New area comic book store picking up speed

For 39-year-old Travis Fenton, owning his own comic book store is a dream come true.

"The first time I went into a comic store, I thought, 'What a neat thing to have,' " he said.

Fenton's Skull & Bones Comics, 6125 W. Tropicana Ave., opened June 6, and he said business is slowly picking up.

"A lot of our regular customers have told me they're happy a comic book store opened in the area," he said. "There aren't many around here, and now they have a store in walking distance."

Skull & Bones is the third comic book store in the southwest area of the valley.

Maximum Comics opened its second location at 5130 S. Fort Apache Road two years ago. Chaz Simons, 24, manages the southwest store and has worked for Maximum Comics for four years. He said comic books are a tough business to get into, in part because of the clientele.

"The biggest thing with collectors is loyalty to their store," Simons said. "It's their place."

Comic book stores earn a majority of their profits from subscriptions. Customers sign up to have their favorite comics delivered and reserved for them on a weekly basis.

According to Stuart Kelsey, 48, manager of Forsaken Toys & Collectibles, 3925 S. Buffalo Drive, the subscription service is a telling sign of how successful a comic book store is.

"It's the repeat customers, who come in every week to pick up their books, that keep us in business," he said. "Even in a recession, people have to have their fun."

Forsaken Toys & Collectibles opened Jan. 1 and decided to take a slightly different route to stand out among its competitors.

"We specialize in selling toys," Kelsey said. "It's the easiest way to come into the comic book world. Kids love the action figures, and as they grow older, they want to know the stories behind them. So we sell them the comics. You've got to spark their interest."

With such a large, diverse population in the southwest area, the stores cooperate with one another to keep customers satisfied.

"We work closely with a couple of stores," Kelsey said. "If we're short on something, we'll call over and ask if they've got it because we want to make the customers happy."

It is all part of building loyal customers, he added.

"If you make enemies of the other stores, there are ways for them to take your customers," he said.

Simons said Maximum Comics has adopted a similar strategy.

"We have no hesitation in working with other stores," Simons said. "Stores in Las Vegas are pretty good about that."

Fenton said in the two months his store has been open, he has not experienced any infighting.

"There's no real rivalry," he said. "The others have been really helpful. If I have a question, I'll just call up the other guys."

Contact Southwest/Spring Valley View reporter Nolan Lister at nlister@viewnews.com or 383-0492.