kevin_bailey•1d agoProlific Poster

I finally saw the shift in comic book fans at my shop over the last 3 years

I work at a store in Austin and around 2021 the crowd went from mostly dudes in their 40s debating Batman runs to a mix of teenagers and young women hunting for manga and indie horror books. The old regulars got pushed out by the new energy and now we sell more Junji Ito than Spider-Man. Has anyone else watched their regular customer base completely flip like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

parker_bailey18h ago

Manga and indie horror are just a fad that'll fade once those kids age out of their dark phase.

the_keith18h ago

Whoa, hold on, you really think indie horror is just a phase? I gotta push back on that one, @parker_bailey. Games like "Crow Country" and "Faith: The Unholy Trinity" are pulling in huge audiences years after they came out, not just teens in a dark mood. Manga too, look at how "Chainsaw Man" and "Jujutsu Kaisen" sold out whole print runs over the last few years. Those aren't exactly kids who'll ditch it next month. From where I sit, these genres are building real, loyal fanbases that are only getting bigger. Your mileage may vary, but I don't see this fading anytime soon.