| Show -1 gala Ztibunt fllt US1 II t eos t I 1 Sunday Morning—February 26 1989 Section F 1 Page nosal44 1 I 1 ' 1 - b Nr Litsr&-- ' ' 1 ' - 143Freice-i-z--?':- :71-1- 1-n i Iti4v4n 1‘41! C: 7 al 4 tpaa - -- - r ''- pt z ' e - t "C'" ' L limrj '7' Cbcfz1Xa-- tt:Nzt - VAMP i -- e- it - rN--7 i t w NN " 1 3 - - c1 77 Li I - ii -- ' -t 1 :' : Is f ' '' - - t V ° '' 1" 0" ' ' 1- - I '- atia ''' 1 4" t ' INme 4rfii7:L4 '' I' t '44 ' ‘ : J ' et'': r W011t t — -- : '4 s 44‘ '4 ' 4 ( t ' t' - SFil to N 1 - '" '' t''1 c4 '4? t asN '0' '14 110' ' '' 1 TS'''' '''' ISI t '' t '' ' I y 04--1 ' -- - 11 1 4 A ' - ' tl 1 t : - ' t'N''''':Qt N' sk'--4- — ( '"1 1 Ls - Fi 4: ' ' ' it ( 1 ' - - i i) "0-- IIc - ' 11 4 104 i' 1 ' ' I t '' ek §1 0 71 - - - ! 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''‘)1 i ovo : :' - --- -: z -- -------'°' 4 n4 A k t " - 44-'4' '''--' 6 4 trs A t1 i I At"41 le14 I i - - br00-- ''" -g--- ' te-ge-t E t?! t- - 4 1 ( !1 r 1 L3T1:ti 3 rT''''neds 01 ttie pcp'10::1: qt 04 t V:11'711' 4:if ' ''I" s- - 'k- -4 ‘1 't 3 i ft--‘ : 7--7 "--- ' - - If- t '''''' 'I '''''' - -' ' - ' I Di ra 1ecoming Popultitr HervAs Comics! ook Stores f By Steven Oberbeek Tribune Business Writer men and women dressed in funny costumes lusty vampires and strange little green turtles dressed up like the once despised Japanese "Ninja" mercenaries of old are commanding big bucks these days And listening to Stephan LaFreniere president of Comics Utah Inc store it is and Alan Carroll owner of the Nightflight comic-booindustry is expanding and prospering in apparent the comic-booUtah like never before Mr LaFreniere's company which operates retail outlets in Sugar House and West Valley City and Mr Carroll's Nightflight store located in the Cottonwood Mall are typical of the comic-boospecialty retail outlets that have sprung up across the country in recent years as the industry has attempted to reach out to ever broader markets with such mainstay comic books as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that are still enjoyed by many youngsters comic-boo- k publishers today are also now producing products to entice older audiences to their pages "We're seeing a trend towards more realism in some comics" Mr LaFreniere said "It's not just good against evil anymore There are now comics that are much more believable with more modern story Over-muscle- blood-suckin- d g k k k value during the first year after its publication regardless of what comic it is" Mr Carroll said Acmrding to both Mr LaFreniere and Mr Carroll middle-me- n retail outlets have come comic distributors who service the comic-booto play a particularly important role in the industry Like Nightflight Comics Utah which was purchased by Mr LaFreniere and his wife Carol three years ago this coming June acquires most of its titles from distributors out of St Louis where most comic books are printed The distributors air freight the publications from the k printers -- ' Thursday is delivery day at local comic shops Both stores usually get their comics Just 12 to 15 hours after they are released by the publisher Often the ink is stillwet on the page And stores try to carry as both companies like most specialty comic-boo- k broad a variety of comic books and related items as possible Each store carries titles numbering in the hundreds Mr Carroll pointed out however that as a result of the slim margins At Comics Utah and Nightflight the age of the average comic-boo- k buyer is much older than in years past according to the owners of both stores and "Probably the majority of our customers are adults older" Mr LaFreniere said "We count a lot of local graphic artists as among our cliental" And that observation was echoed in the experience of Mr Carroll at Nightflight who said the average age of that company's readers tends to fall between 18 and 25 years old s of our total sales" "In dollar sales adults account for Mr Carroll said "And we alsq have noticed that a lot of our customers are lawyers accountants and doctors" Mr Carroll said that a couple of years ago a person could have purchased all of the new comic products coming out for approximately $300 a month "Now you would spend