Choose Your Own Comics Shop

It’s Tuesday, 4:17 pm. Outside, the air is crisp and clear, and you can feel each breath as it rushes to fill your expanding lungs. You pull your jacket tighter. You had rushed quick as you could to Lewisburg, PA; three days ago, your friend had let you know about a comic shop in the town that you hadn’t known existed. You’re excited to see what it has to offer. The shop is on South 3rd Street, just off Market Street. When you arrive, you’re struck by how much it resembles a house. A large sign hangs out front, proudly proclaiming the name of the store to the world: Comics Metropolis. There’s a short set of stairs leading up to the entrance.

When you open the door, a chime sounds, and you hear a greeting from the room to your right. You peek your head in. The room is full of shelves stocked with thousands of comic books; at the front of the room is the counter, where a jovial gentleman sits: Albert Payne, one of the owners of the store. You return the greeting, still standing in the entryway of the store. There’s a set of stairs in front of you, a couple boxes printed with images of various superheroes, and a small kiosk populated by comics inspired by Disney. To your left, you see a room full of action figures. Ceiling-high shelves are stocked with figures from comics and popular movies, all of varying sizes and detail. You have two options before you: to the left or the right?

If you want to go left, click here.                                                                           If you want to go right, click here.

 

You head into the gaming room, and inside is Laura Payne, the other owner of the store, sorting comics on the long wooden table. She tells you that this is what they do with shipments every Tuesday; Comics Metropolis is one of the few comic stores that bags and boards comics free of charge for customers, and all comics on the shelve are wrapped up to prevent damage.

The room has the perfect feel for a room you would love to play games in, with the big windows and spacious area. It fits the tabletop gamer aesthetic you’re familiar with fantastically. As you watch Laura carefully package each comic book, you recall an essay you had read in one of your classes: “Unpacking My Library” by Walter Benjamin, from his book Illuminations. The essay deals with, at parts, the methods and reasoning behind why people collect things, primarily books. Benjamin writes “I am not exaggerating when I say that to a true collector the acquisition of an old book is its rebirth” (Benjamin, 61). This particular passage from the essay strikes you as you recall the numerous old comics decorating the walls, in particular that which Albert had shown you as you entered the main comics room.

The comic is only worth so much as it is because it’s important to somebody. Here, in the store, it sits, doing nothing but looking pretty, but if and when someone takes the effort to procure it, the comic will be given new life. It will impact someone’s life, whether they be a lifelong fan or a new collector. New meanin g will be attributed to it. When it was printed, it was merely a fun story for children. Now, however, it harkens back to the golden age, to when you could grab a comic from a newsstand for a nickel and have a fun afternoon with your friends reading about how Spider-Man thwarts the villainous Electro. To the buyer, that comic means so much more in their possession than it does growing dusty on a shelf.

To return to the comic book room, click here.                                   To go to the action figure room, click here.

 

You head to the room decorated with action figures. The center of the room is dominated by a large display of figures, all in their boxes, like a wall of trophies. Rows and rows of identical figures hang from white metal hooks. The far wall houses an impressive collection of Funko Pop! figurines on the lower half of the wall, the top dedicated to impressive Transformer models.

All four corners of the room have a dedicated shelf. One is full of excess Funko Pop! characters and action figure sets. To the left of the entrance to the room is a shelf dedicated to the famous faces of Marvel Comics.

The thing surprising about this room’s book display is the fact that it contains real paperback books. You hadn’t expected to find real books in a comic books shop, and yet here you stand, face to face with that exact situation. You look closely at the books, and notice that each of them seem to bear the crest of the Warhammer 40,000 series. Warhammer 40,000 is a multi-form spanning science fiction/fantasy world, encompassing books, buildable models, and video games.

You gaze around the room in awe of the sheer number of different action figures that exist, the store’s inventory not nearly exhaustive, and recall a passage from James Clifford’s book Collections. The passage comes from the chapter “On Collecting Art and Culture”: “Thus the self that must possess but cannot have it all learns to select, order, classify in hierarchies–to make “good” collections” (Clifford, 218). Clifford is talking here about the way that people decide what is worth collecting. Many of these action figures are certainly fit for collecting, and as you glance around the room, you remember that action figures are one of the most highly sought after collectibles on the market; rare and mint-condition figures can sell for over seven thousand dollars.

To you, Clifford’s essay hits right at home here, especially surrounded by action figures as you currently are. The only reason that these items wind up costing so much is that they mean something to somebody, that they ignite within individuals “an excessive, sometimes even rapacious need to have” and so these items are increased in their monetary value because of the cultural value that they have to people. You wonder if any of the figures around you will someday fetch such a high price.

The small room off of the action figure room piques your interest, and you pop your head in. It is stocked full of roleplaying tabletop games, with everything from Dungeons and Dragons miniatures and guides to five levels of expansions for Betrayal at the House on the Hill. The room also features a collection of Star Wars and Warhammer 40K scale models to build and paint, with a display dedicated to the decorating tools.

If you want to head to the comics room, click here. If you want to reexamine the action figure room, click here.

 

You head to the comics room. You give Albert a nod where he sits behind the register, and notice through the glass casing that there are some comics inside. You head closer to examine them.

“These are some of our most expensive comics,” Albert says. “Do you want to take a closer look at our most expensive?” Without waiting for an answer, he reaches under the counter and pulls out a pristine edition of The Amazing Spider-Man. It’s the introduction of Electro. “Character introductions always sell for a lot. This particular comic is worth six-hundred dollars. Most expensive one we have here.”

