My Life With Comic Books: Part # 124

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 43
Mal Howley: my wife
Adam Howley: my son, age 18
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 13

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 124

Although I wasn’t on a regular work schedule since my “retirement” from my comic book and collectible stores, I’d still occasionally go in (usually unannounced) to check up on things. I thought we had a pretty good group of employees, all under the leadership of my long-time, “right-hand guy” Chris. Over the past year we had lost Jose Rivera (a customer favorite) and Richard Ortwein, who returned to social work, but everyone else seemed happy and professional. The stores continued to be profitable and we were all getting paid.

On one rare occasion when I was in the Worcester store, I ran into one of my customers who worked for the big city newspaper. I mentioned to him that I was confused by the newspaper’s indifference to my “press release” about our being awarded the “Will Eisner Spirit of Comic Book Retailing Award.” I explained to him that this international recognition is something that we were very proud of and it seemed to me as if it would make an interesting local story but the editorial staff wasn’t interested in interviewing us about it. He said he’d mention it in the next editorial meeting and within a week he was assigned as a reporter to write a story about us. On February 5, 1998, they published this article:

If you buy comic books in the Worcester area, chances are you know Paul B. Howley. At least you know his store, That’s Entertainment, at 244 Park Avenue.

That’s Entertainment carries 1200 different comic book titles each month. In addition to comic books, the shop deals in a variety of pop-culture items, including toys, trading cards, sports merchandise and autographed memorabilia. With 12,000 square feet of retail space, Howley says That’s Entertainment is the largest collectibles store in New England.

Howley was recently honored with the “Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award.” Named after the creator of the 1940’s masked crime fighter, “The Spirit,” the Eisner Award is the Academy Award of the comic book industry.

It’s a worldwide competition for which every comic book store is eligible. Nominees are judged on their knowledge of retailing and the comics field, community activity and the quality of their store’s image.

Howley was an ordinary 5-year-old whose life changed when a friend of his grandmother gave him a “Batman” comic book. He was hooked. “I loved reading about Batman and I bought everything I could find him in. That was before the TV show,” Howley said.

As Howley’s love for the 12-cent magazines grew daily, his parents used their son’s obsession as an incentive to make him complete chores around the house and as a reward for achieving small milestones in his young life.

“My parents actually have film of me trying to pull out one of my front teeth,” said Howley. “We tied a string to the door and to my tooth. We slammed the door and yanked my tooth out. As a reward for that, I got $2.00 worth of comic books.”

When Howley started dating his future wife, the former Mal Daher, he was forced to choose between courtship and comics due to limited finances. He chose courtship.

After he got married in 1973, his wife, knowing that her husband had been a collector, asked to see his comics. Howley pulled down his well-read books from the attic. When his wife saw the beaten-up comics, she encouraged him to replace them with ones in “really nice shape.” Inspired by his wife’s support, Howley searched for an outlet to do just that. Soon, his passion for comics resurfaced.

Later that year, Howley got his first taste for buying and selling comic books, retailing at small comic book conventions in Boston. He continued to buy and sell at conventions in Boston and New York for the next three years.

Howley moved to Tennessee in 1976 to open and manage a store for a comic book retailer. A year later, a comic book retailer from Ohio offered Howley a job. He was promised an annual salary $10,000 higher than in Tennessee and weekends off. The promise didn’t pan out and, in the first year, he worked forty-two weekends, traveling around the country to comic book conventions, his loyal wife always by his side. “It just made me realize that the way to go was to be on my own. That way, nobody could break their promises,” Howley said. “I never complained because I was learning the whole time that I was doing it.”

Eventually, the grueling schedule, Howley’s desire to settle down and raise a family, and the inability to develop a relationship with his customers, finally took its toll. Howley wanted out.
“You’re selling to some faceless guy and you don’t know who he is. You’re just selling your comics. I wanted a stable business where I knew the customers by name. I know what their interests are. I know what to buy because I know what my customers want. Some of my best friends have started out as customers.”

Howley opened That’s Entertainment on Chandler Street in 1980. He moved to Park Avenue in 1992, and he also owns a store in Wallace Plaza on John Fitch Highway in Fitchburg.

