Image: Photo by Angel Ortiz Jr.
Floyd Bennett has been in the comics biz since he opened his first store in 2007, and like many retailers, he’s had his fair share of adversity, including a devastating fire. But he also possesses the retailer superpower of resiliency, and he was open in a new location a month later. There have been ups and downs since then, so his store is well named. Final Boss Comics and Games, in Lawrenceville, NJ, is a one-stop shop for comics, graphic novels, all types of games, action figures, and more, including a robust all-ages section and work by local creators. Bennett is having a good year: He reports that sales are up an average of 20% for comics, graphic novels, and all-ages titles. Here’s a look at what makes this store tick.
The Final Boss’s Current Vibe
Store Location: 10 Gordon Ave., Lawrenceville, NJ
Buying Mood of Customers: “Our customers are excited to be here weekly. They love talking about what happened in the issues they read last week and are excited about the future of comics in general.”
The New Hotness in the Shop: Absolute titles, horror comics such as Feral and Exquisite Corpses, and crime/noir, especially The Peril of the Brutal Dark: An Ezra Cain Mystery (Vertigo) and Seven Wives (IDW Crime). “The new poster for “Absolute Green Arrow” dropped, and pulls for that title shot up immediately!”
What’s Bringing in New Customers (besides comics): “I believe it’s just a mix of everything as well as wanting a sense of belonging or a new source of entertainment. In a way, everything is comic-coded. The fact that we try to read every book that comes out each New Comic Book Day Wednesday allows the random person walking in on a whim to walk out with something that filled that gap that may be missing from movies and TV right now. The amount of last year’s first-time comic readers that are now weekly pull listers is huge.”
Biggest Challenge in the Last Month: “Late shipments that don’t give us enough time to process damages/shortages before NCBD. Also we’re in the process of taking over the lease on an additional floor upstairs, so we can add a space for more community events such as Gaming, D&D, and other creative comic events & programming, so juggling that while getting ready for Free Comic Book Day “The Best Day of the Year” has been…fun.”
Pick Hit for Q2 into Q3: “Since I mentioned Absolute Green Arrow, I’m going for Marvel’s Avengers Armaggedon! One of my favorite eras of comics was the Bendis era from New Avengers #1 – Siege #4. Everything built off of everything there, and you could feel it in the 616. It launched Secret Invasion, Civil War, and Planet Hulk just to name a few. Now Chip Zdarksy (stealer of my lunch monies) has referenced both that and the Jonathan Hickman Avengers era, which led to Secret Wars. I’m hyped up about it as are others, so we’re hoping it pays off!”
FCBD Plans: “We go LARGE for FCBD, including local creators, big name signings, free raffles, and we yell at people if they ONLY take 1 comic…grab MORE please, we want you to read!”
Additional Commentary: “We have all genres as well as comics created by local indie authors; there’s also an All-Ages section, which is great for families who want their kids to read. We also host a monthly comic book club where we get together and talk about whatever book we picked for the month, with food and lots of laughs. That’s how I learned that Spider-Man Blue (one of my personal favorites) is not a good starting Spidey book!”
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