Saturday
November 4 4PM-8PM
With the release of COMIC SHOP: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture, we're inviting some of the key players from the early days of comic shops in and around the Bay Area. This is going to be a fun evening of lively conversation and a look behind the history of comic shops, especially in the greater Bay Area.
Guests include: Author Dan Gearino, writer/publisher/business executive/talent agent Mike Friedrich, comics retailing pioneers Bud Plant and Dick "BigGuy" Swan (Comics and Comix), Joe Ferrara (Atlantis Fantasyworld, Santa Cruz), and Brian Hibbs (Comix Experience, San Francisco).
The Geek Speak Video Show will be shooting a live interview with author Dan Gearino and the attending guests.
Beverages and appetizers will be available.
About COMIC SHOP:
The early 1970s saw the birth of the modern comic book shop. What's the story behind the fall of comics at your local newsstand and the rise of market for comic book specialty shops? COMIC SHOP is the story of dynamic entrepreneurs, and the deals that led to a resurgence for comics in the U.S. and Canada. In this way, The growth of comic shops created new spaces for quirky ideas to gain an audience and helped transform small-press series, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Bone, into media giants.
COMIC SHOP is the first book to trace this history, from the origins of comic shops to the present day, when the rise of digital platforms has the industry at a crossroads even as sales are robust. Author Dan Gearino traveled to see comic shops around the country. Along the way he interviewed those who shaped comics retailing from the early days, to the shop owners who continue to push the industry in new directions.
Dan Gearino is a lifelong comics reader with tastes that swing from the classic Legion of Super-Heroes to the work of Michel Rabagliati. As a business reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, he has won national recognition for his work.