Should Wal-Mart start selling Marvel, DC, and other comics?

I just read a Statistic that 138 million people shop at wal-mart weekly. Imagine all those people being exposed to comics. It could only do good for the industry in my opinion.

What do you think.

I think that'd be a good idea.

it really pi$$es me off when I go to Toys R Us and see bent and often ripped up books on their shelves so no

I don't care.

@danhimself: That's Toys R Us though. Wall Mart is a less kiddy store.

@Decoy Elite: Walmart is ghetto which is worst.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers: No it's not.

It's cheap as heck, but I would not call it "ghetto".

I think if they ever did, the selection would be like what is available at Barnes and Noble; Spider man, Avngers, Batman, and the like. I would not purchase them from WalFart but may be good for comics overall... Get more people into them... Wal-Mart the gateway drug

No, Wal Mart is notoriously known for micromanaging their suppliers.

That would make my life SO much easier!

that would be awful. im happy with my local comic book store and i would hate for wal-mart to put them out of business just like so many other small local shops

Can someone tell me numbers of DC/Marvel sells on foreign countries (outside US). I think that could be a nice getaway. I know Id like it. Its extremely difficult to get comics in my country and I think that also drives away a lot of market (there's a lot of people outside US to sell comics to)

Nope, like Walmart does to all competitors it would drive most local comic shops out of business. And then what would happen to independent comics,or if they decided it wasn't profitable down the line.

Nope, like Walmart does to all competitors it would drive most local comic shops out of business. And then what would happen to independent comics,or if they decided it wasn't profitable down the line.

I remember seeing a small comic section at Walmart about fifteen years ago, and just about every grocery store had a section. However, Walmart stopped shortly after I noticed them, and the grocery stores slowly fazed them out. I think the last time I saw comics at a grocery store was about four years ago. Anybody know why this is? If I had to take a guess, I'd say it was due to stores losing profit on comics getting torn up but not bought.

They do you can but the toys and they have comics in them =)

I'd still much rather prefer going to a comic book store.

Two sided sword I feel, yes it would help the comic book companies and probably expand the market, but it would have very negative affects on all comic book shops. Plus all the comics would be trashed. I prefer Walmart NOT carry Comics... although the nearest comic shop is about 45mins from my house...

In my country they do.

I don'tknow, I mean I think it would be good for possibly more circulation...but when you see how magazines are treated on the shelves it makes me apathetic to have comics there too. Real double edged sword there. I'll have to go with no though personally. I like the personal service my LCS does...plus my LCS is far closer to my house than my nearest Wally's.

I would say no. Because that would hurt local comic stores. @nightwing91 said:

Nope, like Walmart does to all competitors it would drive most local comic shops out of business. And then what would happen to independent comics,or if they decided it wasn't profitable down the line.

this

I would say yes, but I think Walmart only sells products made in China.

I think it would be cool if they did. It will expose a lot more people to comic books if they did

That would be cool, where I live there isn't comics stores, there isn't many either and you have to buy them in magazine stores... so that will be helpful

@Deadcool said:

In my country they do.

OMG In What country u live?

Yes. My nearest comic book store is over 30 miles away. would be so much easier for me.

Yes.

Even if the condition of the comics didn't meet collectors' standards by the time the WalMart employees were done handling/mishandling the comics, kids (i.e.; future fans) and former fans would be more likely to pick up a comic and thus become interested/interested again. Also; avid collectors might have a shot a finding some issues early, late or cheap if they get lucky enough to find them in acceptable condition.

@RedOwl_1 said:

@Deadcool said:

In my country they do.

OMG In What country u live?

Secret =_=...

But there is not much choice anyway...

Yes, they should. Not to sound heartless, but the comic book shops closing down is small stuff compared to the entire medium being shut down, and frankly, without mainstream exposure, comics are very much dying. Having them in stores so that the general public can just pop in and buy em will create more interest in the medium and propel more people to buy comics, thus convincing the big companies to actually start marketing them.

@batmanary said:

Yes, they should. Not to sound heartless, but the comic book shops closing down is small stuff compared to the entire medium being shut down, and frankly, without mainstream exposure, comics are very much dying. Having them in stores so that the general public can just pop in and buy em will create more interest in the medium and propel more people to buy comics, thus convincing the big companies to actually start marketing them.

