Mark Bowker, owner of Alter Ego Comics in Lima, Ohio, talked about the impact of tariffs on his business in a recent interview with NPR. About 70% of Bowker’s revenue comes from action figures, some of which incurred tariffs of 145% at one point during the fluctuating situation. Overall, Bowker has shelled out about $16,000 in tariffs, and while at first he defrayed the cost by charging his customers a 3% fee, he gave that up when sales dropped. “The reality is our action figure business was down 50% last year,” Bowker told NPR. “And I have a feeling a lot of that had to do with tariffs.” After the Supreme Court struck down the first round of tariffs, the government began issuing refunds, but Bowker hasn’t seen any of that money yet, and he doesn’t expect to. In the meantime, the problem has shifted to another category: Comics, many of which are printed in Canada and which may get caught up in the newest trade war. Bowker, who was interviewed by ICv2 earlier this year (see “Hits and Misses”), is concerned about the overall impact of tariffs on his business. “It unfortunately could be a major issue to an industry that has really been firing on almost all cylinders for the last couple of years,” he said.
And here’s an example: Mike Hermann is closing his bricks-and-mortar store Tall Man Toys & Comics, in Knoxville, Tennessee, although he will continue to run the business online. “Like many small businesses, we’ve watched the world around us change,” Herrmann posted on Facebook. “Rising costs, shifting shopping habits, tarriffs [sic] paid we can’t get refunded, and tighter household budgets have made it increasingly difficult to continue.” Nonetheless, Herrmann continues to give back to the community, announcing that for every in-store sale over $50, he will donate three kid-friendly Funko POP!s to Dolly Parton’s Children’s Hospital.
Indiana Public Media’s Flyover Culture tags along with writer Daniel Warren Johnson as he pays a visit to Challengers Comics + Conversation in Chicago, Illinois.
It was a cliffhanger, but the comics community pulled through at the last minute when Brian Lindblom, owner of Mr. E Comics in Maricopa, Arizona, put a message out on the store’s Discord that he needed $3,000 in back rent to reopen the store, which the landlord had locked him out of. Customers and the community raised the money quickly, Pinal Central reports, and the store is open again. “Everyone rallied behind the store in an incredible way!” Lindblom said. “I couldn’t feel more proud to be a part of such a great community. I look forward to growing further in this town, for this town.”
Steve Moore, owner of Top 5 Comics in Grand Junction, Colorado, took advantage of the opening of Spider-Man: Brand New Day to do some outreach, including holding a trivia event at local theaters before the show, KJCT8 reports. Moore gave the reporter a quick rundown on the history of Spider-Man, how the movie diverges from the comics, and what makes the character special: “I think the way he’s written, it’s his flaws that make him relatable. When you’re a kid, you look at him and say, ‘Yeah, I could grow up to be Spider-Man.'”
Lake Effect Comics opened its doors in North Ridgeville, Ohio, in early August, offering local comic fans a place to gather in their own city. “People here want to come somewhere in their own city, so that was a big part of it,” owner Matt Peltz told the Chronicle-Telegram. The store will open with 30,000 comics in stock, and Peltz intends for it to be a gathering place for comics community. “The biggest thing for us is to have somewhere for people to actually go and feel like there’s people with similar interests,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody, and it’s kind of a weird, small community. People have been great and everybody wants to help.”Source: ICv2
