Apparently my friends know what will get my behind in a car, and that is to tell me that Hastings, a store I am not overly fond of, has not only converted part of its music section into a comic book area, but they are even going so far as to carry back issues.

… say what?

I got two e-mails asking me if I had been by Hastings as of late to see that a whole rack of music had been removed and replaced with a comic book area.  Short answer was “no”, long answer was my car was in the shop and I was going to get up there as soon as I got some wheels.

Not exactly sure what to expect, I headed up there and this is what I found (click either image for a much larger version)

The back issues on the other side of the display.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. It’s obvious they are dealing with Diamond Comics Distribution, which means they are getting books the same week as comic book stores. This is unusual as most stores such as this go through a magazine distributor for books as they can make returns to those by stripping off the covers to prove they didn’t sell copies. I’m going to guess some sort of deal has been made with Diamond for returns, or else Hastings’ back issue bins are going to fill up pretty darn quick.

Why will they fill up quick? They’re ordering on new books was all over the board: One to two copies of this or that, and 20 copies of something else. It was erratic at best.

What did catch my eye about the back issues was that it was an eclectic mix of recent issues and stuff from the 1980′s.  Secret Wars, a key Marvel title from the 80′s, three copies of Transformers #14 from that decade and so on, next to books that were out just a month or two ago.  How they built up a selection like this is odd, and make me guess they have bought out some large company that was sitting on a ton of back stock.  The prices for back issues seemed reasonable ranging from $.99 up to the highest I saw at $5.99.

On another end cap of a neighboring display was a selection of recent hard cover books, as well as packages of collector bags and boards.  I have no clue what has prompted Hastings to get so serious about comics, but it appears to have jumped in with both feet.

I wandered off for a few minutes to ponder what this means for the industry.  True, it is just one display in a store, but the chain overall, and if it is doing it at all locations, means a decent comic selection is now available at around 200 more locations around the country.  As I went back to take another look, my thoughts turned to nothing but positive thoughts as I saw a mother and son, who appeared to be 10 or 11,  going through the back issues.  She was telling him he could get one book, and he was pouring through them like it was a monumental decision he had to make.

This is one of the key things I have been saying about comics for some time now that comics have priced themselves to a level where kids can’t get involved any more.  Your average new issue runs between $2.99 and $3.99 these days, and that is just not a price parents are going to say, “sure, why not” at.  However, slap $.99 on a book, the comes in a bag and board no less, and they may be more inclined to let little Jimmy pick something up.  Without new kids coming into the medium, it is doomed to die out, so it warmed even my cold, dead heart a bit to see a child picking out a comic book.

However, therein lies the mystery of this sudden change at Hastings.  As much as it saddens me, comic books are not what they once were.  Yes, the company took out a rack of music CDs, another medium that is dying, and replaced it something of an equally questionable lifespan.  Comics have been on the decline for some time now, especially in what we refer to as the “monthly pamphlet” format.  Trade paperbacks that collect several issues into one volume have become the more popular way of consuming the literature, and now with digital comics on the rise on devices such as the iPad, who knows how long the monthly has left.  Collectors still love the old format, but your casual reader is much more interested in self-contained stories, or consuming it digitally.  This is an awful lot of floor space to devote to a product such as this.

Why Hastings has gone this route is a mystery to me, and I question the sanity of it, but, to be honest, that one little kid with his mother made me move a long way off from condemning it as complete stupidity.