Diamond Summit

Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier, but I was in Baltimore this weekend for the Diamond/Alliance Retailer Summit.

Man what a blast! My head exploded. Bits of it are still in Baltimore.

I learned a LOT about the comic industry, and it still intimidates me. But with my best friend's help (and the support and advice of my fellow retailers), I should be okay. I just need to learn enough to not make any grievous errors in the beginning, and I think I'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Unlike games, you have to really be on top of periodical comics, and the lead times are several months in advance. At least you don't have to have a new game in every Wednesday.

Speaking of games, I saw a lot of great ones at the summit. The standard gamer icons were there, but I got to see offerings from the more family-friendly companies as well, which is more of what I want initially. I need a good family/kids section for the store considering how community-friendly and involved I want to be. All the more mature gamer stuff will be there, of course, but the goal is to pull new customers in and slowly convert them to the gaming hobby. You've got to start 'em young, they say, and a kids section helps.

The seminars were very helpful, especially the "50 cheap and easy promotions" one. Lots of fantastic ideas in there. I also met a lot of really nice folks very willing to help me out, including pretty much all the major game retailers in NJ. It was nice to see a bunch of familiar faces, and have them express pleased surprise at my game/comic store intentions. They were very warm and inviting, and I'm thankful for that. After all, retailing in this industry is a community. New Jersey is dreadfully understored, and the more (successful) retailers we get out there, the more exposure the industry gets, and comics and games are on the cusp of become accepted and welcome by mainstream culture. Look at all the pop culture lately - sci-fi, superheroes, fantasy, all of that stemming from comics and games. And then there are tons of popular and critically acclaimed films that were actually graphic novels, but nobody knew that. The industry is about to see a renaissance, especially with Disney buying Marvel. That alone shouts legitimacy.

Okay, so I went on a tangent. But I'm excited. Even not knowing much about comics, I'm still excited. There are big things on the way, and even though I'll miss the holiday season this year, there will be tons of event opportunities for me to take advantage of when I do open the store.

Now that I have the name, incorporation will follow soon, and so will membership to GAMA, the Game Manufacturer's Association. If the locations I like pan out, I can get moving on lease negotiations. Things are starting to really move.

More to come.