Suitably impressed, you throw a glance around the walls of the comic room. There are comics in hard plastic sleeves lining the walls, each of them adorned with a hefty price tag. These comics all seem to be worth at least twenty dollars, some reaching up to over one hundred dollars.

The comics themselves fill all the shelves in the room. In the back right corner, you catch sight of the newest editions of current comics series, all organized alphabetically, and as you follow the shelves, you notice they travel around the shop clockwise. The big shelf taking up the middle of the room is also full of comics. You move to the back of the room, close to the second room opened off of the comic room, and find that the shelf in the middle is full of older comics. there are drawers all along the bottom of the shelf, also full of comics. These comics too are organized alphabetically but circle the room counterclockwise.

This layout is smart. You realize that if someone were to be checking out these old comics, they would be forced to move to the back of the room and circle around until they reach the shelf dedicated to the newest releases. A wanderer would pass every comic in the store, and with the eye-catching covers these issues all have, they would most likely be sucked into purchasing more than they bargained for. You yourself find your eyes drawn to the myriad covers in the room. They truly are beautiful.

The back wall has space dedicated to publications other than superhero comics, and you are drawn over to these shelves. There are, of course, superhero comics on these shelves, but contained in omnibuses rather than individual issues. Much more of the shelves are dedicated to graphic novels, and you spy a graphic adaptation of Moby Dick. There are manga high up on the shelves, and a window separates the two shelves of graphic novels. You can explore the second room branching off this one, or you can head to the other side of the store. Wherever it is you wind up heading, you know you’ll feel at home in Comics Metropolis.

To head to the gaming room, click here.                                           To go to the action figure room, click here.

 

Sources

All photos courtesy of Jacob Tashoff and Chris Naiman

Texts:
Benjamin, Walter. “Unpacking My Bookstore.” Illuminations. Mariner Books, 2018.

Clifford, James. “On Collecting Arts and Culture.” Harvard University Press, 1988.

Fiercely Independent: the Artfulness of Mondragon Books

On a rainy day in March, I walked into Mondragon Bookstore to see the owner, Sarajane Snyder, and a shop volunteer using the front room to look through books while listening to a country-sounding record. Some stores would allot off-time for reorganizing, but Mondragon is transparent with its customers. There is not a veil between the owner and the consumer, speaking to the general notion that Mondragon’s shelves are never finalized and are always evolving to educate the multitude of visitors that enter the shop.

Even though Snyder created a hand-drawn map for Mondragon’s interior, the owner was quick to note that she is always thinking about changing the shelves (Snyder). Currently, the map is cluttered with general categories that are surrounded by smaller hand-written footnotes regarding quirky store details. Her clear distaste for the pristine is evident in the visual qualities of the map, which is reflected in the rest of the store. While there is a general organization, the “stuff” of the bookstore is artfully displayed in a jumbled yet pleasing way. Corporate bookstores may rely on organization and cleanliness, but Mondragon is a unique space that has the personality of an independent shop.

Although independent bookstores have a certain rebellious nature to them, this is a relatively new concept, as outlined in the book Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption by Laura J. Miller. In the latter half of the twentieth century, it was much easier for chain stores to succeed in the marketplace, so independent stores had to come together to fight for the lack of justice (Miller 175). Mondragon echoes this notion still because it is clear that the store takes pride in its uniqueness. There are piles of books on floors and tables that are not shelved in a seemingly organized manner. This demonstrates Snyder’s lack of needing to follow corporate bookstore rules and allow Mondragon’s interior to reflect the aesthetic that independent stores are supposed to embrace.

A pile of books on a table that are not neatly shelved.

In the front hallway of the shop, I was first greeted with local magazines and pamphlets advertising the greater Central Pennsylvania area. Those wanting to find more information about local happenings do not have to actually enter the main part of the store to receive information, demonstrating that local organizations have a symbiotic relationship with the greater community and rely on each other to survive.

Hall Books are accessible 24/7 and are sold at a cheap price.

Past the local section of the hallway rests a couple of shelves filled with cheap books. These books are strategically placed outside of the main part of the store because Snyder is aware that these books are unlikely to appeal to most people. Additionally, the owner knows that people will come in during off-hours (the hallway remains unlocked) and steal books, but she is not overly concerned about it. Snyder is fully aware that the store will not be making a huge profit off of them.

Snyder’s willingness to let books go is unlike traditional means of collecting. To an extent, the bookstore is similar to a museum space because both are in the business of preserving culture. Arthur James Clifford discusses the ways in which society impacts culture in the book The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Most collectors try to tie in each item of a collection to a specific narrative that is not always accurate (Clifford 244-246). Instead of trying to fit each book into some important narrative, Snyder understands that she does not have use for all items of the past. The collection of books in Mondragon is living and not bound by social or cultural constructs. This is what allows her to let go of certain items and not hold onto something for its supposed intrinsic value.

A painting by Joanne LaNois in the front room of Mondragon.

Following the front hallway, the front room of Mondragon is the temporary home to a hodge-podge of items. In a room filled with books, I instantly noticed the paintings on the wall first. Both panels are by artist Joanne LaNois and include visually abstract representations of the figure that exist in some unknown space. These paintings symbolize the bookstore because shop visitors enter into an unknown, cluttered space full of colors and differently sized shapes. The paintings portray the idea that the visual qualities of the interior are just as important as the actual books. Mondragon has a certain aesthetic, and the items in the shop give it character.

The books in the front room are reflective of Snyder’s core beliefs. While I would consider most of these books to be coffee table books, they are about bettering oneself and learning to be self-sufficient. Snyder used to work on a farm and is highly interested in being able to provide for herself (Snyder). This front room serves as Snyder’s “friend trap,” seeing that Snyder’s ideal friend would probably not want to leave this room without reading more.