“When I opened my store on Chandler Street, it was because I needed space in my house and the place was as cheap to rent as a warehouse space. It was only going to be a warehouse, and then I thought, “Since I’m here anyway I might as well open to the public.” On the first day, we made enough to pay for the first month’s expenses.”

In 1992, retail sales of comic books totaled more than one billion dollars. Those numbers have dropped by 60 percent in the last five years, Howley said. Almost 10,000 comic book stores have closed in the United States since 1992, leaving perhaps 4,000 stores nationwide.

“This is the single worst time to open a comic book business. Never in history has it been this bad. When we first opened, you could open a store for $5,000, and we know because we did,” Howley said. He said that a store like his would now cost $150,000 to start. “We started at exactly the right time.”

Howley says interest in comics is waning in light of the popularity of computer games, video games and movies. “Most kids don’t want to read. So, just because comics are great fun and exciting is not enough to make them spend $2 on it when they can rent a video game for $2 and have things exploding right in their face,” he said. “We encourage comic books because it really fosters a love for reading. Comics got me through high school.”


This newspaper article also included a full-color photograph of me holding my “Eisner” statue. The publicity got our name out to the local community again and I’m sure we developed new customers because of it. Overall, even though comic book sales had dropped, our business was better than ever.


Meanwhile, my son, Adam, was very busy finishing up his senior year of high school. We were still traveling so that Adam could audition for a slot in different colleges’ Musical Theatre Programs. Adam was also preparing to be in the school’s musical production of “Working.” The drama teacher told me that this project would be a major “showcase” for Adam’s singing, acting, and dancing abilities. He was going to play several major characters in this play. We were all excited to see this production, but two days before the performance, I came down with the flu. I don’t often get sick, but when I do it seems to be serious. I had a very high fever and on the night of his play I couldn’t go. I was lying in my bed and was almost delirious with fever but I remember Adam was so worried about me that he was crying as he stood next to my bed. This was the only one of his performances that I had missed. I heard that it was a wonderful performance.

Thankfully, a few days later, the school did an abridged performance that included many of Adam’s parts and I was able to go to see it. He was really good. Mal and I were eagerly looking forward to seeing Adam’s performances when he got to college!

Next chapter: An old friend returns and we open a new store in Rhode Island.

Pictures: Adam performs in "Working"

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 115

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 42
Mal Howley: my wife
Adam Howley: my son, age 17
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 12
Ken Carson: a key employee

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 115

After our narrow “defeat” for the prestigious “Will Eisner Spirit of Comic Book Retailing Award” in 1996, we were all excited to be nominated again for 1997. Ken Carson, our employee with a talent for dealing with details, worked to refine our application for the judges to review. Not much had changed from the previous year but we placed a bit more emphasis on our successful retailing of “back issue” comic books in the information we sent to the judges.

Many comic book stores around the country had noticed declining sales of back issues and some had even made the decision to stop stocking them as part of their inventory mix. Our sales had actually increased because of efforts to keep as much inventory in stock as possible. We wanted to have at least two copies of every back issue comic book in each store at all times. Obviously, that isn’t always possible, but it was our goal. While many other comic book stores declined to buy most back issues, we’d pay a slight premium to buy any issues on which we were running low and we’d buy every comic book that was offered to us in a collection. We established a good reputation because of our “buying” policies. We didn’t just try to buy the very best of the comics; we wanted everything! As a result, we bought lots of comic books every week and became known for our great selection of back issues and that, in turn, increased our sales of back issues. We had the luxury of our huge retail space rent-free because we owned the building, so we weren’t too concerned about using the space to stock the slower selling titles.

Our successful marketing of vintage and modern comic books apparently impressed some of the panel of judges enough that they invited me to teach a seminar at the San Diego Comic Book Convention the week of the presentation of the “Will Eisner Award.” It was an honor to be invited and I wanted to share my ideas with other comic book retailers. I asked the judges if their invitation was a “hint” that I would be winning “The Eisner” but they refused to confirm it. I explained my reluctance to spend $1000 for airfare, hotel and food, and spend a week away from my family, and then be disappointed by losing the “Eisner” for the second year in a row. The judges wouldn’t give me a clue, so I declined the invitation.

