Thom Leavy is the owner/operator of Effin Comics in Drexel Hill, PA. His store just celebrated its 14th anniversary this past October...quite an accomplishment in the complex business landscape and recession economy of the last several years.
Thom and I have been friends since our high school days. And, truth be told, I've always admired his chutzpa for forging his own path and for succeeding where many others have failed.
Now that comics and comic related IP's have become massive money makers for the entertainment conglomerates of the world, I thought it would be most interesting to get the take of the proverbial "guy in the trenches" on the comic book business and the related issues (and perceptions) that face a small business owners.
You can check out Effin Comics on the web, and also on Facebook for any and all of comic-related needs.
HNGN (Jerry Bonner): You have a law degree from Widener University. Why forgo a career in the legal realms to open a comic book store?
Thom Leavy (TL): Honestly, both the flippant and the serious answer are the same: I wanted to be happy. It became clear to me in my second year of three years of law school that a career in the law would probably not be for me. Going into law school, I had held the law and legal practice in high esteem. During and after law school, I just felt like it was a big game to make arguments whether or not you actually believed in what you were arguing for. It was disheartening. I bounced around as a bartender for a while, and the opportunity to open a store with a partner presented itself. The partner is gone, but the store and I remain.
I can honestly say that there has NEVER been a day that I did not want to come to work at the comic book store. I cannot say that for any other job I have ever held.
HNGN: What are the biggest challenges that you face as a small business owner in the comics business?
Thom Leavy (TL): The biggest challenge is also my favorite part: all of this lands on me. If I fail the store fails, but the positive side of that is that the store succeeds because I succeed. There is freedom in knowing that nothing gets done here unless I do it. I do not answer to a boss. I answer to my own standards. I place the order and count the inventory. I clean the floor and the glass surfaces. I bag, board, and price all of the back issues. I have had a partner and employees who have let me down. I get more done knowing how I would like it to be done. I have had some great employees, too, but they have moved on to better paying gigs, and some have become their own bosses as well.
HNGN: What's the most valuable comic that you have in the store?
Thom Leavy (TL): The most valuable comic that I own outright is a recently acquired copy of "Amazing Spider-Man" #129 which is the first appearance of The Punisher. I have it graded at an (8.5) Very Fine+, and I am offering it at $600 -- it's still for sale if anyone is interested! I also have a CGC graded 9.8 copy of "The Walking Dead" #1 in the store. It's worth between $4,000 and $5,000, but it is a consignment piece.
HNGN: What's the biggest and/or most valuable sale you've ever made?
Thom Leavy (TL): I don't usually keep track of individual transactions. My accounting is day-to-day and week-to-week. I did broker a deal from a seller who had a copy of "Incredible Hulk" #181 which is the first appearance of Wolverine. I made a percentage on consignment when I found a buyer for him.
HNGN: What's the best part about owning your store?
Thom Leavy (TL): I have kind of alluded to this above: it's really the freedom of being my own boss, but that is also combined with the fact that I make a living out of selling something that I really enjoy. Comics have been more a part of my adult life than my childhood because of the 1989 Michael Keaton "Batman" movie which inspired me to read Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns." I had no idea that comics could be fun, fantastic, and also serious. I was hooked. My brother was as well; we began reading and collecting together. I get to tell people every day how good DKR was and still is. I get to tell people, yes, "The Walking Dead" was a comic almost a decade before it was a TV show. I share my opinion on what I love, and, in a sense, I get to sell that opinion.
HNGN: Conversely, what's the worst part?
Thom Leavy (TL): The worst part is probably dealing with the uneducated consumer... when a customer or a parent comes with without a clear sense of what they want or are looking for. They ask for suggestions, and I do my best to steer them towards something they say they think that they like. I am not frustrated because I don't make a sale; I get frustrated because I didn't find something for them.
HNGN: When the "banking crisis" hit in 2008, many small businesses were immediately affected and went under. How did you manage to stay afloat?
Thom Leavy (TL): Twofold: Firstly, I sell entertainment for a living. Even in the worst financial times, and maybe especially in the worst financial times, people like to be entertained. I don't know if there is really such a thing as recession proof, but you never see TV networks go out of business.