Following the front room, there is a side room that consists of books about travel, history, and economics. On their face value, most of these books seem boring, even Snyder mentioned that she wants to change this part of the store (Snyder). Regardless, she did manage to enliven the space by placing small collages on the selves. These collages are made up of old books that Snyder allows visitors to destroy during art nights on Thursdays (Snyder). Again, this demonstrates that Snyder uses books for aesthetic reasons and is not overly concerned with just preserving them.

In the middle of the side room, there is a desk by the window that faces the street and invites visitors to sit down and read a book. The books may not be interesting to the average consumer, but they serve as a decent backdrop for those wanting to sit at a desk and feel as if they are in a cozy, contemplative space. This is another example as to how the bookstore is not just about preserving the merchandise but being a visually appealing place for consumers.

A desk with a view.

To get to the next room, visitors are guided by the connecting hallway to the middle room. This room looks like the course catalog for a liberal arts college because there are sections for fine arts, philosophy, religion, and theater. It is a room dedicated to teaching, as are most of the books in Mondragon’s collection.

Another hallway full of books leads to the back room. Here, one is able to find all the books filed under fiction, one of the most popular book categories. Instead of being able to easily locate the ever so popular fiction books, visitors have to navigate through the entire store and see everything that the shop has to offer. It is a smart marketing ploy, but it also allows consumers to learn more about other types of books while walking through Snyder’s visual aesthetic.

The fiction section located in the back of the shop.

Overall, Mondragon’s interior is organized in a unique way that does not follow the clean structure of a corporate bookstore. While there are general categories, Snyder wants the space to give visitors a unique store experience that is welcoming and focused on bettering oneself. Corporate bookstores make the book-buying process easy, while Mondragon encourages visitors to think about the space and learn from their surroundings.

Sources

Interview

Snyder, Sarajane. Personal Interview. 22 February 2019.

Images

Photos of Mondragon Books courtesy of Samantha Thompson.

 Text

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

 

Knights of the Long Table

There are a whole bunch of Chatty Cathy’s at Politics & Prose—and I’m not just referring to the full-time employees who love talking your ear off about their new favorite reads. (Offering personal recommendations is, after all, part of the job description.) Since the store’s cash registers and Information Desk are located front and center, no doubt the booksellers will start a conversation with you the second that you walk through the doors. And if by chance you happen to evade them, don’t worry, a large selection on the right wall toward the front of the store features “New and Recommended Nonfiction” (italics added for emphasis). But as you keep wandering, you’ll notice that the space and its contents are just as loquacious as the workers.

When Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade opened Politics & Prose in 1984, they aimed to create a place where people could share their ideas about books and important issues. Today, the indie’s new owners, Brad Graham and Lissa Muscatine, have tasked themselves with continuing this mission and positioning the shop as “a marketplace for ideas.” But Graham and Muscatine aren’t the only forces at play; the store’s interior design is also responsible for maintaining an informed dialogue.

Take, for instance, the selection of nonfiction titles within the store. When you walk into Politics & Prose and turn right, the first three sections you’ll find are Current Events, New and Recommended Nonfiction, and Biography and History. (These sections are featured above.) The particular sequence of these genres suggests a sort of collective investigation, as if the books within these categories are speaking to one another. For instance, a reader can peruse contemporary issues from a national perspective or an individual one (but, really, isn’t the personal political?) and then explore the ways in which history informed or ignored those topics.

Even more telling of the bookstore’s dedication to dialogue is the wide array of book groups hosted by Politics & Prose. The particular texts used by each group are prominently displayed in the very center of the first floor, as if the store revolves around a tradition of discussion.

When communicating with Muscatine about the bookstore’s interior arrangement via email, she quickly listed the different genres located on each floor without any mention of merchandise or additional structures. However, when talking about the lower level, she noted the presence of “a long table where our book groups meet.”

The first time I read this phrase, I thought Muscatine’s emphasis of the long table was a little silly; it seemed like such a random detail amidst the greater genre inventory. But, upon closer examination, Muscatine’s special acknowledgement of the long table signifies her pride in her roles as both a bookseller and a book collector.

In “Unpacking My Library,” Walter Benjamin writes that “inheritance is the soundest way of acquiring a collection. For a collector’s attitude toward his possessions stems from an owner’s feeling of responsibility toward his property” (66). Muscatine, as well as Graham, are the purchasers, or inheritors, of Politics & Prose, an institution that is essentially a mass collection of books. Upon acquiring the store, Muscatine said that both she and Graham “care about the role of discourse in a democracy,” a phrase suggestive of the two owners’ sense of civic duty with respect to the contents of their store. They want to use the literature within their “library” to facilitate conversation. The long table allows them to perform this task, making the object an important component of the booksellers’ collection.

Speaking of democracy, it’s worth mentioning the Washington, D.C. section within the bookstore. Since Politics & Prose is located in the nation’s capital, housing a collection of D.C.-related texts makes sense. In fact, one of the shop’s book groups called District Reads devotes itself to the discussion of books specifically about the capital and its history.

These D.C. texts call to mind a quote from “On Collecting Art and Culture” by James Clifford. He writes about the formation of a sense of self through literal and figurative entities, stating that “identity is a kind of wealth (of objects, knowledge, memories, experience)” (218). The D.C. books at Politics & Prose constitute a form of social commentary on Washington, D.C. identity, suggestive of the ways in which residents view themselves, their city, and their collective history.

