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New Moon Comics, LLC
463 Main Street
Little Falls, New Jersey 07424
973-81-COMIC
973-812-6642

www.newmooncomics.com

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When we created this profile on MySpace after the idea was suggested by several retailers at the Retailer Summit in Baltimore, we wondered what we would use it for. At present we have a functional website, a forum site, and now a MySpace account.

What we decided on was a bit more of an insight to the goings on in the store, our industry as a whole, and just a general way of 'speaking our mind' to a degree on anything and everything in our business.

Our BLOG will contain 'editorials' so-to-speak on many of the things (pro and con) about our industry, the companies and the people. Some will be good, some will be bad, and all of it will be done, we hope, in an entertaining fashion.

We invite our friends, customers, colleagues, and other industry professionals to comment on our words, as long as it is respectful to us, and others that have commented.

For over 30 years, the President/Owner of New Moon Comics, LLC, Robert J. Guadagno has been a fan of comics.

According to his family, in his youth he could almost always be found with his nose buried in a copy of The Phantom, Richie Rich, Archie, or any of the available comics sold at the time. The stories and art were what attracted him to this world of sequential art. But his real love of the industry did not start there.

It started simply enough at a birthday party for a friend in 1978. This is when a copy of Fantastic Four #180 was given to him. "The book" he recalls "was part of one of those 'comic three packs' that the chain stores sold. Chris' mom opened the pack and gave out the books to all the kids, and I got FF #180. That did me in - I could not get enough of that team! I went to every store that I could ride my bike to, to get every issue I could find!

"It did not stop there" he continues "I discovered Spider-Man, Captain America, The Avengers, The Defenders, Marvel Team-Up, Marvel Two-In-One, and more!"

Then came the conventions and flea markets where his obsession for these marvels (no pun intended) grew further; Robert explains:

"I came across this huge (treasury-sized) comic that had "Spider-Man" (who had become my favorite hero while the Fantastic Four remained my favorite group) fighting this guy "Superman". I realized that Superman was in a different universe completely! And that Superman's universe had a group just like the Avengers called the Justice League of America! I was ecstatic!

"I started getting the JLA books and then I discovered Green Lantern aka Hal Jordan, with this cool ring, and great abilities, and I was completely blown away! I started reading Green Lantern, and from there my obsession deepened.

"By the time the dust settled I was getting just about every comic being published in those days! Adding to the mix was the non Super-Hero books like Star Wars, Conan, King Conan and Vampirella, I can't even remember all the stuff I was reading, just that everything I got, I read over and over again, and loved it all!"

Like every story, there are bad times too, for Robert, it came in the 1990's.

"The industry started to change a lot in the early to mid 1990's. The books were not as well drawn, the stories were weak and dull. In looking back at them with 20/20 hindsight vision, I can now see why. In that time, the comic companies forgot what made the books great. They started marketing themselves as "Collectors Items" and "Investments". Comics are none of the above, they are EDUCATION and ENTERTAINMENT. Books from the Golden or Silver Age (1930's - 1960's) can qualify as "Investments" to a degree, because back then, no one saved comics. Come the late 80's through the 1990's, everyone was saving everything, and the dealers and publishers were milking it for all they could.

"People in my store hear me talk about it all the time, how the beginning of the end was "The Death of Superman". This was, to me, the book that made me walk away from the industry. What happened? I walked into my comic shop for my weekly fix and there was no Superman! When I asked the guy 'Why?' he told me the book was $10 because it was hot and people were paying it. Even though I had been a loyal customer, and had had Superman (as well as every other title) on my list for over three years, he was still trying to gouge me!

"I was so upset that I left the pile of books on the counter and walked away... think of the "Spider-Man No More" art... But rather then a dumpster in an alley, I left the comics shop with a pile of unread, unpurchased books, as I hung my head low... "Comic Fan No More" would have been the great title for that image."

Although he no longer read as many comics as he used to, Robert started planning. His dream? To open a comics shop that respects the industry, does not cater to the speculator market, and be honest to himself and his customers. His original plan was an Entertainment Mecca. A place where people could buy the best in Comics and Graphic Novels, as well as play games, and more! In 2004 those dreams came to life with the opening of New Moon Comics, LLC in the Wayne Towne Center Mall.

It was not as grandiose as he wanted, the console/LAN gaming was cut out and the regular gaming tables were restricted due to floor space. But the store is exactly what he envisioned; a bright inviting store packed with the best the industry has to offer. ..