Batmans batwing insignia and Supermans legendary S are all thats needed to lure comic book junkies to the Comic Book Shop, at 1402 N. Division.


The stores owner, Craig Barnett, says he doesnt have to advertise his shop. He knows his customers will find him.


You dont make many converts in the comic book business, says Barnett, a comic book collector himself. Either a person is inclined to read comic books, or theyre not, and those who do read them tend to seek out the stores.


The key is to open a store thats easily accessible and inviting, and to be able to wait out the downtimes that afflict the comic book businessincluding a deep trough thats just ending, he says. Barnett says he has accomplished those tasks and now is beginning to enjoy an upswing again.


Barnetts brightly lit, well-organized 3,600-square-foot shop carries more than 200,000 comic books, some of which date back to the 1940s, and it has for rent about 1,000 titles of Japanese-made modern animated movies, which are becoming more popular, he says. It also stocks paper for local comic book artists, protective comic book sleeves, comic book action figures and lunch pails, and Japanese import toys.


The nearly 13-year-old business, which employs Barnett, one other full-time employee, and two part-time workers, buys modern comic booksbetween 300 to 500 new issues are released each monthfrom national distributors, and buys older issues from collectors.


The newest comic books line the stores back wall, while the front half of the shop is filled with bound volumes of complete sets of comic book series about the popular mutant X-men, classic superheroes, and other characters, Barnett says. In the back half of the store, on long tables are boxes filled with individual protected issues of specific comic book series, dating from as recently as last week to as far back as 30 or 40 years ago. Some of those issues are simply overstock, while others are bought from local collectors, he says.


The store, which is open seven days a week, typically receives between 30 and 40 calls a day from people interested in either selling their comic books or at least having them appraised. He says the store is interested in buying issues from only about one in 10 callers.


In the last year, the shop has become more selective about the books it buys from collectors. Previously, it had operated a warehouse, at 915 W. Broadway, which gave it plenty of storage space for inventory, but it consolidated most of the inventory from the warehouse into its retail area on Division last August. With less storage space at the store, Barnett prefers to buy only highly sought-after comic books in good conditionespecially those dating back to the 1960s or before.


The newer comic books generally sell for between $2.25 and $2.50, while some of the collector issues can cost in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars, says Barnett, who declines to disclose the shops annual sales. He says that the most valuable comic book issue available on the market today, Whiz No. 2, currently costs $300,000. That 1940 comic book, which the Comic Book Shop doesnt have, introduced the superhero character Shazam, or Captain Marvel. The most expensive book that Barnett has in his shop costs $1,000, he says.


Learning the ropes


Barnett, who was born and raised in Southern Idaho, says he became interested in running a comic book shop in 1986, after becoming discouraged with the idea of earning a political science degree, which he was studying for at Boise State University. He approached a Boise businessman who operated three comic book stores there and offered to work for him for free if the businessman would teach him how to run such a shop.


After two years of observing day-to-day operations and soaking in what worked and what didnt work in comic book stores, Barnett moved to Spokane and opened his own shop here in 660 square feet of space at 1 W. Boone. The business eventually opened additional locations, all of which now have been consolidated into the 3,600-square-foot shop on Division.


These days, the Comic Book Shops only competition here is Merlyns, which Barnett says carries comic books but focuses more on games. Barnett contends that because of their differences in focus, the Comic Book Shop and Merlyns complement one another rather than compete against one another. Merlyns is located at 1 N. Browne.


Other comic book stores that had operated here, such as Gorilla Bobs and Fantastic Voyage, both of which had been located on Spokanes North Side, have shut down during the last year, Barnett says.


Comic book reading and collecting, which tend to follow a 5- to 7-year cycle, peaked in 1993 and had been declining since then until last year, when sales began to level out, Barnett says. He contends that this year is the beginning of an upswing in sales.


Im not sure what causes it, but its a cycle that has been consistent for the past 30 to 40 years, Barnett says. Its the same with baseball cards and other collectibles. They surge in popularity, but then it fades for awhile.


Most comic book buyers are male, although Barnett says that the store has been gaining a number of female buyers lately. Customers can range in age from 10 to 60, but Barnett classifies many of his customers as business professionals. Even a former Spokane County commissioner whom Barnett declines to name used to frequent the shop, he says.


In Japan, comics are huge, Barnett says. They arent looked at as a childs medium thereand they arent. Unfortunately, they still are perceived that way by some (in the U.S.).