This commentary becomes even more telling when you realize that, at one point, the Washington, D.C. section contained Obama bobble heads. This kind of merchandise speaks to the capitalist ideologies underlying the bookstore as an economic institution, nuancing Muscatine’s aforementioned portrayal of Politics & Prose as a “marketplace” for the exchange between goods and currency.

Bill Clinton Chatting with a Customer at Politics & Prose
Bill Clinton Chatting with a Customer at Politics & Prose

In an attempt to push the dialogue even farther, Politics & Prose holds about 400 author events annually. (Keep in mind, there are only 365 days in a year.) Many of these events are book readings followed by Question and Answer sessions. Past visiting authors include former U.S. President Bill Clinton and nonfiction writer Patti Smith, and book subjects range from education to climate change to the Middle East. Understanding that guests have historically leaned toward the left, Graham and Muscatine make a conscious effort to host more conservative authors. In this way, they can craft the most robust, comprehensive, and inclusive discourse.

The Question and Answer sessions during these events are crucial for the flourishment of healthy conversation, serving as an invitation for both authors and readers to debate and discuss relevant, contentious topics. In this way, the people frequenting Politics & Prose become part of the store’s collection. Benjamin notes that a book collection is a “living library,” and the guests of Politics & Prose are an integral part of the bookstore’s vitality (66). Along with the words within the texts themselves, the people of Politics & Prose quite literally give the bookstore its voice.

So, with all this emphasis on political discourse, why the heck does Politics & Prose carry such a large selection of greeting cards?

Yes, that’s correct, greeting cards. Shelves full of colorful cards appear toward the back of the store, waiting to be purchased by customers. The inclusion of this type of merchandise seems really strange—until you realize that a card is a form of verbal communication between a sender and a receiver, just as a book is one between an author and a reader.

The presence of so many greeting cards reminds me of a line from Reluctant Capitalists. Quoting an indie bookseller, Laura Miller notes that the independent bookstore “functions… as a place, in this society, to exchange ideas in a way that nothing else does” (220). The same is true for letters. Many writers throughout history, including Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) and Mary Shelley (1797-1851), have used the epistolary format when composing their works. Centuries later, authors are still writing in this style—evidenced by this neat article about contemporary epistolary novels. Politics & Prose represents this literary tradition—using books, and greeting cards, as a type of correspondence and a medium for intellectual exchange.

Below you’ll find the floorplan for the First Floor of Politics & Prose, followed by the floorplan for the Lower Level. Feel free to “walk around the store” and begin your own dialogue with the interior space.




Sources

 

Texts

Benjamin, Walter, and Hannah Arendt. Illuminations. New York: Schocken Books, 1986.

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

 

Pictures

Bill Clinton < http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/51028369-former-u-s-president-bill-clinton-talks-to-a-gettyimages.jpgv=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=OCUJ5gVf7YdJQI2Xhkc2QMe9fPldBXFk7EUDlJUXlLWVtnFV6Q6OorxDc4baIT%2Fh96gYHN39o7h1VVHqvPhJMg%3D%3D>

 

Google Maps

Politics & Prose <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Politics+%26+Prose+Bookstore/@38.9553438,-77.0700071,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7c9b992f1a9f7:0xb82a9184a0d413af>

 

Articles and Links

Ballard, Jenna. “Bustle.” Bustle. Bustle, 13 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.bustle.com/articles/34809-11-contemporary-epistolary-novels-that-are-a-blast-to-read>.

Book Groups. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.politics-prose.com/book-groups>.

Brown, Emma. “Carla Cohen Dies; Co-founder of D.C. Bookstore Politics and Prose.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/11/AR2010101102811.html?sid=ST2010101102828>.

Events. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.politics-prose.com/events>.

Hodges, Lauren. “A Community Spine.” The Los Angeles Review of Books. The Los Angeles Review of Books, 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/community-spine/?utm_medium=twitter&utmsource=linesandgraphs>.

Politics & Prose Bookstore. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. <http://www.politics-prose.com/>.

Factory + Library + Personality = John K. King Used & Rare Books

 

john king books exterior

With four floors stuffed to the brim with books, John K. King Used & Rare Books is a book lover’s paradise.  This store is said to have over literally a million books in stock, and that wouldn’t be surprising given the size of the store.  John King Books occupies an old glove factory building, and utilizes all of the four floors, with each one packed with shelves and aisles of books upon books upon books.

John King Books is a general used bookstore, selling genres that range from “Alternative Medicine” to “Sewing & Textiles” to “Literary Criticism” to the usual fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.  The rare books mentioned in the store’s full name are housed in a separate building from the main store, and is only opened to customers by appointment.  But this store is more than just books, it’s also about collections. The store also sells antiques, art, collectibles, and prints.  James Clifford writes in “On Collecting Art and Culture” that “identity is a kind of wealth (of objects, knowledge, memories, experience)” (218), and John King Books has gathered together a multitude of identities in the forms of their possessions, ready to be passed on to a new owner and a new identity.

This video provides a simple look at what the shelves of one floor of John King Books looks like.

Before you even enter the store proper, in the lobby there are carts and boxes of books that are absolutely free for the taking if you’re willing to dig through them.  The front counter is just inside the entrance, ready to answer questions and help customers as soon as they enter the store.  The first floor boasts some of the more popular genres, including juvenile literature, Civil War history, poetry, and the classics, as well as some music and art stock.

Customers must venture up the stairs and to the higher floors to get the full experience that is John K. King Used & Rare Books, however.  The third floor, in particular, is a synecdochic embodiment of the bookstore’s literary offerings.  It features both fiction and nonfiction, standard and unusual genres.  Like the second and fourth floors, the third floor is organized simply in a modular manner, like a library.

Hover over the graphic below to see red markers – hover over those for a sneak peek at that spot on the floor.

