From the Road: Heroes & Villains -- Nothing Old About This Tucson, AZ Store
From the August 2004 Diamond Dialogue:
The idea popped into Michael Camp's head several years ago, when he was still Creative Marketing Director of Tucson, AZ's Newspapers -- a company that joins two major Arizona dailies. "I really enjoyed being around comic books and their fans," said Camp, "and I wanted to do something different. My wife Denise was actually the one who prodded me to open a comic book store." So, in November 2003, Camp opened Heroes & Villains in Tucson, home of the old westerns and cowboy lore, but now home to one of the newest comic book stores in the country.
Camp started researching the comic book industry 18 months prior to opening day. He visited existing comic book stores in and around the Tucson area, and hooked up with veteran California retailer Joe Ferrara. Ferrara helped Camp gain insight into various product lines and how successful each was likely to be, as well as showing him tools for tracking inventory and sales. To that end, Camp started with a point-of-sale (POS) system right out of the gate. "I felt the POS system was a very important tool that was needed to make the store a success." Camp added, "It is so important to correctly manage your inventory, which leads directly to saving time and money."
To get the word out about Heroes & Villains, Camp placed slide advertisements at the local movie theaters and ran cable television ads -- including local ads on the WB network, which included the rights to promote various movie preview screenings. One of the screenings was for the recent Hellboy movie, for which the store received all kinds of promotional help from Dark Horse Comics. Camp also produces an online newsletter that he sends out to his customers each week, informing his fans of upcoming releases and store events.
Inside the store, Camp indicates that trade paperbacks and graphic novels are his best selling category. It helps that he is able to merchandise this section with the books faced out, which gives this area of the store a nice appeal and makes finding a selection easier for the customer. Camp also gives back to his customers by having in-store signings, like Marvel Age Spider-Man writer Daniel Quantz, who was in on May 19.
Perhaps the most innovative events Camp does in the store are art and drawing classes, which are located in the Heroes & Villains Education Center, which is next door to the main store. Here, Camp brings in four instructors, most of whom are art majors at the University of Arizona, to help fans of all ages learn to draw. One of the classes taught in the Education Center is an arts and crafts class, which is directed at children between eight and 12 years old. This interactive class not only teaches kids how to draw, but also educates them on the various characters and their origins. The other class teaches prospective artists and hobbyists how to draw. This class has a wide range of attendees, including beginners all the way up to experienced artists. These classes are 16 weeks long, which provides Camp with steady income to help offset the slower comic book sales weeks.
-- Diamond Field Representative Tim Kartman
The idea popped into Michael Camp's head several years ago, when he was still Creative Marketing Director of Tucson, AZ's Newspapers -- a company that joins two major Arizona dailies. "I really enjoyed being around comic books and their fans," said Camp, "and I wanted to do something different. My wife Denise was actually the one who prodded me to open a comic book store." So, in November 2003, Camp opened Heroes & Villains in Tucson, home of the old westerns and cowboy lore, but now home to one of the newest comic book stores in the country.
Camp started researching the comic book industry 18 months prior to opening day. He visited existing comic book stores in and around the Tucson area, and hooked up with veteran California retailer Joe Ferrara. Ferrara helped Camp gain insight into various product lines and how successful each was likely to be, as well as showing him tools for tracking inventory and sales. To that end, Camp started with a point-of-sale (POS) system right out of the gate. "I felt the POS system was a very important tool that was needed to make the store a success." Camp added, "It is so important to correctly manage your inventory, which leads directly to saving time and money."
To get the word out about Heroes & Villains, Camp placed slide advertisements at the local movie theaters and ran cable television ads -- including local ads on the WB network, which included the rights to promote various movie preview screenings. One of the screenings was for the recent Hellboy movie, for which the store received all kinds of promotional help from Dark Horse Comics. Camp also produces an online newsletter that he sends out to his customers each week, informing his fans of upcoming releases and store events.
Inside the store, Camp indicates that trade paperbacks and graphic novels are his best selling category. It helps that he is able to merchandise this section with the books faced out, which gives this area of the store a nice appeal and makes finding a selection easier for the customer. Camp also gives back to his customers by having in-store signings, like Marvel Age Spider-Man writer Daniel Quantz, who was in on May 19.
Perhaps the most innovative events Camp does in the store are art and drawing classes, which are located in the Heroes & Villains Education Center, which is next door to the main store. Here, Camp brings in four instructors, most of whom are art majors at the University of Arizona, to help fans of all ages learn to draw. One of the classes taught in the Education Center is an arts and crafts class, which is directed at children between eight and 12 years old. This interactive class not only teaches kids how to draw, but also educates them on the various characters and their origins. The other class teaches prospective artists and hobbyists how to draw. This class has a wide range of attendees, including beginners all the way up to experienced artists. These classes are 16 weeks long, which provides Camp with steady income to help offset the slower comic book sales weeks.
-- Diamond Field Representative Tim Kartman
