Ah, comics. Despite Lebanon's dismissive attitude towards
the medium and the culture associated with it, comics have been one of my
lifelong interests and passions for years now. But a lot has changed in the
local market since I first became an active fan and buyer of comic books and
graphic novels: what types of comics are available, where they can be purchased
and even what's being produced locally. There have certainly been some big
shifts, both good and bad, but a pretty good one may be on the way: could
Lebanon have an actual comic book store soon?
Now before I get into the uncertain future, I need to lay down some context, and tell you a bit about the past, and present, or at least my own personal experiences as a Lebanese comics fan and buyer.
In the grand old year of 2000, my dear mother bought my brothers and I each one comic book. Mine was an issue of a Spider-Man title that ran at the time: Peter Parker: Spider-Man #34; I still own the damn thing, with little rips, visible scotch-tape rescue operations and all. Despite having been exposed to comics prior, this was the first comic book that I felt I truly owned and wanted to hang on to. And thus it began...
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| Mah baby... |
Comic books in Beirut were pretty abundant and evenly distributed. Acquiring them was as simple as checking the magazine rack of any book store, stationary shop or even the supermarket; hell that was practically the sole purpose of the BHV checkout line as far as I was concerned.
And what kinds of titles could you find? The big two are a given of course. You had the Marvel titles like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men. You had the DC titles like Superman, Batman, Justice League, Green Lantern (I once got an issue of Batman Beyond, that was actually a thing!) In addition, you also had stuff like Dark Horse's Star Wars comics, Archie and Sonic the Hedgehog (just, why…), and even MAD magazine.
Graphic novels could be found as well, although I have slightly hazier memories about them, since I only got into them in more recent years. I do know for a fact that they were indeed available to certain degrees, though a bit harder to come across than their cheaper monthly counterparts; I wasn't actively seeking them out at the time, so take this with a grain of salt.
You had titles from the big two, and related publishers like DC's imprint Vertigo for instance, some lesser-known indie stuff, and most importantly, it was the go-to medium for locally-produced material, which was almost exclusively published in book form, as opposed to monthly comics. Books like the Samandal anthologies, Joumana Medlej's Malaak series, and more.
Yup, all bases were pretty much covered… OR WERE THEY?!
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| AAAARGH! |
At some point, in the late 2000s, the comic book river got drier and drier, until it became the pathetic trickle that it is today. I would assume poor sales were the reason behind this, but that's just my guess. To tell you the truth, I had taken a break from monthly comics purchasing when this happened. So I sort of left my house, and came back to find it had been burned down and shat on, as the saying goes. Remember all those titles I listed above? Gone! I think you can still find a few, desperately collecting dust on the stands, like Superman or Archie or something, but who gives a crap about Archie? Nobody, that's who.
As far as I'm concerned, the comic book as a popularly consumed medium in Lebanon had died. Look, I don't have any annual sales reports or whatever, but from my own totally non-business perspective: the disappearance of comic books from the market probably didn't do much in the way of popularizing comics culture or fostering its community locally.
Now graphic novels on the other hand, those actually flourished in the wake of "the great comic book genocide" or "comicalypse" if you will. Book stores began carrying a lot more titles, in terms of both quantity and variety, from more diverse publishers, and there were even more adult-oriented ones, which was awesome, because I'm sort of the target demographic.
Most of these stores all carry titles from within the same spectrum (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc.), so I have to give props to one particular establishment, which would be Papercup, who have a great collection of more "artsy" titles from publishers like Fantagraphics and such.
What filled a shelf or two a few years prior, now warrants a section of its very own in most outlets; the graphic novel had taken the comic book's place as Lebanon's preferred comics format, and what a relief that is. The fact that graphic novels didn't get wiped out the same way comic books did, but instead grew more popular with consumers and were more in demand, is nothing but win for the local community and the culture.
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| Geek Express keepin' it geeky |
I should also note that hardcore collector culture got a significant push recently through tech-centric open space, Geek Express, when they began offering a variety of vintage Marvel comics and collector's items, such as figurines. Prior to that, one of the few places I knew that catered to those consumers was Gift Mania, which specializes in toys, collectibles and related merchandise.
But a magazine rack, book store or techie open space are only vessels for these things, not exclusively dedicated to providing them and solely catering to the consumers that buy them. Which brings us back to the original question: could Lebanon have an actual comic book store soon?
The answer is: yes... maybe!
For 4 months, three dudes who go by John, Emilio and Cyril, have been contemplating a project dear to their hearts, and that would be to establish a genuine honest-to-God comic book store here in Lebanon. According to John, the motivation behind this is to give comics fans, and geeks in general, a place to call their own.
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| The Middle East Film and Comic Con, held annually in Dubai... lucky bastards |
Lebanon needs this to happen, because I know the audience is already there, and they'd get behind this (or at least, I'd hope they would). Like I said already, there have been good and bad shifts throughout the years; the bad obviously being the near-annihilation of comic books, the good being the growth and propagation of graphic novels. Well, this is the next shift: comic books return, graphic novels grow more popular, more serious collectible products come into the mix... It's when we as fans and consumers finally get our own thing, and have a chance to sustain it, instead of bemoaning how this place doesn't care enough, and that place doesn't get it. Like I did!
At this point in time, the concept is still in its infant stage: a rough idea being carefully studied and evaluated. I do sincerely hope the boys manage to make this vision of theirs a reality, and I can only see good things coming out of it if they do; today a comic book store, tomorrow a legit convention?
If you'd like to help them out, feel free to take the following survey. I sure did, and so should you!
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