We recently connected with Dave Dyer and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dave, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?
I have been involved in the Comic Book Industry since 1984 & have owned my own shop for going on 6 years. I have seen the Industry go Up & Down and Ebb & Flow. But in the past say 2 Years I have seen the comic book industry almost collapse! Both DC Comics & Marvel Comics have been bought out by Major Companies! DC to AT&T then to Discovery Channel & Marvel to Disney! None of which know anything on running the comic book industry. With the High Cost of Printing they are Pushing to go Digital. They Hire Contract Artist & Writers with Little to No Experience. The Artwork is Crude & the Stories are weak! I do not see the Industry bouncing back Like I have in the past. Very Few of my clients are buying NEW Issues & Instead collecting Vintage issues which they can Invest in & get a Financial return if they were to flip them. There are many Independent companies that are putting out some quality work but once again with the High Cost of Printing it is very hard for them to get consumers to spend $6.99 or more for a single issue! On Average a New Comic Book runs for $3.99-$4.99 & going as High as $9.99! Couple this with all of the Variant covers they have been producing for the past few years at becomes extremely expensive. I think this trend is why the Industry is dying! Low Quality Stories & Art but at high cost. The Collectivity is no long relevant.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Dave Dyer & I am the Owner/Operator of “Cosmic Comics, Games & Collectibles” Located at 132 W Main, Belleville, IL. We are about 30 Minutes over the Bridge from Downtown St. Louis, MO. I have been in the Comic Book Business since 1984 when I after College started working for a small Comic Book Shop! It helped to pay for my Loans as I Looked for Freelance work as an Artist which I had gone to Webster University for. I have a B.A. Degree in Art. I grew up Collecting Comics & would do chores around the house & Cut grass so I could raise money, then ride my bike up to the local book store or 5 & Dime or RX Drug Store to buy my Comics at 20 to 25 Cents a Copy! The Incredible Hulk, Superman, Shazam, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America & So On!
At “Cosmic Comics, Games & Collectibles” we have created a Friendly, Fun Place for all Geeks to feel at home when they come in! We always have a Movie or TV Show or Game showing on our Big 70″ TV in Our “Cosmic Lounge” We Sell Modern Board Games & Trading Card Games, New & Vintage Toys & New & Collectibles Comics. We also in our Back Room we have the “Cosmic Vinyl Sound Room” where you can pick up Vintage LP Records & some New Vinyl as well. Many of our clients come to us to find “Out of Print” or Hard to find Items & I Love the challenge of finding these pieces for their Collections. We are also known for being the largest Retailer of Godzilla Related Items in the Midwest!
One of the Things that I am Proud of is the Events that we Put on for the Community at our shop! Whether it is a Free Movie Night at our shop or a Record Spin Day out in front of the shop where I spin Records from our “Cosmic Vinyl Sound Room” or an Event Like having 2 of the real “Power Rangers” appear at our shop for a autograph signing or a Concert by “Jennifer Cihi” who is the Singing Voice of the Anime Character “Sailor Moon”! This Year we will be Putting on the First Annual “Draculafest” with Special Guest “Dacre Stoker” the Great Grand Nephew of Bram Stoker the Creator of Dracula. This will be a 1 Day Event on Saturday October 14th, 2023 & will be filled with all kinds of fun & Activities starting at Noon & going until at Least Midnight! We are all Very Excited to be Putting this on for the Public.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
We will Call this Story “Covid the Journey to Stay Alive” We had only been in Business for about 1 1/2 Years when Covid hit! Mandatory shut down from the State of Illinois for at least 3 weeks. I Sold to my Customers by Car Side Pick Up or Out of the Back Door. The Comic Book Industry Shut down as well when they stopped the printing of new titles. We where all Scared & we went from making over a Thousand a Week to making maybe a $100 a week. I didn’t know if we where going to make it! We Hung in there & because of our Loyal Customers we Prevailed but to this day the Industry still hasn’t bounced back & the Numbers are not what they used to be before Covid. You Have no choice but to adapt & Rethink a bit of your model which we have had to do. Move Forward & don’t be afraid of what’s a round the Corner.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
With the Economy the way it is currently it has been very hard for small businesses to survive! We had a very hard start to the year coming out of the gate. Very Low Sales & we where robbing Peter to Pay Paul & Peter’s Wallet was Empty! Having a Hard time Paying your Bills on time or paying them at all is very trying. There is nothing more upsetting & Nerve Racking than Bouncing a Check to one of your Distributors & Unfortunately it has happened to us this year! Sales are getting better now that we are in the summer months and we are Thankful for that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https:/www.cosmiccomicsbelleville.com
- Instagram: @cosmiccomicsbelleville
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cosmiccomicsbelleville
- Twitter: @cosmiccomicsbelleville
- Youtube: @cosmiccomicstv6052
- Other: Email Us @ [email protected]
Image Credits
Dave Dyer