As it turned out, I ended up winning the “Will Eisner Spirit of Retailing Award” that year and I wasn’t present to accept the award. I missed out on one of the highlights of my business career.

A few weeks later, after I received the beautiful statue and the award certification, I contacted the local newspaper in Worcester expecting they would like to run a story about this award but they just didn’t seem interested. I was surprised. The story could have been an interesting local-success-story. We had been a positive and dedicated local business that had now been recognized internationally for its achievements. This award was our industry’s equivalent to “The Academy Award” but the city editor just wasn’t convinced that this was “newsworthy.”

Next chapter: We go back to Nashville, Tennessee to visit our old friends, Gary and Peggy Walker, owners of “The Great Escape.”

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 104

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 41
Mal Howley: my wife
Adam Howley: my son, age 16
Cassy Howley: my daughter, age 12

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 104

In our pursuit of the “Will Eisner Spirit of Comic Retailing Award,” the comic book industry’s equivalent of the “Academy Award,” we needed to have visual evidence of many of our claims of excellence. Luckily for us, we had two customers, Memo Salazar and Aaron Banyai, who were talented filmmakers.

I had been involved in minor parts of two previous film projects of Memo’s; one was a very funny look at a local county fair and the other was a low budget, full-length movie in which I portrayed the owner of a comic book store (what a stretch!) My “big” scene was filmed in my Fitchburg store one night after we closed and although the finished scene was only about four minutes long, it took almost an hour to film. Although I was apparently snubbed by the Academy of Motion Pictures (and didn’t even get an Oscar nomination) it was still fun to be part of the movie-making process.

Memo offered his creative gifts to make a short video about our store. He filmed the store building, the displays of new product, back issues, and collectibles. He interviewed customers who were willing to give “testimonials” about our service and vast inventory. He filmed some of our key employees as they described their function in the “That’s Entertainment” hierarchy. In this video, Ken explained about our commitment to creating a pleasant shopping environment while David explained our philosophy of ordering new comic books and related products. I was filmed describing our combined decades of experience in the comic book hobby and business and our commitment to expanding the community awareness of both the comic book industry and our store.

Memo used a clever technique to try to convey the huge size of our store to the viewers. He placed himself on a wheeled cart and filmed while Aaron moved the cart up the aisles so the whole length of our retail space was apparent.

When Memo was finished editing, Ken packaged the videotape, all of the pictures, testimonial letters and documentation needed for the panel of judges. I was confident that this package would convince the judges that we were worthy of this award. A few weeks later I was contacted by one of the judges and he asked me if I’d be interested in organizing a retailer seminar at the San Diego Comic Book Convention (where the Eisner Award is given out) on successful retailing of back issue comic books. I was honored that they thought I could offer sound advice to my fellow retailers and I thought that, perhaps, this invitation was a hint that I was to receive the Eisner Award. I told the judge that I’d be interested in attending if I knew I was the winner but he wasn’t able to confirm anything for me. I wasn’t thrilled about spending almost $1000 for plane tickets, hotel, rental cars, and food, only to be embarrassed by the Eisner Award being given to another retailer. Since the panel judge couldn’t give me any confirmation, I felt I had to decline the offer to attend the award ceremony. In my opinion, it really isn’t “an honor to be nominated.” It’s only an honor if you actually “win.”

I’m glad I didn’t go. We didn’t win the “Eisner.” A comic book store in Australia beat us. I’m quite sure that they’re out of business now.

Next chapter: Ken runs a great new event: The Pro-Am Comic Jam.
Picture: Paul with Mr. T

My Life With Comic Books: Part # 103

The current cast of characters:
Paul Howley: age 41
Ken Carson: A store employee

MY LIFE WITH COMIC BOOKS: THE HISTORY OF A COMIC SHOP-Part 103

After over fifteen years of operating my comic book and collectible stores in Worcester and Fitchburg, Massachusetts, I missed the national recognition that I had enjoyed in my time with Jay Maybruck as “Sparkle City Comics.” We were known all over the country as the dealers with the best inventory in the comic book business. Our customers loved us and frequently our competing comic dealers hated us because we “monopolized” most of the retail business at the comic book conventions. We were really good at what we did and we were industry leaders. I wanted national recognition again for two reasons. I wanted it for my own ego and I also knew that I could create publicity that would increase awareness of the stores and ultimately, increase our sales. The most prestigious award that was available in the comic book business was “The Will Eisner Spirit Of Comic Retailing Award,” named for comic book artist, writer, and genius, Will Eisner, and I wanted to win this award.

