That headline is probably the best joke remark we can make about the situation all things considered, but for those unawares the gist of it is this: Mark Waid, author of probably at least one of your favorite comics (if not a Top 10 at least), started Thrillbent using the Infinite Comic idea that he helped pioneer at Marvel for a digital only comics initiative. It was an interesting move; a guy who had made his chops for years writing all the big Marvel and DC characters now making efforts to start his own little imprint. It was reminiscent of when a band becomes so big that they start their own label to put out their music and the music of their friend’s bands, in a manner of speaking.
But to fund it, Mark Waid sold his comic collection. And, in the eyes of many retailers, became Public Enemy No. 1. Waid is a strong believer that print can exist alongside digital (which, y’know, a lot of us who own iPads and comics agree with), but for many brick and mortar locations who fear the onslaught of the digital move — a justified fear, admittedly, as many small book shop have died because they can’t compete with Amazon — this was practically a declaration of war.
Now Waid has gone and done what any reasonable comic-writer-turned-digital-publisher would do: he’s gone and acquired himself a physical retail location.
As written on his Thrillbent blog,
As some of you know, I’ve been living in the Muncie, Indiana area for a while now. Good people here. One of the best is my friend Jason Pierce, whose shop Alter Ego Comics has been my store of choice for some time. Alter Ego’s been pretty much a one-man operation forever; Jason’s been aching to expand, to move the storefront, to grow the store’s market and its community outreach…but while it’s always been a worthwhile enterprise, Jason could never stretch his time and resources enough to both run the store and evolve it.
Meanwhile, I–having to, on a daily basis, explain to most of the industry that championing digital comics with Thrillbent isn’t the same as “hating print”–had been thinking long and hard about what I’ve been preaching for a while, that print and digital can not only co-exist but feed one another for the overall health of the comics business. It sounds good to say, and I believe it–but with Thrillbent, I had the tools to actually prove only half that equation.
So I’ve put my money where my mouth is. Effective immediately, you can trust me when I say I want comics retailers to thrive, because now I am one. I said, I AM ONE. (I had to raise my voice there a little to drown out the screams of rage from anti-Thrillbent retailers like Phil Boyle. Hi, Phil!) Along with my partner in life and now in business, Christy Blanch, I’m logging inventory on Tuesdays and running the register on weekends and navigating the ordering process at our brand new location. This isn’t a vanity purchase, a symbolic gesture, or a silent partnership; Christy, Jason and I are each equal shareholders in Alter Ego Comics. I have skin in the game, and I’m eager to see what there is to learn about the only side of the industry I’ve never involved myself with.
I’ve never Alter Ego let alone Muncie, but I kind of want to go now to check it out. At the very least I want to go in and talk about how much I looooved Man of Steel some weekend, right?
If you live in Muncie, head on over to Alter Ego and give it a look. Waid promises this is “part one” of a two-part big reveal, so keep your peepers popped and ears perked up for whenever that drops (which we will assuredly share as well).
