I stumbled onto atom comics a few months ago while rushing for a movie. Initially, I dismissed it as a trendy comic book store, riding the wave of excitement spurred on by the recent explosion of superhero movies that have made the comic book culture so mainstream. But as I was researching for an article for the site, I decided to take a look and I was pretty pleased with what was inside.
The range in store is pretty diverse, with a ton of single issues available from the latest titles to a whole collection of back issues. The back shelf has some paperback collections, but the variety isn’t what you’ll find in say Kinokuniya. But the store more than makes it up with her character and vast selection of single issues. There’s a pretty strong offering here, including your typical DC and Marvel and Image stuff, but there are some pretty unique books on offer if you’re in the mood for something non superhero/world ending.
The store also has a selection of T-shirts, figures and other paraphernalia for the covetous geek. The store also offers a basic offering of table top games like Heroclix and The Star Wars X-wing Miniatures game (which you can read more about here) and occasional game nights for community members.
The store is owned by Bruce who mans the counter on a daily basis with his mom and fill the store with a strong sense of warmth and friendly energy. Orders and subscriptions can be made at the counter and the staff are more than happy to help with any concerns, questions or to resolve any fierce debates of your hypothetical superhero showdowns. I managed to sit with Bruce to talk about the local comic book scene and his charming store.
Nicholas: Tell me more about the store and how it came to be….
Bruce: I used to work a chef before I broke my arm and was forced to change my career path to a desk job which I really hated. I was so worked up and felt really restless, so I just made the decision to do something I really, REALLY liked and open a comic book store with the savings I had hoping something would happen. It’s almost a year in now and we’re still here, so that’s good! It was something of a dream of mine as a kid, if it was not to write comics or draw, it was to open a store.
N: So you didn’t foray into drawing or anything like that?
B: No I couldn’t even draw stickmen! I didn’t have time to write, but i did go to business school after I broke my arm in the kitchen so I figured I would just use that knowledge combined with what I love and build something from it.
N: So I noticed you have family members working in the store too
B: Yeah my mum works in the store too and helps out when she can. She is semiretired so she likes to come help out and meet new people. It helps the store and gives it some real character so I knida like that. Everyone knows who mommy is and the boss, sometimes they don’t wanna talk to me but to my mom haha!
N: Haha sounds fun! What was your mum’s reaction to your plan to open a comic book store?
B: Like the rest, there was a lot of scepticism. A lot of questions were asked “are you sure?” “is it good money?”. There was a lot of focus on what would come out from this business. It’s a very local mentality when money always comes first. So I gave them the business plans and they were shocked that there was such a big market in Singapore for comics. A lot of people thought it was a bad idea and tried to convince me out of it, but i’m still here!
N: How close are your forecasts in the proposal to the reality of the situation?
B: It’s pretty close, my estimate is that we’ll see a boom in another 2 or 3 years. But needless to say I don’t want atom comics to be just atom comics, I want it to be conglomerate of a lot of things like events and stuff like that. So there are other things we are working on besides the store. We really want to build a culture rather than just a store. The potential is here but people just aren’t taping into it and how big it could actually be.
N: Sounds awesome! I think in the past there were a lot more older readers but the recent movies have really spurred a younger viewership. How do you think the scene has changed in the current years?
B: It has changed so much! If I opened the store 5 years ago it wouldn’t have worked out, there were not any movies, well good ones anyway. Most of them were EH at most. But now with Marvel and Disney and these big plans, things are really looking up for the industry. There are more things to look forward to, and people want to be known as geeks now whereas before they would never have associated themselves like that. In the past people didn’t see the point in comics and would think it was a waste of money, despite the fact that issue #1 of action comics is worth 2 million dollars right now. It’s become a huge culture and people want to be in it.
N: Do you see this trend continuing? If one day the movies just suck again do you think it would spell the end?
B: If the movies stop one day I think there would still be people who want to stay as geeks. It’s kinda like going into something realising that you like it and there’s not really a reason for you to leave and people identify with that identity of a comic book geek, so that counts for something haha. I don’t think it’ll die if the books are still good to read. When the books are bad and the movies are bad, then we have a problem.
N: I think it was in the 80s when comics were kinda in a little of a dark age for comics…
B: 80s was the hippie times, everything was so psychedelic, 90s were the times where the comics suffered a bit, but the art in books was really taking a turn then. Now, the art is spectacular and the stories are getting better. It’s only a matter of time before they are both stabilise and bring the industry up even more. Getting away from the big guys like Marvel and DC, look at what Image is doing right now, and how well they are doing. The stories are just damn good and people wanna make movies and TV series out of it even more than Marvel and DC!
N: So Image, IDW and Vertigo don’t really go into much superhero territory do you suggest these titles to people who walk in and how do you pitch it to the superhero fan base?