The stairs dump customers out into shelves of fiction from authors with last names B-Z, on the other side of which are hardcover mysteries.  Those searching for authors A-B must go a little further into the floor.  Fiction sections, highlighted purple, dominate this half of the floor, while the other half and the walls are occupied by non-fiction literature, highlighted green.  All of the floors feature a mix of fiction and non-fiction, but none of them are so clearly divided as the third floor.

John King chooses to place a majority of his fiction stock not on the first floor, not even on the second floor, but here on the third floor.  As probably one of the most sought-out genres by customers, placing the fiction books on the third floor guarantees at least a small journey through the world of this bookstore.  But its position right next to the stairwell means customers still won’t have to go far for their fiction fix.

On the other side of the floor, an almost equally as large section of nonfiction awaits perusal.  While the non-fiction on the second floor may indicate the STEM focus of today’s society (e.g. architecture, engineering, math, biology), the non-fiction genres here on the third floor appeal to hobbies, featuring gardening and sewing as well as automotive and nautical.  Here is also where patrons will find the exclusive biographies sections, another genre that appeals to a wide range of people, although biographies may also be sprinkled throughout other sections like history and film.

Something interesting to see is the location of the science fiction and fantasy genres, definitely one of the most popular genres.  Like the general fiction, they’re placed up on the third floor, but their shelves are located over in the non-fiction side of the floor.  Hardcover sci-fi and fantasy is smack dab in the middle of it between gardening and automotive!  It’s a rather nonsensical placement and promotes the sense of organized chaos found in a store of John King Books’s size.

It’s a little amusing to see this tiny sliver of space reserved for westerns between the stairwell and the non-fiction paperbacks.  It’s a dying genre, but it’s still hanging on at John King Books.  To find westerns on the same floor as literary criticism and self-help and picture books testifies to the diversity at this bookstore, as well as our society.  Here you can find those books “on the pencil, the zipper, the toilet, the banana, the chair, the potato, the bowler hat,” or whatever else strikes your fancy (Brown 2).  As the culture of things has grown in the past decades, so has the quantity of literature on those things, and John King Books is happy to carry all of it.

John King-0786

Another defining characteristic of John King Books is the atmosphere created by the building and the shelving and other non-literary objects.  The sheer size of the space, exposed brick walls, fluorescent lighting, and old signage preserve the building’s history as a factory and create an industrial air that helps the store fit in at its West Side Industrial location.  The huge volume of inventory is reminiscent of a library, and the hodgepodge shelving and handmade section labels lend the space some personal charm.

Independent bookstores are usually characterized by “smallness (even though the independents count among their members some of the largest bookstores in the country), being locally based, and limited in geographic scope” and John King Books mostly fits the bill, although it falls into that parenthetical category (Miller 165).  The combination of factory, library, and personal touches creates a nostalgic mood that shows that even though it’s bigger than some chain booksellers, John K. King Used & Rare Books is a unique independent bookstore.

 

Sources

Images

Exterior of John King Books: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=QAGkOgfboYcoClGWggSW4g

“No Smoking” sign: https://flic.kr/p/vo7k8n

ThinkLink Photos

Crate: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=QltUMWeDRtzjcHUUJs69Ww

Customer: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=9UoRUKz3sTdph2IXo6ZzJA

Down the aisle: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=p1pO2SheDsnfmyVzA2gANQ

Phone: https://flic.kr/p/uHHo2g

Pile on the floor: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=PapOFKz_A4nwwN17lHwrkQ

Self-help: https://flic.kr/p/9Zkpze

Stairwell: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/john-k-king-books-detroit-2?select=crqvS9Plq3yB8keCg8a4xw

Text

Brown, Bill. Critical Inquiry, Vol. 28, No. 1, Things. (Autumn, 2001)

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Unpacking the Inside of A Comic Book Giant

Since its humble beginnings, Mile High Comics has developed into the leader of the comic book industry, to which it boasts the largest collection of comic books in the world. It has four stores located in Denver, Colorado, including the largest of them; the mega-store on Jason Street. Inside the store there are thousands of comic books that have permeated throughout the large warehouse. Every time a first time buyer walks through the office and enters the gigantic building, individuals are awestruck by the sheer massiveness of the place. It really is the ideal place for any collector searching for a nerd haven.

Inside the bookstore, the comic books have been spread out in a peculiar pattern designed by the owner; Chuck Rozanski. Comic books are scattered throughout the store-some placed out, many others in boxes. I’m sure it can be overwhelming to anyone who doesn’t have a specific item they are searching for. On the top of multiple walls there are special edition comic books that have been posted to inside glass cases. In fact, there is 60,000 square feet within the mega-store, and 45,000 square feet of it is devoted to retail spacing. No matter where you turn, you will always find merchandise in your eyesight, and it is open seven days a week, making it consistently accessible to everyone.

