GameStop to Start Selling Comic Books

It looks like gaming retailer Gamestop could be getting into the Marvel and DC Comics market, and it is happening rather soon.

Gamestop has recently leaned into the collectibles market and thus far has had stellar results. The latest move is yet another step in that comic-centric direction, as Bleeding Cool has learned that Gamestop will start offering comics themselves directly in certain locations. The leaked images show several comics already in the Gamestop system, which mainly consist of Marvel and DC books though there are a few Image and Oni Press titles in there as well.

Part of the reason for the new initiative lies with James Parker, who previously helmed the comic and collectibles initiative at Hastings. That part of the store chain was successful, though ultimately the rest of the store couldn't keep up, resulting in the chain to close its doors. Parker has now moved over to Gamestop, and the new comic book program will start in trial form in 20 Gamestop stores and 20 ThinkGeek stores.

"We are indeed getting into comics, as a retail test forum," Parker told Bleeding Cool. "Comics are often a part of our promotional entertainment industry environment, including video games – we can learn from this tribal knowledge. We have indeed partnered with Diamond to carry a small selection of comics in 40 stores utilizing their new spinner rack. The comics are mostly from Marvel and DC with a focus on key series and titles. This is just a small launch to bring comics to some of our collectibles stores as they fit with the current trend of Collectibles that are performing in the market. Should this prove successful, we may consider rolling out to additional stores in the future but plan to keep it limited to the spinner rack for the foreseeable future. Of course, you can expect to see some exclusive variants from us in the future."

If you've gone into a Gamestop recently you'll notice a heavy focus on comic and pop culture collectibles anyway, so comics should fit right in, even if it is just the spinner rack for the moment. Honestly, it is amazing it hasn't happened sooner, as video games often have comic book related tie-ins anyway. Not only that, but they already sell statues, socks, and action figures of superheroes anyway, so it just makes sense to offer the source material.

We're also sure no one at a comic company is going to object to being seen in more retail stores either, and Gamestop has around 6000 of them.

So, what do you think of Gamestop's latest move? Let us know in the comments