As a male, I too found comic books shops of the late 1980s/early 1990s to be a squalled mess. "Ill-lit" is being polite. One shop I visited a few times, I brought my own flashlight because there were two bulbs lighting the back issue section (which was massive; dozens and dozens of long boxes). The owners (the ones around me were all single-owner who ran the store) had no customer service skills with anyone. And the owners seldom bathed. To ask about a comic book that wasn't of interest to the owner was a problem.
Not amazingly, every single one of these types of owners went out of business, despite having a monopoly in their city. Most were never replaced as there weren't enough readers left for making a living.
Now that the industry refuses to broaden its distribution system, it's only a matter of time before we'll have no more print books left, and I see a time when the industry totally implodes and is no more (at least as we can perceive where it started).
Grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations were the entry point to comic books. The internet does not offer an entry point for comic books, only final destinations.
As a male, I too found comic books shops of the late 1980s/early 1990s to be a squalled mess. "Ill-lit" is being polite. One shop I visited a few times, I brought my own flashlight because there were two bulbs lighting the back issue section (which was massive; dozens and dozens of long boxes). The owners (the ones around me were all single-owner who ran the store) had no customer service skills with anyone. And the owners seldom bathed. To ask about a comic book that wasn't of interest to the owner was a problem.
Not amazingly, every single one of these types of owners went out of business, despite having a monopoly in their city. Most were never replaced as there weren't enough readers left for making a living.
Now that the industry refuses to broaden its distribution system, it's only a matter of time before we'll have no more print books left, and I see a time when the industry totally implodes and is no more (at least as we can perceive where it started).
Grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations were the entry point to comic books. The internet does not offer an entry point for comic books, only final destinations.