Standing Room Only.

I’ve got to admit, there’s not many comic shops around my area pre eBay there used to be quite a lot of them. These days there’s Another World (aka Forbidden Planet Wolverhampton) and Nostalgia and Comics which is owned by a company called Forbidden Planet International. To make matters more complicated, there’s even a shop in Birmingham called Forbidden Planet which isn’t related to Forbidden Planet at all.
Apart from Birmingham comic fairs which I go to on and off basis, I first met independent comic dealer Rich Griffiths back in 2001 where he used to own a shop in Brierley Hill, Classic Collectables mainly selling action figures, statues and comics. The shop he used to have was quite cramped with all the collectables crammed into various spaces, there wasn’t much room to walk about in but Rich always had a comic, graphic novel or even an action figure I was after.

To this day I’m still amazed how he organises the shop, he’s probably someone who knows where everything is. He’s now based in Stourbridge, and he’s running Comics N Toys which again, like his last shop, could do with some space, but still it’s got loads of stuff that is quite hard to come by these days and always offers good bargains and that's why it's one of my favourite shops. An opinionated dealer we’ve spoken many times about films, toys, and comics. As part of an interview, Rich spoke about his shop, DC’s new relaunch and his thoughts for next year. As we spoke customers began coming in now this was a tight situation....

Did you want to be a comic artist as opposed to selling comics? And do you think many people who do this kind of job want to be in the industry?
Originally, yeah. I basically couldn’t get any work after I left college. I think most of them want to work in comics. I think we’re all failed comic book artists! (Laughs.)

How many customers do you get here?
On average it’s hard to say because it really does vary, especially being next to the college. You’ll get people coming in and out all the time. Average wise, I’ve got twenty or thirty regulars. You’ll get so many picking up comics, and then they’ll suddenly disappear when they finish college, and then the next bunch will come in. You might get girls come in for Manga books and I get people coming in from the street because there’s a new film out and they want to know more about it.

How you think independent shops like yourself compare to the chains like the two Forbidden Planet franchise and Travelling Man stores?
It depends. I get a lot of customers from a shop in Birmingham because they’re too expensive. That’s the thing it always makes me laugh – you can surely afford to do these comics a lot cheaper. If I can afford to do them a lot cheaper, then surely you can. What is hard is that Forbidden Planet, the chain, is owned by Titan publishing and, obviously, Titan publishes trade paperbacks and you can’t match their prices. And not many people realise the connection between FP and Titan.

What are your bestselling titles?
Batman and Green Lantern titles at the moment, and Spider-Man, of course. Spawn still sells, as does anything Robert Kirkman does – especially the Walking Dead trades.

Do you think that the investor era is coming back?
There are still a few people who speculate. It’s hard to say how many people are going to speculate on the new DC stuff. I reckon a few of them will just buy the number#1s just to put them away.

With DC re-launching, do you think the company will keep its promise of releasing print and digital at the same time?
Well, if anything it’s going to be the other way around. Digital will come out before the print, but I can’t see them doing it. I would also say that if the print’s late, then the digital’s going to be late as well – but most people want something tangible to hold onto. They prefer a comic to an iPad or a laptop. None of my customers seem that bothered, and most of mine are old school comic collectors. I think in a few years we’ll know if it’s taken off or not.

From a retailer’s point of view, what are thoughts on the British comic scene?

It’s pretty much just 2000AD when you think about it! The talent’s here because it’s all going to America. There’s nothing coming out over here anymore. It’s not like in the past when we had titles like Toxic, Deadline and various other attempts with underground comics and magazines. Clint’s a weird one – it’s another one that people go on and off it. Obviously people went into it because of the Kick Ass thing, and a lot of people are annoyed with Mark Millar, with Kick Ass 2 taking so bloody long to come out.

What would you like to see from publishers in 2012?
Just keep the quality going and people will buy it regardless. You’ve got Scott Snyder doing some good stuff at the moment.

What kind of advice would you give to someone who wants to have his/her own business selling comics?
Do it if you love it, and don’t do it for money!

Comics N Toys is at 28 Lower High Street Stourbridge DY8 1TA. Special thanks to Richard Griffiths.

Posted: 5/8/2011
Categories: Comics / Shops

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