Although all of my employees have strong points, Ken Carson was the right man to tackle this huge task. He got to work right away and within a short time he got us nominated for “The Eisner.” That was the easy part. Now we had to convince the panel of judges that we deserved to win this. We were required to submit documentation about our physical location and the quality of our store image, our inventory, our support of small and innovative publishers, our community activity, our customer service policies, and more. Ken wrote:

Good Retailing Practices:

“That’s Entertainment has developed a strong presence in a number of collectibles areas, including sports cards and autographed memorabilia, Japanese toys and animation, model kits, and role-playing games. These product lines draw a reliable and enthusiastic group of primarily male customers in the 12-50 year old range.

“In the area of sports cards and autographed memorabilia, That’s Entertainment has carefully cultivated a reputation for integrity. We’ve had all of our displays custom-built to properly showcase the high-end items. Sports card packs are a natural compliment to the rarer cards and autographed items, and often serve as an affordable entry-level collectible for younger fans.

“Japanese popular culture has grabbed the attention of high school and college-age customers, with many gathering large collections of imported animation and figures. We maintain several direct accounts to keep hard-to-find items available.

“Role-playing games have likewise appealed to young people seeking new and challenging forms of entertainment. A recent innovation that has come to the fore is the collectible role-playing card game, with “Magic: The Gathering” the genre leader. “Magic” has enjoyed extensive media attention in the past months and That’s Entertainment has been involved from the beginning.

“Comic books remain our number one product line. Our new comic racks are impossible to show in one photo; they stretch over 100 feet along the walls, displaying somewhere around 1700 different comic books at any given moment. We “genre” rack (by subject) to put the small and large publishers on the same footing, and we order just about every new comic book released. Our custom-created subscriber database is not just a time-saver; it’s a tool that allows us to “link” new titles to established comics. Both “genre racking” and subscription linking quickly put even small press titles into the hands of readers who already support similar material, so they can check it out for themselves.

“Browsing is encouraged! We understand that a person has to open a comic book before he or she can be drawn into it! We promote a bookstore atmosphere, with employees eager to guide customers through the infinite diversity that fills the racks and bins. Give us a glimmer of a memory, and we’ll all get involved to track down that particular issue. If something sells out, accounts with several distributors allow us to get it back in stock.

“We’re proud to have many couples as customers, as well as some second-generation subscribers. Diversity within a positive environment makes this possible. We’re also set apart from other comic book stores by our constant and respectful attention to the innovators of the past. Colorful and informative end-cap displays have highlighted the groundbreaking works of famous comic book creators like Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, Dave Stevens, Will Eisner, John Byrne, Scott McCloud for the uninitiated. We envy new readers the excitement of discovering such gems for the first time!

“The innovators of tomorrow also get shelf space at That’s Entertainment, with amateur comics displayed right alongside the work of the pros. The names of Matt Oreto, Memo Salazar, and Derek Ring are well known to That’s Entertainment customers. The rest of the world will have to catch up. We’ve had striking success lately with a creator-published comic titled “Monster” that outsold many major releases off of the horror rack!

Knowledge of retailing and collectibles:
“Store owner, Paul Howley, has been actively involved in reading and collecting comics since 1959. In 1973, he began retailing comics at the early Boston conventions. In 1976 he assisted in opening “The Great Escape” in Nashville, Tennessee, and he later helped establish “Sparkle City Comics”, then the nation’s largest convention dealer.

“Paul established That’s Entertainment in 1980, at a 2000 square foot location in Worcester, Massachusetts, New England’s second-largest city. In 1989, he added a second location with the purchase of a financially troubled comic shop in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Carefully balancing inventory, expanding product lines, and putting the focus on friendly customer service brought a doubling of sales within eight months.

