Comic shop owners, such as I, recently took quite a jolt courtesy of our dear friends at Marvel Comics. Of course that is not all that unusual, but this one was a killer.

Marvel had a program called First Looks, which, along with the regular Wednesday shipment, gave the dealers five-to-eight comics that were due to be released in the next week. These were never the biggies such as “Secret Invasion,” but there were always a few goodies such as “Captain America,” “Spider-Man,” and a few stinkers. My regulars would sniff around, but, although I could let them look at them, I wasn’t permitted to sell them… at least until my partner read them. 
 
Beforehand, Marvel e-mailed all its retailers and informed us that due to paper, ink, shipping, and other cost, the fee to be a part of the program would rise to $20 from $7 and asked us if we still wanted in. I did, but 95% of the dealers didn’t and so, Marvel canceled the entire program. Getting the books in advance was the main reason I went into this business because it certainly isn’t the money. This isn’t the first time the publishers have dissed the retailers and it won’t be the last… until Wal-Mart figures out a way to sell comics and puts us all out of business.