On the wall closest to the entrance, and near the pay area, Rozanksi has put independent comics that have been created through Mile High Comics in a large glass case to proudly display and advertise homegrown creativity. Next to it, on the west side of the store, there are approximately 200,000 comics from the silver and bronze age for anyone in the market for older authentic comics from 1933-1982. These comics were purchased and moved to his stores by Rozanski in a blockbuster deal that helped make him the giant of the comic book industry that he is today. It is relatable to what James Clifford writes in his essay ‘On Collecting Art and Culture’, when he states “Authenticity, is produced by removing objects and customs from their current historical situation-a present becoming future” (228). Obviously, the older comics are very rare, and are no longer produced, giving Chuck Rozanski a monopoly in authentic comic books.  They are kept on a large display that is clearly one of the key highlights of the store that attracts collectors from all over the world. To see a video of the interior of the store, watch this:

But that isn’t even close to the amount of comics still inside the store, as Rozanski keeps about half a million comic books on tables’ setup in the middle of the store from the past 30 years. These are organized alphabetically, since they aren’t nearly as sought out by comic book enthusiasts, and are placed in boxes so any casual comic book fan can dig through the countless boxes to find what they are looking for. He also places comics alphabetically, so small press comics can get the same recognition as larger publishers. In addition, there are about one million more comics kept in the back of the store that isn’t assessable except by employees. That part of the store includes many lesser known small press comic books that aren’t kept on display. Even these sort of hidden articles of merchandise are hunted by collectors, and requests for comic books like these are frequent. This traces back to Walter Benjamin as he writes about collectors in his essay ‘Unpacking my Library’ “Naturally, his existence is tied to a very mysterious relationship to ownership…also, to a relationship to objects which does not emphasize their functional, utilitarian value-that is, their usefulness-but studies and loves them as a scene, the stage, of their fate” (60). For every comic book produced and given to the store to sell, there is someone out there looking to purchase and obtain that comic. It’s no wonder Mile High Comics has been thriving with such a passionate demographic.

Name brand comics, such as Star Wars and Star Trek, get their own sections devoted to themselves, and are prominently advertised throughout the store. The store sells out of popular comics like these quickly, especially comics printed within the past six months, which rushes them to replenish stock frequently. Mile High also places merchandise of famous publications all over the mega-store. In the middle of all the tables and boxes, there is even a children section that gives people at any age something to enjoy within the store. Mile High has more publications than any other store in the world, with over 100 feet worth of publications in the mega-store. Mile High has the largest selection of paperback comics in the world as well, kept neatly on shelves towards the back. Chuck Rozanski understands that there are collectors who are on a budget, and keeps around 100,000 comic books in the store for one dollar. He also has rare comics in lesser condition on tables for two dollars each. It’s fascinating that Rozanksi has been able to accomplish this without even borrowing any money to run the store, outside of the original mortgage on the warehouse.

There is a large space within the warehouse that has been set aside to for events. Rozanski holds auctions for people in his store to bid on more valuable objects, along with tournaments for various different games. He has guests well regarded within the comic book industry come into Mile High, giving the store another factor that places it out of a typical bookstore. Authors and comic book creators come in to sign autographs; which only attracts more fans into the store. In the very back of the bookstore, he keeps another 200,000 books on shelves that are so long that they contain 30,000 comics on one side alone. Here is a video of Chuck Rozanski planning an auction:

It is unique to see a part of the publishing industry netting so much profit, especially with Amazon taking over, but Mile High Comics has been able to stay ahead of the industry giant. In fact, Chuck Rozanski’s enterprise has continued progressing, with constant renovations under way to expand the store and produce more space to put products out. He gets shipments of new items every day that has escalated the amount of different publications sold beyond what anyone- even Chuck Rozanksi himself, can comprehend. To see a floor plan of the interior of the Mile High Comics mega-store, check out the floor plan:

 

 

 

Sources:

Images-

  1. http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/chuckatjswhwall.jpg

Floor Plan-

  1. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8lSgsjhoNqE/maxresdefault.jpg
  2. http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/020713pano.jpg
  3. http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/fcbd2013pan.jpg
  4. http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/052913pano.jp
  5. http://milehighcomics.com/images/jason-interior-overhead-1-thumb.jpg

Texts-

  1. Clifford, James. “On Collecting Art and Culture.” (2012): 215-251 Print.
  2. Benjamin, Walter. ““Unpacking My Library”” Ed. Hannah Ardent. Trans. Harry Zohn. Illuminations 1 (2002): 59-67. Print.

Videos-

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRVX9frLpk

Websites-

  1. http://www.thinglink.com/

 

 

 

Dive Into an Ocean of Comics

What do we pay attention to when we enter our favorite bookstore? For some of us, the first thing might be a staff member, walking towards us smilingly and offering their help. Others might be impressed by the atmosphere, the decor, or the amount of customers in the store. Chuck Rozanski, founder of Mile High Comics in Denver, is quite clear about what people’s impressions upon first entering his Jason Street Megastore are. The initial reaction is what he calls the “jaw-drop moment” when they realize the sheer immensity of the store. From the size of the store, we can see that what the owner strive to accomplish is completeness of their collection for the highest customer satisfaction (Rozanski “Tour”). The floor plan below might give you an indication of the magnitude of the store. If you are looking for a visual tour, I recommend Rozanski’s video on the store’s Youtube channel.

The Denver-based chain’s largest store that you can see above is 60,000 square feet big and offers 45,000 square feet of retail space. You will not be surprised to hear that the enormous building started out as a warehouse and slowly made its way to a store that’s now open daily. This space that might remind us of the large book superstores of the past, holds a lot of potential for both Rozanski and his team and the comic-enthusiastic customers. In spite of the incredible amount of comics that the store houses, there is still available space for a multitude of different events centered around comics and the nerd community in Denver. With book signings, auctions, stage events, and educational meetings, the store presents its space as welcoming to different audiences as possible. People that are drawn in this way can then immediately be charmed by the knowledgeable staff and the impressive collection (Rozanski “Tour”).