“In 1992, That’s Entertainment, bursting at the seams, purchased a 20,000 square foot building in Worcester, and created a 10,000 square foot retail space, the largest full-service collectibles store on the East Coast.

“Along this route, Paul has acquired as much knowledge about collectibles as anyone, and each of us here has his own special areas of interest. These preferences come out in our displays and recommendations, many of the latter coming with a money-back guarantee to our customers. We all share the knowledge that each customer has his own tastes, and that listening is the first step in using our knowledge and experience. We also keep current in the medium with trade magazines, subscriptions to “On the Floor,” “Magazine and Bookseller,” and through study of the Internet.

“As a retail business, That’s Entertainment has grown into profit sharing, employee reviews, “Skillpath” seminars and training, and an annually updated handbook. We belong to the “Chamber of Commerce” and the “Central Massachusetts Employer’s Association.” In the competitive marketplace of entertainment, we are convinced that continuous professional development is necessary for exceptional customer service.

“Company manager, Chris Ball, was named “Salesman of the Year” in the small-business category by the “Worcester Business Journal” in 1994. This is a prestigious award that validates our professional approach within the context of the entire business community. Among comic shops, our sales figures place us in the top 2%, with an increase every year, sixteen years running. In fact, sales are up 21% for the first quarter of 1996. We’re using computers to handle information about customers’ wants. We always knew that “keeping an eye out” for something special for a customer was good business, but the database lets us “remember” more than ever, and to target mailings and calls effectively.

Community Activity:

“We take a variety of approaches to get comic books and our store name out into the community in positive ways. Paul has brought comics as literature into local schools through classroom demonstrations, and a store manager has spoken about comic books at several local libraries. We’ve coordinated successful fund-raising auctions to benefit a local youth battling Leukodystrophy. Several times, we’ve played volleyball for “Easter Seals,” luckily for us, just participating makes you a winner.

“This year alone, we’ve aggressively pursued opportunities to donate comic books to libraries, a hospital pediatric ward, and a school excellence program. The local PBS TV station auction has regularly featured our contributions over the past few years.

“We’ve used traditional advertising in all media to promote the medium of comic books. The highest profile was a series of custom cable TV spots, but we’ve extended our reach (and budget) creatively with cross-promotions. We’ve had comic books delivered with pizzas, and made comics available to the stationary-bikers at local health clubs. Theaters and video stores have proved to be natural partners in tying comics to the higher profile productions they inspired. We make displays and contests for all of them from “Crumb” to “Casper” to “The Crow.”

“That’s Entertainment rented a theater and gave away tickets to the first “Batman” movie as a promotional event and “Thank You” to our customers, and staged an elaborate funeral for “Superman.” Having stars Billy Mumy, Davy Jones, and Boston Celtics Dennis Johnson in our store for free autographs exposed literally thousands of people to our product lines. Comic fans also enjoyed appearances by comic creators Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Steve Bissettte, Mike Mignola and many more. Throughout these events we’ve worked hard to develop and maintain a quality relationship with our local media and we believe that this has resulted in a positive effect on public perception.

Quality of our store image:

“That’s Entertainment is known throughout the Northeast for depth and breadth of stock. Other stores send in their customers for obscure and small publisher material, and dealers fill their “want lists” here. Besides offering superior customer service, we take pride in being a “one-stop” collectibles store. Our sheer size and sales volume let us stock and restock all the best in comics. But if even we don’t have an item, we have refined our special order/want list procedures to a science. Our image? The place that either has it, or will happily get it for you!

“Full-visibility comic racks, custom built floor display units, product-line departments, newly remodeled register and office areas create a dynamic, open, bright and inviting atmosphere that is a browser’s paradise.

“That’s Entertainment is always taking steps toward expanding the appeal of popular culture collectibles. It is the genre we love, and even in a highly challenging retail environment, that fact is making the difference in our continued success.”


Along with the above information, Ken needed to have some “visual aids” to include with the package for the award judges to consider so he began to collect some of old photographs and articles from local newspapers. He also came up with the idea to enlist the help of two of our loyal customers to produce a short videotape movie about the store.

Next chapter: Memo Salazar, a gifted filmmaker, helps out.