But there is maninstream exposure as long as comicbook movies and animated series are made.It's not exactly small stuff comicbook stores are still where most comics are sold, and as has been mentioned if Walmart did drive most local stores out of business the only ones who would actually recieve any kind of advantage are Marvel and DC.And possibly Darkhorse and IDW, most other Independent comics aren't exactly going to be sold there and it woulkd kill most of the smaller companies. And then what happens if Walmart drives them out of business, then decides there isn't enough of a profit being made,and pulls comics. Then without shops to sell them what would happen to the medium?

And besides the best part of a comicbook store would be lost, the chat with employees/owners about comics. I highly doubt most Walmart employees will be overly knowledgeable on comic release dates or even the characters, or even have the time to talk about it.

Why not? They sell everything else.

No. I like my comic book store...

Plus, I saw what happened to the comic selection when Borders was around...that was messy! (and that was way before they went out of business...)

Yes, there are no comic book stores that close, and it would make things a lot easier.

I much prefer going to my local comic shop, if only because the people working there tend to be knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the product they're selling. There's only about a 15% chance that a given Wal-Mart employee will know where the restrooms are, much less have any kind of product knowledge.

@shamelesslysupportinaznballers: Walmart isn't ghetto at all in the US. You should see the Walmarts in Germany, now those are ghetto.

We don't all have the same appreciation for clear protective plastic bags with cardboard backing. Comics are meant to be read and enjoyed. If some trailer-dwelling child wrecks a book off the shelf, at least it was read and enjoyed. More likely than not, he's going to become that 40-year old fan that's buying multiple books every week at your local comic shop.

Pretty much this. When I was a kid, I used to spend a good hour or more at the local pharmacy or grocery store, reading comics off the rack. I didn't have any money so I'd just loiter about unless some store employee gave me a dirty look, which rarely happened. I also checked out everything on the shelves at our small public library.

The point is comic publishers didn't make a lot of money off me at the time, but they created a customer through making their works accessible.

Mall-Mart is the Devil.

I think it would be a good idea, however I would still go to my lcs. I love how the employees at the lcs know you buy name and know what comics I am going to pick up. They even recommend comics that I might like. Nothing beats having a chat with people who share the same interest.

Walmart already messes over small businesses enough why add comic shops to the list?

They would probably be all damaged and stuff so no.

They used to. I remember like 10 years ago i used to get my comics at stop an shop and walmart, but then when trading cards blew up a second time with yu gi oh they stopped.

No! Sure, it would be great for readers not around any comic shops... but... With digital comics already taking a toll on comic shops, it would be a real shame for them to lose even more money to a large corporation. I'm not one of those crazy "Wal-Mart should be taken down! How dare they destroy small businesses? Nazis!" people, but local comic shops already have dwindling business enough!

EDIT: I do love WalMart, though. Maybe just put it in areas that don't have comic shops... but that would be kind of tough to measure. Maybe in Europe? Who knows...

No. Walmart micromanages their vendors and would probably censor the books like they do their music selection and the books probably would beat to sh!t once the kids get through with them.

As a business, I think Wal-Mart would be a terrible comics realtor, as Barns and Noble (my job) isn't doing a good job at selling comics currently (we get them 2 weeks late, sometimes skip receiving issues, and only have the current issue out--assuming we have the title you want AND didn't decide to suddenly drop it). (And would they sell? We sell maybe 10 comics a week at B&N--people just sit down and read them instead of buy them, something you definitely can't do at small comic shop.)

Not to mention it's better to get them at your LCS. That's what I do despite my B&N discount.

I like my comic book store so it's a no from me.

They should sell the digests and MAYBE graphic novels/collections made for retail stores. I remember comic stands in corner stores and 7-11's, it's where I picked up my first Daredevil issue. But now a-days I think even more people would be just looky-lous and leave them messed and such. So, yes, graphic novels/collections and digests. No to actual individual issues.

I agree with this. Not to say that I hate Wal-Mart but I think that they should just leave them be.

My local store isn't doing all that well as it is, if Wal-Mart started doing this it would ruin allot of the smaller comic-shops...

Agreed.

I've seen one or two in magazine racks.

Depends. I feel that Walmart will only sell what appealinging to casual comic readers or what the current super hero movie is in theaters at the moment. I they only have the typical X-men Avengers Superman Batman stuff then no they should. If they have the same comics you can find at most if not all local comic stores then yes but even then I feel I like the customer service I get at my local comic store that alone would make me not shop at Walmart even with cheaper prices rather pay a little extra if that means a great experience at my local shop

could go either way, although im lucky to have 3 comic stores all within 15 minutes bus from my house. Although the last time i was in Safeway they had justice league #18 and star wars #3 by dark horse