The Comics Rack

Comic Book Memories Pt. 14 - The End!

In looking back over what I have witten so far, there is a timelessness that my mind has associated with this period. My friends, and many of the customers, were nearly all the same age and tomorrow was something way off in the distance for all of us. Each week folded into the next in a near blur of my Thursday night rehearsals, the Friday comics and mid-week trips to the distributors. Our lives revolved around the movies of the 80s (Aliens, Terminator, Lethal Weapon(s)), television (Miami Vice), the introduction of cable (movies 24/7 and MTV) and comics—new wonders each week with something being published for most every taste and interest. In fact, I've found that so many things happened in such a very short amount of time that my mind has played some tricks with my remembering. Events that I would swear occurred over the course of a year really happened over a span of weeks or months, or so I've discovered after doing a bit of research and, if I've missed some events, or have mis-remembered their order, I apologize in advance.

I've finally determined that 1986 must have been the year that things began to change radically. Pat Broderick, the manager of Glenwood (and my roomate supreme, was transferred back to the main offices. Comics underwent a tremendous change as Byrne re-booted Superman, Miller re-defined the genre with Batman: The Dark Knight and Alan Moore pretty much gave an ending to the heroic age of comics with Watchmen. For my part in all this, I turned 30, sold tons of comics and saw my paycheck slowly disappear into a morass of inflation that was the result of Reganomics. I found I was feeling increasingly more interested in music than in selling comics. Looking back, I guess I was just entering into a period of self-examination and was taking stock of where I was and where I wanted to be.

I had always considered working at the store a sideline, even though it was a full time job. I owed a great deal to Richard on many levels, but was confused as to exactly what I was going to do with the rest of my life. For a period of about 6 or 8 months, I ran the store pretty much on my own when Richard sort of "checked out" of the day to day operations and there were a few conflicts when he became interested again and questioned some of my policies. Many of my friends from college were settling into major jobs (with large paychecks), buying houses, starting families, getting married and entering into a more "grown-up" world than the one I lived in. Richard made at least two failed attempts to sell the business during this time, with my services being offered as a major selling point. We discussed opening a second location, an idea that picqued my interest in the business once again amid my burn-out (I scouted a number of locations), but the idea never really got off the ground. I was feeling burnt out, a bit wary of my future in the business and whether I even wanted to be a part of the business.

Once Glenwood folded in March (or April) of 1987, I had pretty much decided that I needed to be looking for something new, although my mood had improved somewhat. I loved working with the customers, for the most part, and had the managing part of my job down to a science.

Unfortunately, both The Dark Knight and Watchmen had an odd affect on our comic sales as a whole. While The Dark Knight placed the anti-hero concept into the comics (and also changed the way DC viewed Batman and he's been a semi-deranged character ever since) Moore's Watchmen was sort of the final word on comic heroes. Both books brought lots of attention to the comic industry, but while comic sales had been strong overall to that point they began to slip, at least for us, the slightest bit. Not a lot, mind you, but a noticeable decline that suggested that the public had read dark and bleak, didn't really like it and had moved onto other forms of entertainment. Since I was not only on a salary, but also received a percentage of the gross sales each week, this change, along with the inflation mentioned above, meant that I was actually making less each week as time went on.

In early to mid 1987, we noticed that things seemed to be a bit odd with Plant. The stock in the warehouse seemed to be dropping a bit and there were some books that never appeared in the catalog. The first inkling we had that something was up was that they didn't offer the first Calvin and Hobbes collection.

As it turns out, it was during this period that the Plant organization was making plans to get out of the comic distribution business and preparing to sell to Diamond Distibutors: a move that would make Diamond national in scope and put them on a par with Capital City. From what I've heard through the rumor mill over the years, it seems that although the sale wasn't formally completed until sometime in 1988 (can't find an exact date), Diamond staffers were running the Plant ordering and such starting in 1987 as a sort of tryout. Seems as though some suit who was in charge of ordering looked at the publisher's solicitation for the first Calvin and Hobbes collection and, not knowing comics, simply dismissed it as a strip about some kid and his stuffed tiger. Hence, Plant, or, I guess, "almost-Diamond" missed out, as did many comic stores, on a big seller.

And why don't I know what date Bud Plant became Diamond Comics? Well, astute readers may guess that....

By the fall of 1987, I had decided I had had enough. I had an attitude about my work. I enjoyed going to the distributors but hated working the counter. I wanted to leave early on Fridays to make up for the early morning runs to the distributor, but Richard wanted that time off as well and, as the owner, it was his right (there was too much business on Friday nights to leave Glen working by himself). I wanted more money, but sales were softer. I looked forward to any chance to get out of the store on errands and had even taken to attending most any meeting after the church service on Sunday, so I could come in late. But, in October, I made one of the major tactical errors of all time. One of my college roommates had started working for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach and was making really good money. Douglas was growing at the time and he told me he could get me a position in his department once they upped their hiring quotas after the new year. I took this information to heart and talked very frankly with Richard one afternoon about my plans for the future, my current feelings about the way things were going and about how I was only telling him all this because I respected him and wanted him to be able to plan for the good of the store without any surprises.

Well, I guess I kind of crossed the line, for in November, Richard was at the store when I arrived on Sunday and had a chat with me in the back room where he informed me that he was laying me off. Lots of reasons were discussed, but I think we both knew that he felt hurt that I would wanted to move on and had no further interest in the business. So, I worked the rest of my shift, turned in my keys at the end of the day and that was the end of my "career" as a comic store manager. I continued to shop there over the years and followed the various changes that occured in the world of comic publishing, but it was only as a spectator and not as a participant.

I am still amazed as I look back at all that major milestones that I saw as a part of it all. Crisis on Infinite Earths. The demise of two major distributorships. Miller on Daredevil. Talking to Dick Giordano one afternoon in Vegas at a Glenwood conference. Byrne and Claremont on X-Men. Moore on Swamp Thing and Watchmen. Maus. The later work of Jack Kirby. The rise of independent publishers. The beginnings of the Masterworks and Archives series. The authors and creators who would drop into the store from time to time. All of these memories, and more, come to mind when I recall this period of my life.

Even today, comics are still of interest, something I credit to Richard, his analytical approach to how graphic storytelling should be done and his voluminous knowledge of the history of the genre. After leaving the store, I did a lot of music and kicked around 3 other bookstores before finally finding my niche working with computers, but still follow trends and read constantly, although I mostly confine my efforts to reprints of classic material. Do I miss it? Somewhat. The store was, in the words of Tom Mason, like a big clubhouse, where we would gather and discuss comics and other media. Most of the customers were wonderful to deal with and most all the people who worked the distribution end were fun to visit. For the most part, it was an enjoyable time, powered by endless cups of coffee and a desire to make each customer feel welcome and appreciated.

So, in closing, I've tried to give you an idea of what it was like to work in the comic retail business during the heyday of the 80s and I hope you enjoyed it. If you have stumbled across these articles from an Internet search and used to be a customer of Wonderworld or Richard Kyle, Books, I wish you well and hope you have fond memories of one of the first stores in the US to focus on the graphic story in all its forms.

Addendum: In 1996, Richard closed Richard Kyle, Books after 24 years in business. Exactly what the reasons for the closure were are known only to Richard, since he would give different reasons to different people. We have lost contact with one another over the years, but the last I heard, he was still doing fine and I wish him well.