Secondly, I am pretty effin stubborn. I refused to let this dream die even when some of my customers had to cut their lists down. I started to look for other ways to make money. I had been selling a little on e-bay and expanded to selling on Amazon. Soon, my own website will be the main spot for me to sell online. Also, I started to sell graphic novels to local libraries which led to a few speaking gigs and a couple of opportunities to host book clubs at those libraries. The library connection also led to my current romantic relationship. So, I did ok in some tough times.
HNGN: Have there ever been times when you wanted to just chuck it all and move on to something else because business was bad or you just had a rough day?
Thom Leavy (TL): Honestly? Never. I sell funny books for a living. My job is to talk about comics . . . ALL DAY. It would be nice to make more money. It would be a relief if someone else's finances were at risk. It would be nice to have weekends off. However, all of that is offset by the fact that I go in to work at noon, wear Batman t-shirts and jeans as my uniform, and dwell in a land of pop culture. I have a job that a 14 year old would love to have, but with an adult's responsibilities and sensibilities. Living the dream!
HNGN: How many comics do you own in your personal collection?
Thom Leavy (TL): Not as many as you might think. Technically, the store's inventory IS my collection, but not counting that, probably around 6,000 comics.
HNGN: In the spirit of "High Fidelity", who are your top five superheroes of all time?
Thom Leavy (TL): In no particular order: Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Wolverine, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (she has powers, it counts).
HNGN: Top five comic artists?
Thom Leavy (TL): Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Jack Kirby, and Frank Miller.
HNGN: Writers?
Thom Leavy (TL): Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Waid, Robert Kirkman, and Stan Lee.
HNGN: Do you think that the explosion in popularity because of the comic-based films / TV shows / video games is good or bad for the comic book industry as a whole?
Thom Leavy (TL): I think that it is overall very good as a whole. Hollywood has run out of original ideas for movies and TV shows. Their lack of creativity has resulted in turning to novel series like "A Song of Ice and Fire" into "Game of Thrones" on HBO and "The Hunger Games" into a movie theater franchise. Comic book stories are also being mined for content. This has led to a mainstreaming of super-heroes and other comic-base content. It has brought new readers who are hungry for story. My sales for "Walking Dead" comics and graphic novels have more than tripled since the debut of the show. Whatever gets people in the door who want more content to consume is a good thing. When speculators come in for a fad book like the death of whomever, that shot in the arm is oh so temporary. When readers get hooked on a series because they care about the characters, we create customers for life and, really more importantly, we create readers for life.
HNGN: The Simpson's "Comic Book Guy": love him or hate him?
Overall, I would say hate. I can laugh at the character because he is such a silly douche, but it does bother me when people expect me to fall into that stereotype. I hate that the comic-reading-nerd, lives-in-mom's-basement cliché is still a go to joke for late show monologues. Even someone like Conan [O'Brien,] who is my favorite, still uses the high-voiced, push-my-glasses-back-onto-my-face pantomime to represent geeks and geek culture. The mainstreaming of comic content into movies and TV shows has expanded people's perceptions of who is and who actually is reading this stuff, but the stereotype persists because the joke it is such an easy note to play.
Funny story: I have never watched a single episode of AMC's "Comic Book Men." I love "Pawn Stars" and "American Pickers" because I love stuff, especially old stuff. I love the stories and the provenance behind a piece. I love finding something at a yard sale still intact that is older than my parents. You would think that CBM would appeal to me because it is essentially Pawn Stars at a comic shop. What turned me off was the very first commercial I saw for the show. I believe it was Walt Flanagan looking at a copy of All Star Comics #8 which is the first appearance of Wonder Woman. The gasps and the wows that were his reaction to seeing the book was pretty cool; it's how I would react to something that old and special. With an astonished tone in his voice, he says something to the effect of: "I never thought that I would hold one of these." This is the reaction I would have, and this is something I would say. Then he ruins it by saying: "Comic Book Men don't get to hold a lot of women." Ha-ha. Wacka wacka wacka. It's bad enough that we still have to deal with the stereotype on The Simpsons and on late night talk shows, but now we're going to concede to the mainstream and condescend to ourselves. No. I won't. I am the absolute, exact target audience for that show, and I will never, ever watch it because, in that quick promo, they showed a lack of respect for me and for themselves.
