Our first Comics Vibe Check comes to you from Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, OK, purveyors of comics and graphic novels since 1998. Owners Matt and Annette Price told us about what’s hot right now, with help from manager Dan Nash, as well as the hazards of owning a store in Tornado Alley. The OU Daily recently profiled the store (Matt is an alum) and its focus on art, literacy, and the joy of physical comics, and Matt himself, as you’ll see below, is a comics writer.
Speeding Bullet Comics’ Current Vibe
Location: 614 N. Porter Ave., Norman, OK
Store Specialties: Comics, graphic novels, games.
Buying Mood of Customers: Good! New customers who came in for Absolute Batman have been spreading out and trying new things, while longtime customers are finding plenty to suit their tastes, including the Energon line. April sales are on track to be up about 30%.
The New Hotness in the Shop: DC’s Absolute line, Marvel/DC crossovers, Tiny Onion, Ghost Machine.
What’s Bringing in New Customers: Invincible graphic novels and related products, Absolute titles, DC’s Compact Comics.
External Factors Influencing Sales: The weather. Unpredictable severe weather in Oklahoma can make things challenging! At times, we’ve had to look at postponing or cancelling events due to tornado warnings, and this spring has been pretty active. Nothing as bad as when we had our windows blown out by a tornado several years ago, though!
Pick Hits for Q2 into Q3: “Absolute Green Arrow is likely to launch very well. At our shop, we expect good things for Team America Racing from CSN Press, hitting shelves in July, since Matt is the writer!”
Additional Commentary: “Our strongest product lines are comics and graphic novels, but we do see interest in cards and card games. Pokémon cards have quite a following. Outside of cards, we’re also seeing interest in Blokees and Wigglitz.”
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Source: ICV2
