buying comics. I guess I was supposed to be impressed. I replied that I had a Masters Degree in Educational Administration and had been a classroom teacher for 35 years… Her body language and demeanor changed almost immediately and everything that I had been saying before suddenly wasn’t the ramblings of some idiot, but taken as I actually might know what I’m talking about. I chuckled as she left the store. The old don’t judge a book by its cover had played out.
I’ll spend the off time trying to keep things organized, either restocking supplies, or going through the floor back issues and making sure they are in some kind of logical order… see Hamlet Act 1, Scene 5.
Cartoonist Club
One Thursday a month the shop welcomes in artists of any age or ability to sit around and draw for 90 minutes. It’s a safe social time to welcome in the community. The idea is to create a ‘zine or anthology comic with everyone’s work in it sometime in the near future. I’ve told the group at the first meeting it takes more than 90 minutes to make a comic book so this is a long term project- no rush. Maybe we can do it as an annual thing. We meet for the second time this week and we’ll talk about it
Closing Time
The shop closes at 8:00pm so we start the process a little bit before that. Usually leaving the owner in the back room finishing out paperwork for the day.
It’s not too stressful and sometimes I do have to find things to do. One thing I try to avoid is sitting down staring at my phone or reading. There is so much that could be done around the shop that I feel that taking a break like that is wasting valuable time. Then again I’m Gen X so I have a different work ethic. I also feel that if I’m at work, I should be working even if it’s just straightening up the rack. Having been a school teacher I’m used to not being able to take a break, so when my colleagues do I just have to chuckle a bit.
I don’t know all the ins and outs of some things, I’m just a worker bee. I know there are probably more efficient ways to do a lot of what needs to be done, but while I was fairly proficient with computers in my past life, I don’t have access to what we are using to be able to see how it could be improved. For example it looks like the pull list I receive on Monday is an Excel spreadsheet and the names are just pasted into a single cell. Legacy customers and those unique folks tend to be first (but not always) and then other customers are added sometimes in alphabetical order, sometimes not. When asked about it, I was told it would be too difficult to update. Alphabetizing to the third letter also seems to be difficult. Then again after spending time as a classroom teacher and then a “Special Area” teacher I know that each job has different stresses. Classroom teachers think the Art, Music , PE teachers have it easy. They just have it different. So since I don’t know what goes one in the background, I probably don’t have a clear idea of what would really work better. After over 50 years change is hard and I feel people are still recovering from moving things to the computer/internet. It is night and day from working at the LEGO Store where everything was on the computer and I like not having to deal with some of the strange corporate rules, it’s refreshing even though it can be a bit frustrating. I’m not perfect, and the people I work with do a great job at what they do, I just have to chuckle sometimes, mostly because of my age and experience… it reminds me I’m just old.
I love reading behind-the-scenes "tea" (as the kids say)!
It takes a special person to do these jobs. In industry it's called 'logistics' and the job can be described simply as 'everything about parts.' I mean everything. From organizing assembly, warehouses, packaging, work flow, re-ordering, knowing an amazing amount of acronyms and part numbers and whatever else the 'Standard Operating Practices Manual'calls out (at times called 'boss'). It takes special folks to do this well. And Bruce has it down to a science!