Comics & Games Retailer

Comics & Games Retailer was the longest-running periodical serving retailers who sell comic books, collectible card games, and role-playing games until it ceased publication in 2007.[1][2] The headquarters was in Iola, Wisconsin.[3]

Comics & Games Retailer
CategoriesBusiness magazine
FrequencyMonthly
Founded1992
Final issue
Number		August 2007
185
CountryUnited States
Based inIola, Wisconsin
LanguageEnglish

History and profile

Launched in April 1992[2] by Krause Publications (later acquired by F+W Publications Inc. in 2002[4]), the free-to-retailers monthly magazine was a spinoff from that company’s consumer magazine, Comics Buyer's Guide.

The publication was originally known as Comics Retailer, and in 2002 changed to Comics & Games Retailer.[5][6] Early columnists included many retailers and experts on retailing, including Bruce Costa, Brian Hibbs, Scott Haring, Preston Sweet, Bob Gray, and Harry Friedman. Hired in 1993, its editor of longest tenure, John Jackson Miller, added “Market Beat,” a section of retailer sales reports; coverage of the game industry; and statistical analysis of comics and game sales.

Given its availability only to those working behind the scenes, the magazine’s opinion columns have often been the flashpoint of both controversy and new ideas for the hobby. In 1996, business researchers from the University of Kentucky and Rutgers University joined with the magazine to conduct a study of retailer attitudes toward distributors and publishers. In 2001, columnist Joe Field suggested in the magazine that Diamond launch a Free Comic Book Day – which later became an industry tradition. In 2002, columnist Brian Hibbs filed a class-action suit on behalf of retailers against Marvel Comics over its trade terms. As a consequence he moved his "Titling at Windmills" column, first to Newsarama then to Comic Book Resources. His last column in Comics Retailer was in the May 1992 issue. The first one hundred installments of "Titling at Windmills" have been collected in book form by IDW Publishing.[7]

Following Miller’s departure in 2003 to begin a comics-writing career, the magazine was run by separate editors for each product category until 2005, with the naming of James Mishler[8] as its sole managing editor. The last issue of the magazine, 185, appeared in August 2007.[8]

References
  1. "F+W Shutters Multiple Magazines". Folio. 2007-12-19. Retrieved January 24, 2008.
  2. "Comics Retailer (a.k.a. Comics & Games Retailer)". Faraway Press. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  3. David J. Maloney, Jr. (January 2003). Maloney's Antiques and Collectibles Resource Directory. Krause Publications. p. 297. ISBN 0-87349-732-5. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  4. Hite, Kenneth (March 30, 2006). "State of the Industry 2005: Another Such Victory Will Destroy Us". GamingReport.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2007.
  5. Jean-Paul Gabilliet; Bart Beaty; Nick Nguyen (January 2010). Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 358. ISBN 978-1-60473-267-2. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  6. Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  7. IDW Publishing Archived 2008-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Why Can't Comics Support Its Own Industry Magazine?". Revolution SF. July 18, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
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