Many comics fans worry about the future of the industry. At the center of most readers’ concerns is the feeling that, as the existing fan base ages, no new readers are being brought on board because the public seems to dismiss sequential storytelling as something only children and nostalgic men can enjoy.

The fact that so many comics feature superheroes doesn’t help to dispel the perception. As comic publishers strive to reach their core readers by offering more and more of the blockbuster superhero stories they love, the prospect of attracting someone new to the medium seemingly shrinks.

But some publishers are trying to break that trend by offering books and comics that reach out to a new audience. From the Stephen King Dark Tower publications, to Anita Blake comics from the Dabel Brothers, to Vertigo’s Pride of Baghdad graphic novel, to Marvel’s Guiding Light stories, to Vertigo’s Fables: 1,001 Nights of Snowfall, comic book publishers have quite a few stories hitting the shelves that should attract a different type of reader to the medium.

So is it working? And how can we make it work better?

In this installment of Talking Shop, we went to the retailers to find out if they’re seeing new faces as a result of these efforts, how many of those faces actually stick around, and what they think is the difference between wasted effort and something that really works.

Without exception, comics retailers strongly supported the efforts made by publishers to diversify the types of materials available in comic book form. In fact, they’d like to see more.

"Despite popular opinion to the contrary, within our industry, comics are still often perceived as ’kid stuff,’ and the battle for legitimacy rages on. High quality titles that reach out beyond current readers are essential to the validation of comics as an art form and to the growth of the industry," said Gerry Gladston of Midtown Comics in New York City.

"It’s integral that we get new faces in the shop. These last few years have provided a golden opportunity for comics to stretch out and get Joe America back into the art form. We’ve been legitimized, we’ve broken box office records and we’re generating great material to share with the world," said Mike Wellman, co-owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Bill Mitchel, vice president of purchasing for Atomic Comics in Arizona, agreed. "It certainly helps break the misconception that comics are all men in tights. And it’s that enlightenment that comics are more then just superheroes that is going to keep us growing," he said.

But are they selling? The answers to that question were mixed.

"It really depends on the creators involved and the concept or story," Mitchel said. "With a book like Pride of Baghdad, you’re looking at a book that got great press and word of mouth. And the concept is very engaging, especially in light of the political climate regarding Iraq these days. This is a great book to put in the hands of those new to the industry. It’s not what many people expect to read when they think ’comic book.’ And the same can be said for many great graphic novels over the years. Some books are timeless and can be a great gateway into reading comics for the long haul."

"While they do not sell as well as many mainstream, superhero-based stories, we do fairly well with these non-superhero books too, although they tend to sell far better in trade than in single-issue comic format," said Lisa Lopacinski, owner of Neptune Comics in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

But Paul Stock of Librarie Astro in Montreal said he hasn’t seen much response in his store at all. "We very rarely see bumps from crossover markets, but then we’re in a unique market, for North America, ourselves. The one recent exception to this is the Steven King book. We hope the interest is sparked back when it was announced will resume when it actually reaches production," he said.

While sales may not be exactly high, everyone agreed that a few new faces have come into the store as a result of some efforts.

"They do indeed bring in new faces, especially titles like Anita Blake," Gladston of Midtown Comics said. "Pride and the Dark Tower series are generating a lot of buzz from ’outsiders’. Fables has always attracted outsider interest very well, but the recent hardcover seemed to appeal mostly to established readers, and not new ones. Unfortunately, despite the best intentions, the Guiding Light comics seem to be generating very little interest. Don’t get us wrong; Marvel does a fabulous job and their creative work is among the best in the industry. The Halo hardcover, for example, is excellent, continues to sell extremely well and brings in new faces on a regular basis."

Wellman of The Comic Bug agreed that some have been successful while others have not, but that it’s important to keep trying. "I think that ’non-genre’ graphic novels and comic books in the least romantic terms are terrific sales tools," he said. "Sure, they might only sell 1/4 the numbers of Identity Crisis or Grant Morrison’s Batman, but variety is the spice of life. We saw so many new faces due to Anita Blake, people that had never walked in the door before. Even Angel, which moves about 12 copies at our shop, brings in faces we would never see otherwise."

Gerald Mansfield of Comic Utopia said he’s seen a few new faces. "But for some reason, most of them eventually go by the wayside. They become bored with things, and never find a reason to stay," he said.

The key to the success of attracting new readers, retailers said, is retaining them as readers for the long term, something that is easier said than done.

"As a rule, most customers that come into a comic shop to buy some non-traditional publication that they heard about will not stick with buying comics once that publication has ended," said Matthew Hawes, owner of Comics Unlimited in Evansville, Ind. "Still, there will be some that stay, and that is reason enough to keep trying to publish such books."

