Shop Talk with Alpha Comics: August 3, 2012

The first Friday of every month means Shop Talk, and once again, Chris Humpries of Alpha Comics is here to dish all the details of the comic industry! To Hell with the preamble, time to dive in!

Aaron Long: More details are being released about Marvel NOW!. Is interest in the initiative starting to build in the shop? Anybody adding Uncanny Avengers to their Alpha Files?

People are already starting to add Uncanny Avengers. Personally I’m excited to have Rick Remender and John Cassaday working on a book together, so that excitement is spreading. The majority of my customers are just getting news of Marvel Now this week as it is in the new Previews.Very positive attitudes towards Marvel NOW so far.

AL: The New 52 is almost a year old, are there any titles in the bunch you are surprised are selling as well as they still are? Any big underperformers stick out in your mind?

One year later I have to say I’m disappointed in how Justice League is selling. It was my best seller but once Jim Lee took a break from the comic a bunch of people dropped it. The book is still selling well, but it is the flagship New 52 comic. So think I think it should be their top seller. New 52 Second Wave was a good move as all the titles DC cancelled weren’t doing well in the shop. Nightwing saw a big surge thanks to the Court of Owls story line. A very interesting first year for the New 52.

AL:  AvX and Batman have been the biggest books of the summer, so far. What creator owned titles have been selling? Is Saga keeping up its initial pace?

I have to order as much copies of Saga as I do Justice League. Mark Millar’s comics have all done really well. Everyone went bonkers over Revival. I’m sure that will be a growing title that’s already had a great start. Think Tank also seems to have a lot of potential.

AL:  Staying on the creator owned side, The Walking Dead #100 was released last month, to the tune of 380,000 copies. How was it received in your shop? Did all the hype translate into sales?

I sold all my copies of Walking Dead #100 within a week. Most were brought in on preorder. The comic also got people in to buy other Walking Dead items. It was a monster hit in more than one way.

AL: The one year anniversary of your shop is tomorrow. What would you say is the most valuable thing you’ve learned about the comics industry in the past year? What would you say has been the biggest book in the history of Alpha Comics?

No doubt AvX has been my biggest seller of all time. I’ve found that authenticity is very important. I really do love comics and people can see that. It makes people feel good that the person behind the counter actually has knowledge of the comics in the shop. It all ties into providing good customer service, which people feel they are not getting in many comic shops out there.

AL: Crystal ball time: top book of August?

I’m sure AvX will continue to take the number one spot on the charts. I’m interested to see what happens with Amazing Spider-Man #692. At a $5.99 price point with 6 covers in all it could take the top sales spot.

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