B:The thing is there are a whole lot of titles, Image has probably as many as Marvel and DC. We bring in the good ones with good art and writers, from there people recognize the writers and artists from their regular issues and that’s how people pick them up. Like if people like Neil Gaiman, I might suggest Fables to them because they are pretty similar in style and then if they like that I may say hey you should try 30 days of night it’s pretty gory but it’s worth a try!
N: I had a similar experience, I was a HUGE fan on Scott Snyder’s run in DC’s new 52 Batman and I did more research on the guy and picked up American Vampire, which is now one of my favourite books.
B: Haha Scott Snyder is great! Anything he touches is good. That’s what I like about customers too, some of them do their research and stick to writers they like and there’s not really a way you could go wrong with that.
N: What do you think sets your store apart from other comic book stores?
B: Wow, that’s a question I get a lot! I think there are other stores with better stock and more experience and we’ve only been here about 10 months. But I think what sets us apart are some of the unique items that we have that you can’t find elsewhere. Like special slipcases of issues and rare vintage comics and that really appeals to collectors. Also I think we have a really pure, simple and wholesome service style. We are really polite and open to new customers, we try to remember everyone’s names, it’s impossible but we try our best. We wanna make them feel welcome and at home even if they don’t buy anything. They can come to meet and talk to like minded folks and that’s what our ultimate goal is, to build a warm community.
N: How do you think you can get more people into comic books?
B: Hopefully they like what they see in the movies, and hopefully they like to read and hopefully they like pop culture as well. I think what also really helps is when people can identify with a character. I remember this friend of mine who was in really bad shape and the characters in these comics helped him escape into another world where good always prevailed and it really boosted his outlook on life in the end. Like if you watch Spiderman, and feel like you really like it, try reading it! The experience is really almost the same thing.
N: Yeah I think there are certain characters that are easier to relate to, Peter Parker is definitely one of those guys.
B: Yeah absolutely! People want to be Spiderman! People wanna get bitten by a radio active spider!
N: Someone like say…..
B: Superman, he’s harder to relate to
N: Yeah, kinda. I think Superman really stands for the maximum potential of a human being
B: Yeah like a Chaotic good! You know sometimes I think you can learn a lot about a person by the comics they read. We can tell from the pull lists, people who order Batman almost always order Spiderman too.
N: What would you say to people who think comic books are just for kids? I think a lot of parents still think that it’s a waste of time and money and they would rather their kids invest in something else.
B: I actually gave a talk once at a school and there were a lot of parents present, and they were the really closed minded ones, and they were very sceptical. It’s comics! It’s nothing, just a waste of money…. to me comics really help develop a sense of creativity in a person’s mind. When you read a comic, especially when kids read comics, they don’t just read the panels. The magic really happens when you imagine what’s in between the panels. That’s when you start to imagine your own stories, and everyone who reads it sees different things as a result. Creativity is one of the things that could really turn things around in the minds of parents. I think comics also help kids learn to articulate and introduces them to Literature and influences what we read and how we write. Parents need to understand comics aren’t just for kids, doctors, judges, lawyers and big time CEOs I know read them.
N: I’m sure you get a lot of random passer-by because of the location of your store. Have you ever had this conversation with a parent whose kid is trying to get them to buy something from the store?
B: Yeah I have and she felt like it was a waste of money! So I brought up the action comics thing again and how issue #1 is like 3 million USD right now, and she couldn’t believe it! She thought it was like 8 dollars! So I told her, it’s a relic, it’s art. If your kid won’t read it as a form of art, maybe take it as a form of literature, great stories an movies were born in comic books. SO I asked her again if she watched Spiderman to which she replied yes because she heard it was good. And I asked again where do you think he came from?
N: Haha so did she buy it in the end?
B: Haha no but I just had to give her a piece of my mind.
N: Yeah I used to sell the Xbox at Best Denki, and this happened all the time too. Parents would tell me they were afraid their kids would get hooked, and I was like so get them hooked on the right stuff!
B: Yeah of course video games are great too and I think a much better alternative to say drugs and alcohol haha
N: Yeah so I showed him Assassin’s Creed 2 and told him it’s 16th century Italy! Even if you go to Italy now, this might be the closest you get to living in that time. It’s a time machine too and he changed his mind about it.
B: Yeah parents need to be more open minded to what the reality is nowadays. Comics are increasingly taking over books and video games over cartoons with a lot of kids.
N: I think what’s important in this argument is how we frame it that will be beneficial to the well being of their kids like how are these comics gonna help you out in school? They can expand your vocabulary and introduce you to new ways on viewing issues as well.
B: Yeah when I was a kid in primary school, I had problems reading, I just hated reading and that’s when my mom introduced me to comic books. And she said to me you know if you don’t wanna read at least look at the pictures and that’s how I got hooked and I really improved overtime my composition and comprehension skills.
