At Book Stan on N. Fort Hood Street, fans fill up the store as the latest issues of their favorite series hit the shelves early in the morning. One of the store's regular customers, Ben Adams, received a large stack of his regular weekly material on a recent Wednesday, a diverse collection of the latest Batman, Green Lantern, Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman comics and more.
"I'll buy as many as I can," the fan said, showing off his new purchases.
According to ICv2, a website that tracks sales of pop culture products, comic book sales spiked in September, with an 8.4 percent dollar increase compared to the same time last year. The industry, which saw a sharp drop-off in sales as recently as January, is getting a boost from a variety of new sources piquing customer interest.
In recent years, Hollywood studios have turned to the comic book industry for source material for some of the biggest summer blockbusters, such as "Thor," which grossed $372,710,015 worldwide, and "Captain America," which earned $367,566,970. Both films are based on their popular Marvel Comics franchises.
Earl Daigle manages America's Heroes Comics and Games, a store that has been open in Killeen for more than four years. He said interest in recent popular films has helped bring new customers into the shop. The store saw spikes in customer interest on the heels of movies such as "Green Lantern," "Thor," and the latest "X-Men" film.
Daigle said movie fans come into the store asking about the characters, and leave with copies of related comics and merchandise.
Die-hard comic book fans don't seem to mind the attention their screen adaptations generate. Adams said if Hollywood can get more people into local comic book shops to support the industry, it can only be good for readers overall.
While Hollywood reshapes comic book story lines in a way that often makes them easier for new fans unfamiliar with lengthy hero backstories to digest and follow, the films still seem to hold allure for traditionalists, Adams said. "(Moviegoers) don't have to come in with a lot of knowledge about a particular back-story. ... But (filmmakers) still throw in little things that only the fans would recognize."
Adams said films like "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" even helped reinvigorate his passion for comic books. "They're good movies."
One of the biggest crossover success stories in the past year is the hit AMC show "The Walking Dead." Based on a popular graphic novel series of the same name, "The Walking Dead" follows the story of a small town police officer who is shot and wakes up days later in a hospital, only to find zombies have taken over.
According to Nielsen ratings, the show's Halloween night episode drew 6.1 million viewers, second only to ESPN's Monday Night Football.
"'Walking Dead' has been phenomenal for us," said Daigle. "We've had people come in and pick up all 14 (parts of the series) at once."
Terry Stanley owns Book Stan, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in Killeen on Tuesday. He said the store averages about 100 customers daily, mostly men ages 18 to 25.
"Right now, 'The Walking Dead' is huge," said Stanley of his best-selling comic. "People are just now finding it on the television shows, and are buying up the graphic novels."
DC Comics relaunch
Another huge bolster to the comic book business has been the relaunch of DC Comics' entire monthly superhero franchise, dubbed "The New 52." In September of this year, DC Comics canceled its entire lineup of titles and started 52 new comic series with No. 1 issues.
"They did that so they can give new readers a chance to have a jumping-on point and start off fresh," said Daigle. "You don't need to know all of the history and you can just come in new."
Since the September relaunch, ICv2 reported DC's sales figures jumped, making it the top comic publisher for the first time in recent years.
"We started seeing people coming in in droves," said Daigle. "Usually people only buy the No. 1, that's it. But we've had about 70 percent come back to buy more after the (first edition) issues were released."
Jonnathan Molina, a paralegal student at Central Texas College, stops by America's Heroes every Wednesday to grab the latest issues of his favorites in the rebooted DC line.
Molina said he wanted to ensure he could collect all of the first editions of the new relaunch, in case they increase in value in the future. Some of the issues he has purchased have already gone up in price, but the allure of possessing a valuable future collectable isn't all that draws him to the series.
"Even if they never go up in price, it's still a very unique part of publishing history," he said. "To have that first issue is a big deal for me."
ow in its third month, Stanley said The New 52 reboot has been extremely popular at the store, thanks in large part to an influx of new customers revisiting their childhood love of comic books.
"They remember those books and stories from their youth," he said. "And (with the relaunch), they want to pick them up again."
Not just Hollywood
But Stanley and Daigle aren't just relying on Hollywood to maintain business for them. Daigle said a firm grasp of ever-changing customer tastes is essential to staying profitable and popular with fans. If the store fails to capitalize on a popular trend, or overestimates consumer interest in new movie, show or comic book line, the results can be damaging.
"New comics only have a shelf life of a month," said Daigle. "If you have too many left over, you're stuck with them."
Ultimately, said Daigle, supplying a quality, intelligent product is the key to keeping customers coming back, once the glow of a pop culture hit fades.
"Readers have high expectations," he said. "(Comic books) are not written for little kids anymore."
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