Store visit: Rocketship, followed by links

So, Rocketship...

First of all, I am slightly biased towards this store--I've known Rocketship co-owner Alex Cox for a few years through internet geekery. Admitting that, though, doesn't really preclude me from saying negative things about it--it's just that I can't really find anything to criticize. Like others, I'd like to see more manga represented on the shelves, but looking at the manga Rocketship does carry, it's obvious that Cox and Mary Gibbons, Rocketship's other co-owner, are stressing quality over quantity in that section--the store is probably the first one I've seen in recent travels to focus on the manga that's not geared towards the younger set. I spied every volume of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha, which I rarely see on mass market bookshelves--come to think of it, I should have checked to see if they had Erica Sakurazawa's Between The Sheets, because I haven't seen that at any of the bookstores around here either.

The layout is gorgeous--the original fixtures and slatwall from the previous tenant, a shoe store, are used to good effect. When I got there around 5PMish (after talking a nice driving tour through Brooklyn and Queens, which is a nice way of saying Mapquest got me lost, or that I read directions badly, or some combination of the two), the store was doing brisk business, with a nice split across gender and age lines. While the spot itself is small, its design makes maximum use of available space. The featured books from The Comics Journal Top 100 English-Language Comics of the Centurywas popular with the folks browsing through, and I was happy to learn that books from Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly are doing really well with the store's customers. That said, it isn't like Rocketship has abandoned the superhero fans--the monthly editions are mixed in with everything else released periodically, and there is a sizeable superhero trade section (but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't happy to see the "general fiction" section being much larger). Also, the bargain section was nice to see--instead of just things one might think unsellable, they've got deals on some good comics (I'd imagine the first two Marvel Masterworks: Avengers that are offered together for $65 will go pretty quickly).

Unfortunately, I had to rush out of there around 9:30PM, as I had a five-hour drive home to look forward to (and the sound of Digible Planets "Rebirth of Slick" coming from my pants meant my wife was on the other end reminding me of that fact). So I missed one of the reasons I went out there--to pick up Beg The Question and chat with Bob Fingerman. As it was, though, that's a slight regret, because I spent my limited time chatting with friends (and it was great seeing James Smith, Rocketship owners Alex and Mary, Joe Rice and Neil Kleid again, and meeting F. Chong Rutherford in person for the first time), eating hot dogs, drinking beer, and talking comics.

As far as shopping goes... I made it a point to pick up a Rocketship shirt (which, for some reason, are coming up missing on the store blog). I was too fat for the one I wanted most (the long-sleeved one), so I went with the "classic." Really, though, all the shirts had a very cool, boutique vibe--more store owners should date fashion designers, just for the fringe benefits. Comicswise, I picked up Scrapbook by Adrian Tomine, the latest two Optic Nerve issues (so much for waiting for the trade, as I had been--I just couldn't help myself), the first Amazing Joy Buzzards trade, and the new Black Hole collected edition for the wife (well, I'll read it too, obviously, but I felt guilty not buying her anything). Plus, I was recommended books left and right, so I now have more things to seek out.

It'd be unfair to compare Rocketship to the other new store I've visited recently, Riot! Comics and Culture, because I hit Riot! when it was still in its early stages. While the stores are certainly similar in that they capture a new effort to make comics retailing outfits not only inviting to comics fans and people on the street but destinations, there's also differences in approach. While Riot! really embraces the lounge atmosphere, Rocketship possesses a more gallery/bookstore feel. At the Fingerman signing, there was a bar/lounge area in the garden area behind the store, but by being set off from the events inside the store, it helped give the night that "special event" feeling.

The current "21st Century Direct Market Shop" phenomenon is particularly interesting to me. Along with Rocketship and Riot, another store debuted in 2005--The Secret Headquarters in California. Someday, I might try to talk with the proprietors of these shops for a longer piece about the reimagining of the local comics shop and what place it has in the changing marketplace.

For more on Rocketship, check out this interview with Cox about Rocketship at Indie Spinner Rack, which does podcasts based (mostly) on indie comics. It sounded interesting enough to check out the other podcasts they've done, but the silly bit at the end didn't really appeal to me.

++++++++++++++++++

I never really play the Previews game, but Kevin Church did something I'd thought of doing--just going through the green section and commenting on most of the stuff there (he left the Drawn & Quarterly comments to Chris Butcher). I'm looking forward to some of the things Kevin and Chris mention, particularly the Fantagraphics books Kevin points out:

Not only do we get The Comics Journal Library Volume 6: The Writers (featuring interviews with tons of writers like Alan Moore, Len Wein, Gerry Conway, and Harlan Ellison,) we're also going to be the proud recipients of Kevin Huizenga's Ganges #1, Part of their new Ignatz line of regular sequentials, this is going to be a slightly oversized 32-pager that features the title character's life. Yeah, yeah, you've seen this sort of thing before, but Huizenga's clean lines and surprisingly casual depth made him one of my favorites instantly when I read Or Else #3.

This is exactly the sort of thing that certain writers for The New Yorker should be picking up on instead of the same six or seven titles that everyone else has covered.

Oh, and while they're at it. FB will need $4.50 for the next installement of Tales Designed To Thrizzle. Just hand it over and take your hilarious funnybook like a man, ok? Nobody makes trouble, nobody gets hurt.

Check out Johanna's look at January while you're at it--it's the snark edition!