Coffee and Comics

My mind is officially blown.

I've just found out that there is a coffee shop that displays and sells comics and original comic book art. And it's in my home state, not more than 45 minutes from me. And that ... officially makes my head spin, in a good way.

Well, that's not entirely true, actually.

When I first heard about the place, I was a little bit miffed, mostly because that was, well, that was my idea.

And someone had beaten me to it.

The concept of a coffee shop with comics and comics art as a part of the essence of the place is pretty much my ideal version of a place to go and to hang out in. Throw in a couple bookshelves with lots and lots of books (sans pictures) and put a couple of eReaders on the tables, and--bingo, bango--you've described the joint I'd like to someday own and operate.

It's cool that places like this exist right now, and I hope there's a continued market for them in the future.

I talk a lot about comics being "mainstream" these days, and while it's obviously the case in theaters (especially this summer, with Avengers and Dark Knight Rises), there's still just this tiny little pocket of people who read comics on a weekly basis.

Sure, there are some positive signs with the advent and proliferation of digital comics now available on a wide range of devices, but comic book readers are still a rather small minority of the entertainment-consuming public.

Coffee, on the other hand, is universal. Everyone (except Nathaniel) likes coffee.

So the idea of a coffee/comics shop should work on the basis that you get people in with good coffee, and you keep them there with an interesting and different atmosphere. Using original comic book art, I think, is an exceptionally good idea, as it's something most people don't see very often.

As a buddy of mine said, maybe I shouldn't be so miffed about the fact that "my idea" has been used (successfully) by others ... others who, clearly, never met me, nor ever heard "my" brilliant idea. Instead of being bummed, my buddy just said, "See? At least it's a verification that you're capable of having a good idea every now and then."

Thanks for that, buddy.