Comic book roundtable

Over at PopThought, Alan David Doane, Mike Gold and a number of pros and retailers touch on the big issues:

ADD: Sales in the direct market may not be skyrocketing, but sales of graphic novels to libraries and mainstream bookstores are clearly increasing. A trip through any Borders will show you that the mainstream is in tune with comics, but the direct market has chosen not to participate by ignoring such important elements as manga, Pantheon's impressive line of graphic novels, and other comics people in the real world are interested in. It's just easier to continue to sell to the 40-year-old fat guy that is the calcified backbone of the direct market. And they'll ride that snake all the way down. More power to 'em, comics is learning it doesn't need the superhero boutiques to survive. The smartest retailers in the direct market -- guys like James Sime at The Isotope and the folks at The Beguiling have adapted to the changes, and new stores like Rocketship show there are people willing to follow the trail that's been blazed to a wider, more diverse readership.