Ben Towle is reporting over on his blog that the Newport News, Va., comic book shop MacGuffin has closed up shop. I’ve put in an email to MacGuffin owner Sam Hobart and am waiting to get a confirmation on the matter.
If true it’s a shame since the store was a deliberate attempt to create an upscale bookstore-atmosphere comic shop, something a lot of Internet pundits saw/hoped would be the wave of the future. What’s more, Hobart’s regular posts on his adventures in retailing always proved to be insightful. Here’s hoping it’s just a rumor.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:20 am
First R!OT Comics, now MacGuffin. What is going on? These stores are doing things that comic fans say they want out of their LCS. They are marching to a new drummer’s beat and yet they are disappearing.
Do they old shop’s have a better formula? Is it too tough for a new LCS to financially survive nowadays? Are online shops taking away too many of the Brick and Mortar shop’s “big spender” customers?
If the new shops aren’t making it… does it mean that our hobby is dying? I hope not.
Tim
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I don’t know if MacGuffin is gone for good, but it’s storefront isn’t currently open. The owner, Sam Hobart, is nicest shop owners I’ve ever met and a cool guy to talk with about comics.
Some people at local shops have tried to suggest the pitfall was that an upscale shop has to be placed on upscale real estate…meaning the cost per square foot is high. I don’t know anything about that…just wish the best LCS was still doing business.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:21 pm
You want an “upscale bookstore-atmosphere comic shop” that’s doing well? Try Secret Headquarters in Los Angeles… small, cozy and filled with as many books as comics. And no toys (and me loves the toys!). True, it is in the heart of hipsterville (Silver Lake) and everyone one in Hollywood reads comics, but the SH dudes have the right idea.
I think Big Planet also has a store like this in Georgetown, but I haven’t been there in years.