If Hastings can break down the stereotypes that the author implies Bizarro Wuxtry seems to embrace than good on ‘em. I work at a shop whose “mission statement”, as it were, is to expand readership to everyone (our all ages section is probably bigger than 20 average stores’ kids sections combined). A diverse customer base makes for a far more interesting store than an Android’s Dungeon atmosphere, trust me.

In Canada, certainly. I’m not sure about HMV’s UK arm, yet.

good alternative for those whose LCS is full of insufferable geeks

@biff… dude…

you forgot to mention the “smelly” insufferable geeks.

but then again, anything worth having is worth suffering for a little.

“…but I can’t be the only one who doesn’t work on Wednesdays specifically so I can spend a few hours jawing with the boys…”

Maybe not the ONLY one on this entire planet, but you have to be one of a VERY specific few. I can’t imagine doing that.

I think what George was saying is that he values the interaction with engaged, knowledgeable clerks with a specific interest in the medium, which isn’t necessarily what big box stores select for. Which isn’t to say that those folks never work for the big boys… and if this actually flies, Hastings will probably wind up absorbing a fair number of employees from the stores they run out of business, like the episode of King Of The The Hill when Hank Hill had to work at Mega-Lo-Mart. More likely, though, you’ll be faced with salesclerks with no interest or personal investment in the medium (though they’re less likely to blow up the store like Hank’s manager did, at least). It’s possible that they’ll recognize this and try to recruit knowledgeable staff, in the way that Radio Shack used to generally hire actual A/V geeks and ham radio guys. More likely, though, it won’t even occur to them, and specific requests will be met with the same kind of blank stares you encounter when asking questions at “The Shack” nowadays.

I’ve switched my regular comic buying to DCBS because I can buy more with my money there. Until any store can match that I’ll be buying there. I do make it to my LCS occasionally (once a month instead of four times a month) to catch anything that wasn’t on my pull list at DCBS. It’s cool to see something like this, but from a business standpoint it will only take a couple of months for them to take it away if it doesn’t pan out. What will they do with all those unsold books? Maybe they have a special deal with Diamond for unsold books?

I’ve always enjoyed the LCS experience. It works for me that if a title comes in that the guy at my shop thinks I might like, he’ll likely put it in my folder “just in case”, and if I don’t want it, it goes back on the rack, no harm, no foul. I’ve found some really cool titles and specials in this way, something that I don’t anticipate a box store being able to offer. Of course, I’ve been at “my” shop for basically 16 years now, so that may have something to do with it.

For a long time, Hastings was my primary source of comics. They’ve always had a large selection. This is nothing but good news for me.

@Devlin: That’s exactly what I was saying.

As far as not working on Wednesdays, well, clearly the internet isn’t the realm of hyperbole.

My main query was, and still is, while this may help the overall market, how will Hastings compete(or will they even try)with the personal touch of stores that cater specifically to the niche market?

No Hastings near me but it sounds great. I recently left one comic store for another due to the reasons already stated by many here about attitude and service. Found a really nice place to shop at and even though I do not take Wednesdays off to spend a few extra hours at the store I do hang out for at least an hour to talk to the owner and employees there.

Where does Hastings operate? I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of them. I live in Northwest Indiana, just outside Chicago.

And I hear you, those of you complaining about shop hours. In addition to the comic shops, our local stores in town mostly close by 7:00 pm or earlier. i don’t even get home from work until 6:30! There’s always a push to shop locally, but the stores make it pretty darned tough to do so.

Let’s see, there’s a Hastings about a 3 minute walk from me and the closest LCS is 150 miles away.

Win, for the Riotous One!

I’m not sure where everyone shops that they have run into these types of people at their LCS.

I’ve shopped in several different stores in different states (PA, KY, NJ) based on where I lived and I haven’t come across the type of stores you discuss. Almost every I have been the staff are friendly. I haven’t felt any more bothered than you might at a box store when the circulate asking if you need help.

I too haven’t heard of Hastings however. But that’s gotta be good news as you can hopefully get more readers w/ more exposure. And hopefully the price point will drop. But probably not.

The only concern I would have would be the damages. Other “box” stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders carry a limited selection of comics books and they are typically beaten all to hell by the casual shopper who doesn’t care if a comic book is bent in half at the spine, folded corners. It’s not a set-up for more than the most extreme of casual comic shoppers (i.e. parents buying their kids the latest copy of the Simpsons or what have you) and would probably make the average comic fan weep at the condition of the comics. And the average comic fan, not the casual shopper, is going to be the guy that makes that move profitable by week in/week out shopping up to buy books.

So all that is to say…I fear for the books on their shelves. At least they have shelves and not those abominable spinner racks.

I’ve always wondered why Marvel never considered opening up stores like the Warner and Disney store.
Of course now that they’re Owned by Disney I guess its a moot point.

Glad to see this happening. I just think it’s ten years too late. I hope I’m wrong in that.

Specialty stores are suppose to provide a service you can’t get with big chain stores. Well I think out all the specialty businesses. Comic book shops have the worst service ratings ever, it’s a wonder how they have survived.

I hope Hastings can eradicate the negative stereotypesd that LCS have. If they can get past the negativity, it’s going revolutionize the market and other chains are going to compete.

It’s annoying how this article does nothing to tell any of us in the 30 states without a Hastings what it is that they do/are. A similar article on CBR appropriately notified readers that “Hastings operates stores in medium-sized markets in 20 states, selling new and used books, electronics, DVDs, video games — and, now, monthly comics.”

You can’t get much sloppier with your journalism that to assume knowledge on the reader’s part. “Oh, we have Hastings here, so they must be everywhere, and everyone’s heard of them.” Pffft.

Our Hastings in Texas has had comics for at least 2 years. Interestingly they participated in Free Comic Book Day and our 2 local shops did not. They only had the gold titles, but it was our only access to the books at all. And every Hastings I have ever been in has had manga and graphic novels.

However, most of the comics in the store were in terrible metal racks and were not well organized or cared for. I have been to only one Hastings that had its comics up with the magazines, and clearly a comic fan worked there and was in charge of displaying them because they were very nice.

But there is no one to talk to about the books (most of the time) or to suggest titles, and they don’t have anything like a pull list. They aren’t going to offer an “authentic” comic shop experience without changing a lot of things about how they currently handle comics and having the staff to back them up. But I think this could be a good gateway for people who don’t have or like comic book stores (let’s face it, there are great ones, but some comic shops are kinda creepy) to get into comics. I don’t see a lot of regulars at comic shops switching over, but anything that can put comics in the hands of more people is good news.

However I do hope the back issues they mention are more than the crappy pre-packaged packs of 3 old comics for 3.99 that no one wants and is even going to look at. Those things were a joke.