During a detailed tour around the store, Rozanski mentions his aim to stock every comic printed in the English language for six months (Rozanski “Tour”). Since I have never really read a lot of comics, I couldn’t really fathom how much this would be. One look at pictures of the store make the matter quite clear, though: Rozanski used the warehouse for a reason. The founder also addresses the difficulty of actually keeping all of these issues in stock while at the same time having the everyday business proceed. This video does a pretty good job at giving you an idea of the amount of comics in the store, and those are just the bargain books. The new comics that are emphasized in the tour take over around 100 feet of wall space, which makes this collection the largest in the world. According to Rozanski, the arrangement of the comics within the shelves is also influential on the customers’ consumer behaviors. He understands his powerful position in the comic book industry and tries to use his influence to even the market. Thus, in order to give both independent and large publishers like Marvel the same attention, the selection is sorted alphabetically and not by publisher (Rozanski “Tour”).

By grasping these differences between large and small publishers, Rozanski indirectly also references the conflict between chain bookstores and independent ones. In spite of his obvious dedication to the field, he is able to see the business aspects of the industry as well. Just recently, after 2014’s San Diego Comic Convention, the chain founder announced the end of his appearances there because of the lack of profit. In this case it is the publishers that are making it hard to compete because they sell their issues for so cheap (Melrose). If even the largest comic retailer in the world has to pull out of an event like this, this bodes ill for smaller retailers’ chances on the market. In his own store, Rozanski is allowed to ignore these differences for a while. His stock can’t even be intimidated by Internet giants like amazon.com that are heavily threatening other bookstores’ existence. He specifically says that the selection of comic-related books that they stock is “greater than what you would find even in an amazon.com warehouse” (Rozanski “Tour”). He thus successfully manages to circumvent some of the challenges that booksellers today face.

Rozanski with parts of his beloved collection.

In a different corner of the store near the new comics, there are children’s comics and toys. These shelves are complimented by beanbags and friendly colors to “make [children] feel like they’re very, very welcome” . Further, there are underground and adult publications, which are kept in the storage. Out of all of his selection, though, Rozanski’s personal pride is the large collection of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age comics. This term describes comics published between 1933 and 1982 (Rozanski “Tour”). Among these, there are special issues that are on sale for several thousand dollars, which are showcased in glass cabinets right towards the entrance of the store (Onôv). In his video tour, they are what Rozanski presents first. Just this little thing made me realize something about Mile High Comics and its founder. In spite of the masses of comics they stock, the annual revenue of one million dollars, and the variety of stores and employees that this chain stands for, Chuck Rozanski is just a collector that loves what he has created. In James Clifford’s writings On Collecting Art and Culture the anthropologist says that at some point in every collector’s life, he will be encouraged to share his passion with others. According to him, “personal treasures will be made public.” (Clifford 219). This is exactly what seemed to have happened to Rozanski. What started out as a teenager’s personal love for comics turned into the largest comic book retailer in the world.

Sulley from Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.

When considering the store, it seems as though this love for comics is what drives every aspect of the interior. Large movie posters line the walls and the floor space completely embraces its nerd status: a large Star Wars spaceship with a cardboard figure of Han Solo and several other characters find their place here. My favorite is a gigantic stuffed figure of Sulley from Monsters, Inc. that you can see in the picture (Rozanski “Tour”). This love for details makes the store more than a simple space. In Tim Cresswell’s terms, people’s relations to a space are what makes it a place. This means that the more people are invested in it, the more it is commonly seen as somebody’s place (Cresswell 7). The Mile High Comics Megastore is definitely Rozanski’s place, but by inviting everyone in and accommodating other comic lovers, he extends his “home” to other people. Though the warehouse flair still remains, it looks as though the employees are trying their utmost to make the space livelier and homier, to make this store a place to more and more people. So in the end, I think that it is Rozanski’s desire for the store selection to be as complete as possible and fully welcoming to all people that makes Mile High Comics so successful in its field.

 

Sources

Floor Plan powered by thinglink.com

Books:

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Cresswell, Tim. Place. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print

Articles:

Melrose, James. “Mile High Comics may pull out of SDCC over exclusive variants.” Robot 6. Comic Book Resources. 28 Jul. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Onôv, Alex. “Mile High Comics, La Nave De Los Tebeos.” Cabezabomba. n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Images in Post:

Rozanski sitting on the floor with Comics <http://www.comiclist.com/media/blogs/news/redraven070510.jpg>

Sulley <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/110613chuck.jpg>

Overhead view of store <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Sc1Q5E8Jws/UaGt1clttBI/AAAAAAAAABM/M2_sFK9UjKA/s1600/fcbd2013pan.jpg>

Images in Thinglink:

New comics shelves <https://unpackingthebookstore.susqu.edu/wp-content/uploads/Bildschirmfoto-2015-03-10-um-21.52.16.png>

Marvel t-shirt <http://www.8ball.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/217x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/M/a/MarvelComicsHeroesMensTShirt_AllTheGreats_12.jpg>

Storage Shelves: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Comics-related books: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Panoramic view from upstairs <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/061113pano.jpg>

$1 comics <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mileofertas.jpg>

$2 comics <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mileofertas.jpg>

Events area <http://blogs.denverpost.com/nerd/files/2014/06/party.jpg>

Action figure glass cabinet <http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email/baraf2.jpg>

Outside view and entrance: Screenshot from Google StreetView <https://www.google.com/maps/@39.780347,-104.99934,3a,75y,103.87h,85.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seJt86k4XOQ_FsyiZM4hdiQ!2e0>

Glass cabinet with rare issues: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Age Comics <http://gallivant.com/p/2013/08/mile-high-comics-2.jpg>

Wall with banner <http://www.cabezabomba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mile1.jpg>

Kids section: Screenshot from video <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k65zYbArejE>

Youtube videos:

Rozanski, Chuck. “Mile High Comics Jason St. Mega Store Tour with Chuck Rozanski.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 5 Jun. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

