Books that Don't Show Up Locally

I don't know if it is just here in Toronto,

or wether it is a phenomenon being experienced elsewhere too

but over the course of the last few years, 

the comic book shops, here in town, sometimes fail to stock 

some of the larger, more expensive books.

The first time that I realized that I could not rely on, "I'll check out a copy at the store...", was in relation to the first printing of the Jim Starlin art book, from IDW, way back in 2010.

I never saw a copy.

Neither of the two mainstays, of the local comic book scene, ever had a copy on display and I eventually got one, 

when AfterShock Comics reprinted it a couple of months ago.

BUT

this time I was smarter and placed an order for it, in advance!

 This is the latest example.

Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise,

the Graphitti Designs, Gallery Edition.

It was scheduled to be on the shelves this past Wednesday, July the 18th of 2018 but no one, here in town, had a copy!

Here is another example,

published in October of 2016,

Girl Power: Amanda Conner Gallery Edition.

Amazingly, when I questioned the, usually knowledgable guys at The Beguiling, they actually fobbed me of with the line,

" A lot of those books never see the light of day..."!

They didn't even try to search for the item, on-line, I just wasn't worth their effort, I guess.

The fact is, the item does exist and if I was so inclined, I could order a copy from one of the on-line book sellers.

I have been visiting dedicated comic book shops, since around the beginning of 1974, when I lucked into meeting a couple of far more knowledgable young guys, in Birmingham, England.

Derek Powell and Vince Harris, were both younger than I was, at the time and both of them had collections of older Marvel Comics, that made my head swim!

They were far more astute and connected to the fledgeling British Comic Fan Scene, than I was.  They escorted me to the newly opened Andromeda Bookshop and the basement of Japetus Bookshop, where a young, long haired guy, Alan, operated Warp Comics.

Forty four years on, I am still a regular visitor to the local outlets but I buy a whole lot less than I used to and what I buy is, in some ways, quite different from the items that I began this hobby with.

It used to be four colour comic books, specifically, The Fantastic Four, before I began buying out the collections of my classmates and broadening my base.

I hate to say it but except for a couple of rare exceptions, the monthly colour comic books hold no interest for me and these days I spend my allowance on related Art Books, magazines and the like.

I have also watched the amazing rise of the dedicated comic book shop and I am beginning to admit, that I seem to be witnessing their demise too.

I am grateful that we still have several Comic Book Shops, here in the city but there are a lot fewer than there used to be and truthfully, I don't understand how they manage to stay in business... in the face of skyrocketing commercial rent fees and the equally high costs of the stock.

I wait and wonder, what the future will bring.