Jason Pierce, owner of Alter Ego Comics in Muncie, Ind., agreed that even that one new reader is worth it. "They get in the door and get what they are there to buy after the first time," he said. "Then when they are done reading it, they seek advice on what else is a good read. Badda bing badda boom. New reader."

Wellman said that’s the key to getting them to keep reading — talking to them about other titles they might enjoy. "We take those precious minutes they’re in the store to introduce them to other titles and try to invoke a love of the art form," he said. "Plus, I feel damn proud pimping the Pride of Baghdad, a socially relevant comic, not only to the people that read about it in the L.A. Times, but to our own crowd of Marvel zombies and DC heads. It’s always good to broaden a few horizons out there. As for Guiding Light, I can honestly say it’s had no effect on our business as of yet. Those soap operas will rot your brain kids! Stay away from ’em."

Stock of Librarie Astro said his store has been doing the "crossover" technique for awhile because they sell prose novels as well as comics. "As a primarily prose-based bookstore, converting say Star Wars or Buffy ’text’ readers to comic readers as well is something we’ve been actively doing for more than twenty years," he said. "It’s hardly a new process. Anita Blake may be the flavor of the moment, but just as I’ve mentioned old-timers like Star Wars, there’s even older media crossover titles, going back to things like Dell’s ’Tarzan,’ ’Roy Rogers,’ and of course their movie adaptations."

Pierce pointed out that he’d like to see more effort made to crossover book readers and fans of specific properties into comics.

"Think of how many Star Wars fans are out there. A lot of them are already reading Stars Wars novels and might want to check out a comic. Or those who aren’t reading the novels but are really into Star Wars might like a comic better than a thick book," he said. "If the collectors of action figures and statues knew there were not only comics but really good comics being written about Star Wars characters, we could get them into the store and started down the road to being a comics reader. And it’s not just Star Wars properties. All kinds of movies and writers are crossing over. We need to get out the word about that."

Many retailers wish for more marketing from the publishers to help drive business to their stores. Some pointed to the cross marketing that DC did with Brad Meltzer to promote his Book of Fate novel within Justice League of America as an example of what could be done in terms of cross-promotions.

"There are two big keys to success of these that come down to one thing — marketing," said Lopacinski of Neptune Comics. "When the publisher does lots of PR for a book, like Pride of Baghdad and the Dark Tower, people come in looking for them. The other key is store employee recommendations."

"In order to drive customers into a comic or specialty store with publications that extend the traditional comic genre, it has to have good marketing aimed at their source," said Pierce of Alter Ego Comics. "We have to tell Anita Blake fans that those comics are there. Somebody has to advertise that 300 is available as a graphic novel. We have to make the Guiding Light comics matter to those fans so they’ll go out of their way to buy it. If people are aware that the book is out there, then yes it will absolutely sell. If you make a comic and only solicit it in Diamond Previews and no one is aware it’s being made, then how can it sell?"

Along with efforts in advertising or public relations, retailers believe there are some crossovers that lend themselves better to reaching new readers than others.

"The ones that work are those that capitalize on the success of the source material or the creators," said Mitchel of Atomic Comics. "Success is a mix of a project’s popularity at the time, creators involved, and most importantly is the book actually a good read. Having Stephan King involved in the Dark Tower comic is going to generate and keep interest in the book. But if the book itself is not a great product, you’ve lost them, and possibly for good."

Most everyone had suggestions on where to go next, including comics for kids, women and even more tie-ins to characters that appear on popular television shows like Heroes or movies whose characters are already available to publishers to expand upon.

"What I’d really like to see, though, are younger faces," Mansfield of Comic Utopia said. "Somewhere along the way, the kids that used to collect comics grew up, myself included, and we took over the industry. We don’t really want to share it with new people. We say we do, but we don’t. Most comic collectors are like the Jack Black character in the movie High Fidelity. Instead of music snobs, we’re comic snobs. You know who I’m writing about. However, as a retailer, I want the kids, the adults, the boys, the girls, the men and the women — come on in, the comics water is fine."

"It’s very important to broaden our horizons," Wellman said. "Comics aren’t on newsstands, for the most part, any longer. There’s a reason Barnes & Nobles has shelves and shelves of Manga and only two bins of American graphic novels and trades. Part of it is the marketing and physical form of manga. However, wouldn’t it be nice to have just a big of a section of ’homegrown’ spines on the shelves of bookstores across the country? We’re working on it. We’re not going to do it with Superman and the X-Men though. We need Persopolis and American Splendor. We need Blankets and My Mom’s Cancer. We need books that will connect with folks that don’t give a damn about men in tights."