The Ballad of Preston Sweet

We dig into the past of the comic book industry to visit a man born at the wrong time.

Previously…

A look through this industry’s past - as documented by myself and others.

A couple years ago, I nabbed a nearly complete run of Comics Retailer magazine.¹ It is an absolutely fascinating rolling time capsule of a specific time in the industry, one that we’ll keep exploring in pieces at The Indirect Market over time.

Today, I want to talk about someone specific: Preston Sweet. First appearing in the letters column in the 4th issue of Comics Retailer,² Sweet carved out the “small shop” beat for himself, positioning him as a David fighting some Goliaths. This didn’t quite ingratiate himself with other retailers who engaged with the magazine, and at some point, fellow columnists pointedly ask him why he wants to be poor forever and live off the income of a partner or parents. It is some wildly disingenuous stuff, but it isn’t what we’re talking about today. Not yet.

I’m going to be following the path of Preston Sweet in this publication on occasion, because of all of the early columnists, he seemed to be the most prescient, identifying healthy growth points for the industry years before others would hook onto it. He would also do some goofy things like refuse to have a phone, but folks are complex, and never always right.³

So. Today, I start our journey through Preston Sweet’s tenure at Comics Retailer by posting his first column, with a few follow up notes.

• The main quote about how what works at one location doesn’t necessarily work at another is true as hell. In my “early retail” days, I worked for a shop that had three different locations in the area. Each location, just 15 minutes from another, had completely different demographics and sales patterns. The store I worked at was walking distance from a major university, and the area’s demographics definitely skewed more to the literary and “youthful” interest vibe. The other locations were situated in more “suburb” style areas, and the demographic definitely squared up with a more “meat and potatoes superheroes” crowd.⁴ When I filled in for workers at other locations (on my days off), I could feel the differences in my bones. Location can be absolutely everything.

• Given this week’s theme of “thinking small”, I wanted to point out the somewhat combative nature of Sweet’s interactions with bigger shops. While he definitely focuses on an “us vs them” aspect of comics retail, he also doesn’t shy away from suggesting places that do things he can’t quite accomplish. This is an important thing. Folks who talk shit about other stores in their area? They’re just projecting their shortfalls on folks who are accomplishing different things, with different demographics. It doesn’t matter if the shit talking is public or private.⁵ The best way to push forward, is to show your work. Be good at your job. Help folks out within the structure you have to survive. This is what will always push you forward, especially against bigger names, which are no longer fellow retailers, but folks like Amazon.

• I will always bristle at folks who seem to think that subscription services are a net harm to their bottom line. You’re on the internet, so you almost definitely have a subscription to something that recurs on a monthly basis. The world has adopted this model. It is bonkers to think that some retailers refuse to have subscription files. You’re all friggen silly.

That’s going to wrap things up for today. I’ll be taking a break on the usual Monday post due to Family Day up here in Alberta, and will be back this Wednesday to talk about Superman.

Talk with you soon,

-B.

1. I’m currently missing issues 17, 21, 77, 101, 115 and 117, if anyone wants to part with them. I’ll pay $5 for each, plus your shipping costs.

2. A letter that would re-appear in the sixth issue due to what I assume was the chaos in editorial that marked the days before John Jackson Miller took over the reins.

3. Side story: my partner Danica just got an amazing tattoo from a person who does not have a phone for their business. When they visited the shop, shortly after the tattooing had taken place, they said they didn’t bother with one because the internet exists, and having a phone meant they would be interrupted somewhat regularly while they were trying to produce art in someone’s skin, and the results suffered. That is a situation where not having a phone makes sense to me.

4. And both would have done GANGBUSTERS selling all ages books, given the area demographics, but that was never anything they committed to.

5. Not gonna lie. I am clearly working through something specific right now.