San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Business Report:
S.F. sellers turn to crowdfunding, school clubs to survive
Kathleen Pender provides answers on the state’s new $21 billion wildfire fund.
A slew of colorful comic book characters adorn the windows of the Comix Experience store on Divisadero Street. The 30yearold store, believed to be the oldest comic book and graphic novel shop in San Francisco, has managed to survive the rise of online shopping by getting in front of new audiences.
These days, that means running a monthly subscriptionbased book club for adults and children, which adds $10,000 a month in revenue, said owner Brian Hibbs. He said he also benefits from a benevolent landlord who hasn’t outrageously increased his rent, though Hibbs wouldn’t say how much he pays or how much he makes.
San Francisco is home to at least eight comic book shops, two of which are locations of Hibbs’ Comix Experience. The others are Isotope, Mission: Comics & Art, Amazing Fantasy, Whatever Comic Bookstore, Cards and Comics Central, and Comic Book Beardies. A larger bookstore, Kinokuniya in Japantown, also stocks comics, as does Jeffrey’s Toys in the Financial District.
“Comic book stores serve the same purpose as church — excited fans come on a regular basis to see what’s new and find their community of people,” said Leef Smith, owner of Mission: Comics & Art.
When Hibbs opened his first shop in 1989, San Francisco had around two dozen comic book stores, mostly a result of an underground scene that printed and distributed comics independently in the Bay Area in the ’60s and ’70s.
That movement “changed the whole tenor of how business was done in the field,” said Hillary Chute, a comics scholar and professor at Northeastern University.
Chute said a famous story has renowned cartoonist Robert Crumb selling copies of his independent comic book Zap, which he cowrote with a friend, while walking through the HaightAshbury neighborhood with his baby in a carriage right after moving to San Francisco in the late 1960s. The book proved popular, and he later opened the series to other artists. The movement prized variety, and female artists thrived —
“Comic book stores serve the same purpose as church — excited fans come on a regular basis to see what’s new.” Leef Smith, owner of Mission: Comics & Art in San Francisco
including Aline Kominsky and Diane Noomin, who together started Twisted Sisters, and Trina Robbins and Barbara Mendes, who were behind It Ain’t Me Babe.
But the number of stores dwindled as ecommerce took off in the late ’90s. Amazon has long sold graphic novels and other comics; in 2013, it created its own comic book label, and a year later bought ComiXology, a digital comic book store. Collectible comics naturally found a home on eBay and other auction sites.
But online sellers can’t offer events with authors and cartoonists, and they don’t educate buyers about comics, said Paula Rodrigues, store manager at Oakland’s Dr. Comics and Mr. Games.
“For me it was always more than entertainment — it provided a mental break,” said Peter Wong, 59, a law clerk at Paul Hastings in San Francisco who has been going to various city comic book stores since he was a kid. He counts around 4,000 comic books in his collection, he said.
Almost half of comic book and graphic novel sales occur in stores, according to ComicChron, a website that tracks industry sales figures. The main difference between comic books and graphic novels is the former is a series and the latter is a complete story in one book. The formatting and art are similar in both. Revenue for North America rose to $1.09 billion last year, up 7.8% from 2017.
The 2018 figure included a new sales channel: crowdfunding sites.
For Smith of Mission Comics, crowdfunding is survival. He launched a Patreon page to help with the cost of running his business. In 2017, he came close to shutting down, he said, when sales dived 17%. Crowdfunding provides $2,000 a month on average and has helped with expenses.
Focusing on a loyal customer base is important. James Sime looked for a new audience when he opened Isotope, a comic lounge in Hayes Valley that he coowns, two decades ago.
“The industry was not very womenfriendly, and that’s why we got involved,” Simes said. “We designed our store with the audience the other stores didn’t want.”
Graphic novels aimed at children are another important niche. Bay Area artist Raina Telgemeier has led the way with her four series, Smile, Sisters, Drama and Ghosts.
“The kids at my school absolutely love her series and it resonates with every gender,” said Callen Taylor, a librarian at Visitacion Valley Middle School who runs a monthly comic book club. She partnered with Hibbs, who provides about one book per month to each of about 36 students. Taylor said other schools in the city are running comic book clubs too.
“It’s an easy and fun way to get students interested in reading,” she said. “Students enjoy a safe space to talk about books and issues books bring up.”