The Strand: A Place for Book-lovers of all Sorts

Like any good bookstore, The Strand offers plenty of books in a variety of interests reflective of the customers it has. In such a diverse city where people take interest in all types of things, it is crucial for the bookstore to be able to supply the materials necessary to satisfy these intellectual cravings. The Strand, with its extensive collection, succeeds in doing that. Like New York City, The Strand offers a space where people of all interests can interact and explore something different while still providing an atmosphere that feels like home. In chapter ten, titled “On Collecting Art and Culture,” of his book The Predicament of Culture, James Clifford writes that collecting is a “probably universal” habit, though “the idea that identity is a kind of wealth (of objects, knowledge, memories, experience)” is not universal, but more of a Western idea. With other cultures, such as in Melanesia, collecting objects is done “to give them away, to redistribute.” (Clifford, 218) It can be argued, then, that bookstores have a way of doing both- of creating an identity based off of their collections but for the purpose of redistributing.

strand-bookstore
Just like the arrangement of books above the registers of the first floor suggests, The Strand offers a collection of books and other merchandise of every “color,” or type.

In Tim Cresswell’s book, Place: A Short Introduction, he calls for readers to think about the way in which we use the word place every day. He goes on to explain that our usage of the term “suggests ownership or some type of connection between a person or a particular location or building.” If someone were to say, for example, “The Strand is a nice place,” Creswell explains that this “suggests something of the way it looks and what it is like to be there.” (Creswell, 1-2) With this in mind, by taking a look at the collection of books The Strand offers and the way in which they are arranged, we are better able to understand what type of place this bookstore is trying to be.

 

Upon entering the store, one may be immediately overwhelmed by the amount of books at the ready to be picked up and paged through. The layout of the store gives the impression that there is so much to see that one must at least try to see it all, leading curious customers to explore sections that they might not otherwise venture in to, though sometimes accidentally.

The front of the store may seem pretty typical with a brief glance at the floor plan I’ve sketched out. Bestsellers, New Arrivals and Popular Fiction are located near the entrance along with the current or upcoming holiday-themed stand. But, The Strand is so much more than meets the eye- my sketch does not do it justice. Venturing further into the store, customers will find a Banned Books section near the Popular Fiction as well as a massive Poetry section and tables of “Underground” Books. Unlike chain bookstores which primarily focus on selling what’s popular, The Strand caters to a wide range of interests. The store does not disregard those who enjoy bestsellers, which elitists might say are of lesser value, but rather it invites this audience in by providing these bestsellers and popular fiction, while giving them an environment to explore a wider range of books. The same goes with those who like to disregard the bestsellers. The Strand is saying, it’s ok to enjoy what you enjoy, but maybe you will enjoy these other books, too.

Again, it’s too tempting to not explore at least the rest of the first floor. After entering, most people will be inclined to go away from the registers first, toward the right side of the store. From there, they will most likely be drawn to another nearby section, moving further back throughout the store until they wind up walking toward the registers, perhaps drawn there with the desire to purchase something, to double-back to something that had previously caught their eye, or to find the stairs to continue exploring the upper levels.

In her book Reluctant Capitalists, Laura Miller writes, “A locally owned and operated store is directly dependent on the goodwill of local residents and cannot risk alienating large parts of the community… The store proprietor knows that the fate of her entire business is tied to the future of that community.” (Miller, 26) This idea is clearly incorporated into the layout and stock of The Strand, but is perhaps most evident on the second floor.

As you can begin to see from my sketch, the second floor is home to thousands of young adult, children’s, and various types of art books. While downstairs caters to a more general population of New York City, the second floor is for specific types of people. As New York City is a very popular place for artists of all types to reside in or frequent, I suppose I should not have been as surprised as I was to find such a wide selection of books. It is evident that The Strand does not want to alienate any type of artist. The store welcomes and enjoys supplying books for painters, dancers, photographers, architects, fashion designers, and even crafters. Non-artists are, of course, also welcome. During my visit, I noticed another customer had even brought his Schnauzer!

The Third floor is a little different. The fact that there are no stairs to this level suggests a knowledge of the fact that there’s a certain type of person that will be interested in going up there, though everyone should at least take a peek.

Some customers might feel uncomfortable on this floor because it may be the area of the store where the stock of books isn’t quite within their reach, either intellectually or financially. The books are more expensive here and may tend to be more of collector’s items than for the pleasure of reading. This is possibly enough to make those who are just exploring the third floor feel as if they shouldn’t be there. However, no one actually seems to mind any of the browsers. My sketch shows comfy armchairs to the left of the store when exiting the elevator, whereas throughout the rest of the store the chairs are less inviting. Perhaps this is an attempt to compensate for any discomfort. It’s a way for the store to tell customers it’s okay to be here and even stay for a little while.

Throughout each level of the store, you may notice that sections such as Sci-Fi, Sports, and Graphic novels end up being located in corners, suggesting that these may not be the most popular sections, but those who are looking for them will find them. If not, there are information desks on each floor and signs everywhere telling customers to “Ask Us!” A recent Publisher’s Weekly article even announced a new in-store positioning-based marketing technique being implementing at The Strand in order to connect with customers and “build the Strand brand-” which is ultimately and thus far recognized as a friendly, interesting place welcoming of all types of book-lovers.

 

 

Sources

Websites

www.strandbooks.com

www.thinglink.com

www.publishersweekly.com

Images

www.google.com

ThingLink images taken with personal camera

Text

Clifford, James. “On Collecting Art and Culture.” The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1988. 215-51. Print.

Cresswell, Tim. Place: A Short Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2004. Print.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2006. Print.