over $800 a month to buy three-fourth- everything" The growth of the industry nationally is probably best typified by the recent local expansion at Utah Comics where Mr LaFreniere in late facility in West January early February opened a Valley City "Probably within the next year to year and a halt we'll look seriously at moving our Sugar House store to a bigger location" Mr LaFreniere said "Beyond that well I certainly wouldn't rule out additional ex1800-square-fo- pansion" Along with the increased stature of the industry both nationally and locally it is not surprising then that comic books have also taken their place as investment vehicles and as sought after collectibles Never mind that the first Superman comic book printed by Action June 1938 now commands a $30000 price tag there are much more recent examples of comic books that have soared in price Last October when DC Comics offered the Batman 428 for sale the comic book retailed for just 75 cents But almost immediately the booklet began to soar in price As it turned out the publishers had decided that it was time for Batman's long-timloyal companion Robin — The Boy Wonder to die "The Death of Robin" comic book now commands a price in the $30 to $50 range locally Mr Carroll said "Almost any comic book you buy today rises 25 cents to 50 cents in t : 1 lines" Comics in s - ift: z 00 ' : ' ' - - - :: - rl fr - L ' - ' rt v 46 rt ' br") ' ET VALLEye' : - - - - - -- -- II ' -- 11 -” -- 1-zz:z- ' : :: i i - Vyr 4 4' 1'1r - -- -- '0--'-- J4L—A '''''141: III -d ' itt it 4 (ti' OPS TY li:i ' ' - ' t 4z '' C 1 ot- - : : 1 tv'11s71- 41' 4 I i 1 ' - ' 1'7::: - 14' ii 1 - ' '"::11' : ': sSlt‘4 A 4 P'cr l''e1-- ) - '''IN'''i:i 1' 04 Sr- 4 - '4 ' J '''' ariimaltssH- 'CA" 717a-6:14- 1e :: 4 ' - 1 c :44: - '4 2- r ' 4 - ''''''" '''" ''''''''''''T-1' hve ' 166kilow -L - - - - ratat 1 - '' I - - 1 - t 1I - 4 1' 4 '' ) - ''' ' - c -i i 4sti e ' dr F kr - ttI - ro lee it : ir r : ' 1 - - t i ''' vstrs- ' ' - ol 0 e '' 1Viik t 1 ' ' t4' N ' I si &rot istAte4 u- -- -- t o&I ''1 i""' - ' viore:11 r t2A ew 1 '''" f ' ''' '' - ''''' - ' 'e 0-4 - - - 1 ) ' I' 0t 7i sgsr: ''' f 44 - ------- i:' ''''' ' 1-- Visintat ft -- - k - - - b- g 1 " ' ' 14 f 't iltt4t - N'- - t 1 N - 4 i A ' 1 4 ' 7 w ' '''' (4 1 ' 'i'' )" ' - de 4 34 et i 7 L ' ') -- --- - - S - ' - !' ' -4 '' - ''' 4 3 '' t 0 Pr '''' - - :11 - V sl':4- - - ' - : Irmk‘ t - e' e-- -- v :' '' - ' t ' r ': to A ' ' L'''' '' - l' ea i -- - Cs : : - ' ' i'1' 1774-44- - ''''144 411'1 i'clw4isø14 '- -- ‘ "0' I s e (' V 171) - ' NI e11' i ' ' : - !:i4 - ' ' e!'' 1wasoi000'sm 11f ' f t' ' 1 - 4----- 1 t - ' : '4-4--‘- ' -- N :kr k' 4i''' cz4 ' ' ' ' - 0 - 1 ft (!2) sK10001 : 1 ?1 A - '- i ft Bat-Alon- - ' - -- 4! '' te : du ' ' -it V ztoLl IFP-7- '- r :If fed n all14 - t I 1 11 - : 1 VT I n": 41 !1 Of course the hold systems sometimes makes for rather interesting conversation particularly when the value of a comic book soars in value before it can be picked (up g "We had some people who last October hadn't picked up their man comic book until it had gone up considerably in value" Mr Carroll said "Of course we sold them for 75 cents But we asked them 'Do you know how much this is worth?'" ' - e"'''4'' !1"1 - ' -- - - : ' - 6 L - - ' lot" I ' - ' ' jr - NI - 7 ' operFted on by distributors all items purchased by retail specialty shops are "This environment makes retailers conservative in their ordering and increases activity" he said Popular with customers at both local outlets are the "hold systems" where the stores set aside comics for later pickup The system ensures enthusiasts and collectors do not miss an issue that comic-boo- k "We have maybe 620 people who we bold reserved copies for" Mr LaFreniere said "From February to May is the slow time of the year locally for the comic business and those customers really help us out a - - — - rI v it 4 - - ' -- 3 1 4 4 - - ' :' - - ‘ --- - 'i t L ) Business consultant and comic book aficionado Alan -' -- - Carroll owner of Nightflight holds comics in demand by a growing audience of readers both young and old Disney character Donald Duck is an industry old-tim- er 1 - I - 1 1 II - - -" I -4::-‘j r |
