The Death of Elfsar

Well, I guess it’s time to pay our respects to yet another local comic store getting the axe. Last year it was Pow! Comics, and today Elfsar Comics announced that they’re closing their doors. Apparently their lease was up and their jackass crook landlord wanted over two-and-a-half times the rent. Who could possibly stay in business with those demands? It’s basically the same thing that happened with Golden Age a few years ago, but they were able to afford a new space a few doors down (albeit a much smaller, crappier space that decimated their back-issue selection…)

Elfsar ran a nice store, the comics came in on time, and they had a great selection of toys and back-issues. I can’t count the amount of times I wandered in there needing a copy of Daredevil #57 (because I’d accidentally dropped mine into a full storm sewer – true story) or Immortal Weapons #5 because for whatever reason, nobody else in the universe had it. If you were missing issues, more often than not, Elfsar had what you needed at a decent price.

Sure, it wasn’t the best comic book store in the world. Their staff could be crabby as shit – especially on Wednesdays of all days – and you’d frequently go in there for a new or back issue and hear the old familiar, “Aw jeez, we JUST sold out of that one!” And sure, their subscription service could be a bit of a pain in the ass, but other than that there were really no complaints to be made.

The part that makes me sad is that now there is one less independent store to go to. Maybe I’m living in the past, but I genuinely love the individual issues. I like collecting whole series, travelling around town from shop to shop, bullshitting with the staff and finding those lost treasures. There’s a real sense of satisfaction when you find just what you’re looking for at the store, and bring it home to take its place with your now-complete set. I love the camaraderie too, hearing about the latest and greatest upcoming books, seeing what other people are buying, and playing mini-critic to the stuff that looks sucky.

So that’s it for Elfsar. I hope Shoppers Drug Mart enjoys their new storage area, because the entire Yaletown neighborhood is going to be worse for their loss (whether they realize it or not). Think about this: Whenever a comic store anywhere closes its doors, it’s just another nail in the coffin for the future of direct market retail. Who in their right mind would open a comic store now? When anyone can download comics for free anytime they like, because all it takes is a sociopathic indifference toward the well-being of the writers, artists and medium in general. And hell, when the entire superhero industry has turned its back on its own roots, would it not be madness for any business-minded fanboy to step foot into the direct market arena? Of course it would.

I have a hard time believing there are a majority of readers out there who will fully embrace the digital transformation of our beloved hobby, and yet it’s being touted as a foregone conclusion to the point where the grassroots distributors are going out of business daily. So where does this leave our comic shops? Well, for the time being they’re still operational. But what happens when the leases of Golden Age Collectibles, Rx Comics, The Comicshop, and ABC Comic and Book Emporium come up for renegotiation over the next couple of years? Will they survive the next rent hike? I, for one, hope they do because I don’t want to buy a fucking iPad just to read my comics in a format I don’t like.

To those who know the ultra-bourgeois Yaletown neighborhood here in Vancouver, it comes as no surprise that Elfsar finally got the boot. Nobody understood how they were able to pay rent by selling comic books in that neighborhood in the first place. What IS a surprise, however, is that they didn’t just relocate to less expensive digs like ABC and Golden Age did. Instead Elfsar made the decision to cash in their chips while they still had some chips to cash in. Sad news for them, and troubling news for the last of the old-school fanboys. Elfsar, you’ll be missed. Best of luck to Ethan and the rest of the staff, and thanks for all the years of service to our geeky little community.

Put one in the air…

-Ian

[Editor's Note: Elfsar's Free Comic Book Day events have always been epic, so get down there on Saturday May 1 and show them some love and greenbacks all at the same time. The sales are going to be ridiculous.]

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