N: Tell me more about the initiatives your store has to foster this community you’re creating.
B: We do little events here and there. I believe community works when people feel like they belong somewhere. The atmosphere in the store is something I really invest my money and energy in. It helps everyone feel comfortable and feel like they know others here as well. I’ve had people who met in the store and then they start hanging out from there. Community happens not when you’re there but when you’re not there. The new Heroclix is something that really appeals to the board gamers and they start talking about their figures like oh why do you like cable? Do you know the history of this character? Well let me tell you and they just start to talk like that. And that’s what I like when the energy in the store feeds the community and it’s fun to hang In a place like this.
We do events sometimes I remember one we did with justsaying.sg and we did it for the deaf school, and that created a huge demand from our customers who want to donate, and when they pass it on to the less fortunate, that creates another community of newbies and they mix and grow even bigger.
N: Nice! Do you think these relations will last?
B: That’s really up to them. I can’t force them to make it last what I can do is to continue bringing more people in so that their chances of making something last is higher.
N: Cool, so what’s your best memory of the store so far?
B: Wow, definitely on opening day. The opening day was THE BEST memory I had. We expected to hit 30-40 people come into the store. We didn’t expect mush in term of sales either. I remember opening the doors at 10.30 in the morning and I was so damn excited and then no one came in. I was like F**k did I do the wrong thing? I sent out invites before so I expected less than 10 people to come. But when it hit 11.30 it started to pour and pour and people started to buy and buy and buy the crowd didn’t stop till 9.30 or 10.30 that night we did not expect that at all! We didn’t expect so much support and that made it my best memory.
N: So how did you invite these people in the first place?
B: We had a $2 bin stall and I gave out name cards and told people about us opening.
N: So where did you get your comics before you opened?
B: I got it from everywhere, I got it from anywhere but mainly comics mart a guy named Carlos would always serve me and I’d get my stuff from him. If it wasn’t him it would be uncle Bill from comics world down the road. Uncle Bill is great because he makes me feel at home and talks to me and I like that. That’s one of the things I took away when I was building my store, I wanted to be like that, it made me wanna stay and the longer you stay, the more you buy! Haha.
N: What do you think is the right mindset for local fans to adopt in terms of buying comics? Should we just stick to one store or have a few regulars.
B: I Think people should go to multiple stores. You can have your pull list anywhere and it’s important to go out there and see and find out what you like in a comic book store. I always tell people not to stick to one store because I believe they should really get out and find out what they like.
N: How are your prices compared to the other stores out there, I know some stores tend to charge a little higher. What’s your stance?
B: I don’t know about the rest but I think we price it right in the middle it might be higher or lower than some. But what we really focus on is quality and service. If you’re charging 8 bucks a book, your service better be good or no one is coming back. People spend where they feel welcome.
N: So what’s your worst memory then? Opening day as well? haha
B: Yeah definitely! I was so scared in the morning but everything turned out fine. Scared in the morning, happy at night haha a whole spectrum of emotions. I was so exhausted at the end of the day I just crashed in bed. But it’s gotten better, almost a year in now I start seeing a lot of familiar faces even though I can’t remember all the names But I always still tell them I remember your face!
N: You mentioned something about expanding the future of atom comics, can you go into any specifics?
B: Specifics no, but we’re looking into doing events like pop culture parties or superhero themed stuff. We are trying to get into other businesses that can help the community like talks, creative classes things like that, things that will build the community.
N: Well I think I’m more or less done do you have anything to add?
B: Ummm if people think comics are a waste of time, I think it’s important to remember that we live in a very stressful world and sometimes comics are the perfect way to relieve that stress. There’s a reason why they are called super heros and it’s because they live really stressful lives, and at the end of the day they always prevail.
N: HAHA yeah I think they have it bad. Every year there’s a world ending event that kills millions of people.
B: Yeah man, you think you have problems? Those pedestrians die like all the time everytime an accident happens!
N: Yeah I got that feeling too, I read Infinity and The Age Of Ultron back to back and I thought How do these people survive! Half of the world’s population is dead by now!
B: Yeah and the buildings come back up so quickly too! How did that happen! Especially New York I’d never wanna live there.
N: they should do a series about who rebuilds this stuff, call it the rebuilders or something haha
B: Haha yeah construction companies would make a lot of money in this world.
N: haha and insurance companies will lose all the money.
B: haha yeah they would constantly be looking over their shoulders. Anyway I just want to people to think of comics as a way to destress, it’s better than buying cigarettes!
Here are the prices for single issues
They’ve got some off the wall stuff here too. This one’s a love story.
Figure’s from Bruce’s collection that now liven the store.
Rare vintage stuff
Good selection of toys and T-Shirts
The comic wall!
The Millennial Geek 