Why You'll Never See a Comic Book Store in the Hood....

Excuse me for using the term hood. I'm not fond of the word and I'm not sure if it is applicable to certain communities that are currently being gentrified. Harlem has often been referred to as a hood. I'm not sure if this is accurate as many brownstones uptown have seven figure pricetags. But I digress. I used "hood" as a backdrop for my lamenting the desire for a Black comic store in my neighborhood. I do have to be fair, someone did operate a comic shop in St. Albans for a brief period albeit it closed in a few months-I suspect due to a lack of support. I have to give kudos to the young cat that made the attempt because at least he tried. And as much as I lambaste the current rap scene, I'm not goint to blame rap on this one...at least not directly. There are a whole host of variables as to why this young man's business endeavor failed. Running a successful comic shop in any community is difficult, however one major hurdle a Black comic shop would have is customer identification. Rarely does anyone want to be considered a nerd in the Black community. This may be an esoteric assertion but in my estimation it is a hard fact. Nevertheless, I do see my fair share of bespectacled men of color clamoring around graphic novels when I patronize White comic establishments. Perhaps one day, African Americans can see themselves as a truly diverse entity(and hopefully other folks will view us that way as well) and I can get my comic shop after all. If this ever happened, Black Starbucks is next.