Comic books and Comic-Con: Memeburn interviews Readers Den co-owner Nizar Abrahams

Many comic book fans dream of owning their own store; the idea of sitting behind a desk, reading the latest graphic novels and playing with merchandise. It’s a profession that shows like The Big Bang Theory have romanticised, but like any business, it’s not all fun and games.

Over the past 24 years, Readers Den has become an integral part of the Cape Town comic book scene. The store has sold geek products to almost anyone even remotely interested in geek culture.

Memeburn recently had a chance to catch up with co-founder and co-owner, Nizar Abrahams, and chatted about the stores, the SA market, and events.

Readers Den was founded in 1992, with brothers Nizar and Mahdi opening up the first branch at the top of Long Street. It originally started as a small store, but has since expanded into two prominent branches and an online store.

According to Abrahams, running a comic book store is a passion. “It’s hard work, but it’s not very hard when you’re enjoying it,” says Abrahams.

Readers Den and comic book stores, in general, are just like any other company and have to manage stock, deal with leases, keep relationships with suppliers, as well as general management.

One of the biggest challenges in South Africa right now is the strength of the Rand. Abrahams says it’s scary and there’s some pullback from customers. He believes the plans that Readers Den has in place and the knowledge it’s accumulated will see the store through this dip.

After all, Readers Den has survived every single financial crisis since its opening and SA has seen its fair share of those.

“We think we’ll be able to weather it. It can’t last forever. We’re not in this to make a killing, make a buck and walk away. This is our life. This is what we do. So we’re going to try and make it work,” he says.

He says Readers Den has seen a spike in online sales recently. This is due to customers becoming a little more price conscious and searching for the best deals. The store will often have cheaper stock than competitors because it’s on hand and doesn’t need to be imported on-demand.

“This is a tough time for anybody, and anybody who does it wrong won’t make it.”

Readers Den can be found in large shopping centres across Cape Town, which means that it also has the advantage of attracting walk-in customers. Unlike some of its competitors, people might wander in to browse after seeing the latest movie. These meanderings can be converted into sales because the store stocks less pricey novelty items, which has a broader appeal.

Another way Readers Den brings in business and advertises is with the Cape Town edition of Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). This international event has been hosted by the store since its conception.

The event has also been a catalyst for bringing fresh enthusiasts to the hobby and it’s not longer just a “boy’s club.” Abrahams says FCBD is usually a 50/50 split when it comes to male and female.

But it wasn’t always sunshine, rainbows, and cosplay. In the early years of FCBD, it didn’t work out well in SA. For example, the brothers tried to get local artists involved, but their plans fell through.

In 2002, the pair travelled to San Diego Comic-Con for the first time and saw how an event that large was handled, what it entailed, and just how the public reacted to it. It was an eye- opener to the brothers and they knew what had to be done, but it would take time and planning. Getting something akin to Comic-Con off of the ground — especially an event that hadn’t been hosted in Cape Town before — wasn’t going to be easy.

Around FCBD’s 10th birthday in 2012, Readers Den opened up FCBD to a broader range of exhibitors, which included bleeding into general pop culture and not just focusing on comics. For the first time, FCBD had the first true feeling of an actual convention according to Abrahams.

“There’s a special feeling when you go to a convention and it’s your thing.”

Eventually, FCBD grew to the point where the brothers were worried about hosting it in the same location due to expansion. This year, it’s been rebranded to FanCon and will take place over two days at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, and will feature international guests.

“It’s to give ourselves our own event. A South African event. A Cape Town event. It’ll have all the flavours of Comic-Con, and that’s what we’re going to offer and that’s what’s going to happen.”

Much like FCBD, comics themselves are an ever-changing medium. They weren’t written thousands of years ago and as Abrahams says, “the whole mythology around comics is still being written.”

Even though Captain America, Superman, and Spider-Man have died a thousand deaths over the years, their stories have the power to tackle problems in the world today. “Comics can address real issues in terms of gender and race,” says Abrahams.

Their tales often draw inspiration from current social and political issues and are a way to represent these things to a younger audience.

Readers Den’s success shows that it is possible for geek stores to thrive in SA, but only with hard work and dedication.