Seeing as how comic stores are so often accused of being unwelcoming to comic newcomers, women, and/or kids, it’s wonderful to see a place that’s getting it right.
Carol & John’s Comic Shop in Cleveland, Ohio had me at “Hello.” As a relatively new resident of the Cleveland area, I had heard of Carol & John’s through friends in the local comics community and stopped by one day with my preschool-age daughter. Immediately next to the entrance was a display filled with all-ages comics. In the center was a tiny table with chairs; on the table were crayons, drawing paper, action figures, and Free Comic Book Day comics for kids to take home. As soon as we walked in, my daughter sat down and got to work playing with the Fantastic Four while I was able to browse at my leisure.
Sold!
On a subsequent visit, a staffer told me that when co-owner John became a dad himself, he recognized the value of making the store a more welcoming place for families. He’s made good on his word. This Wednesday, March 21, Carol & John’s is hosting an event of their own invention: Take Your Kid to the Comic Shop Day. Their website explains:
In the tradition of taking your kid to work with you, CNJ’s is having our first open house for our distinguished customers 12 and under!
You know you go to the comic shop every Wednesday, so why not bring the kids this week! Or maybe you don’t come in every Wednesday but have been waiting for the right time to introduce your kids to comics! This is it! In Celebration of Zoe’s first birthday she’ll be hanging out in the shop all day handing out freebies to all the kids! We’re also giving 20% off all graohic novels in our kids section along with 50% off back issues for the day! That includes our special kids section of back issues! Free Comics! Kid Friendly discounts! Other surprises! And I think Carol is promising…cupcakes! Please come visit us on this day with any child in your life and help us celebrate Zoe’s first year!
As always kids in costume get the most schwag! It’s like a primer for Free Comic Book Day!
Carol & John’s deserves great credit for their initiative, and I think their commitment to welcoming customers of all ages is just one small example of an encouraging trend in the comics community.
Last week I finally found a comic book store in our area so I drove myself and our 3 year old there. When we arrived, I could see through the window that there was all sorts of stuff that was inappropriate for her, so I had to tell her we couldn’t go in. She was so disappointed because she wants to “read comics like Mommy.”
So I am six kinds of jealous about this awesome store! Fantastic idea!
This is great that stores are acknowledging the presence of families. The store we frequent has a kids drawing area and includes action figures as well. It would be nice if more stores did this.
Carol & John’s is my local shop. They are fantastic shop that busts the stereotype of dingy, cluttered, dusty comic shops filled with Comic-Book Guy clones. The place is well organized and very warm and welcoming, they deserve all the praise they getand more. I recently moved just down the street, so I’m happy that I’ll be able to visit them much more often.