Comic book shop stays strong despite economy

Vintage Phoenix Comic Books stands among neighboring Sixth Street businesses, its name emblazoned on at least three different signs. Comic book titles unfamiliar to most line the window displays, and neon signs brandishing the symbols of Superman and Batman punctuate the scene with their red and yellow glows.

Inside, Matt Traughber, the manager of Vintage Phoenix, goes about a familiar Tuesday ritual as he spoke, unpacking new comic issues for a Wednesday release, sifting through issues of Batman and other household names.

“It really is just retail,” Traughber warned, explaining it much like one might any other store: stacking shelves, attracting customers, trying to sell products that can’t be refunded to the manufacturer.

However, Traughber, who’s been manager of Vintage Phoenix for the last 12 years, has seen many of the ups and downs of a little-known niche market.

Though comic books might not be as popular as they were in decades past, Vintage Phoenix has persisted for its 20-year existence in Bloomington, Traughber said.

Much of it can be credited to the manager’s efforts to expand the store’s presence and brand, having the store take part in charitable drives, participate in outreach programs at elementary schools and even appear on a promotional cover to an issue of “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

The store wasn’t always such an eye-catching place, Traughber said,

“There was no music when we started,” he said. “The walls were dingy white until I painted. The windows had no fixtures.”

Attracting customers aside from the usual superhero fans was also a must, he said.

“When I started here, there were two kinds of comics: superheroes and someone else,” Traughber said. “We had to expand.”

Despite their omniscient presence in popular culture, comics are a hard sell, Traughber said. The general public is ignorant of comics outside of the most popular characters.

Giving a brief history lesson of the industry, Traughber said comic books are no longer readily available in newsstands or grocery stores, and a market burst in the 1990s made sales numbers tumble, though at one point series such as “X-Men” were known to sell more than a million copies.

Such numbers are unheard of today. In comparison, DC’s new “Batman” issue one sold what today is a princely number of 188,420 copies.

Even with the advent of digital distribution of comic book stories, Traughber said he is unfazed, citing the few sales lost to digital downloads as nothing he’s worried about.

A customer in the store, Steve, commented about digitally downloaded comics, saying he’s read some online but prefers traditional paper copies.

“I’m a collector,” Steve said. “The comics I like to read, I like to keep.”

Traughber said digital downloads are something to adapt to in the future.

Traughber said the Internet has had an effect on the range of buyers by introducing people to comics. Previously, people might have had to venture to the local shop to learn whether they found comic books to be something they liked.

Junior Steph Simpson frequently goes to Vintage Phoenix. She said her brother, who owns a comic store in Michigan, was the start of her comic book interest.

“I read a bit of everything,” she said. “I’m not a die-hard fan of one particular genre yet, so I dabble around a bit.”

No one type of person buys comic books, Traughber said, dismissing the old stereotypes of comic book fans.

“In the last decade, the diversification has been really neat to see. All ages and men and women,” Traughber said. “It’s great to see everyone come in. It’s not just for nerds anymore. You don’t have to be in the club already to know the secret handshake.”