Diamond International Galleries Web Store Warms Up
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is just about set to open its internet store, which will be located at
which is currently under intense construction. The official site launch will be
Monday, November 3, 2003 at 10 a.m.
The site will be administered by Mark
Squirek, the Gallery’s new Internet Customer Service Manager, who brings with
him a wealth of comic book and customer service experience. Like many in the
business, Mark started out as a young fan. Later on, his almost-lifelong love of
comics lead him to a job in customer service at Diamond Comic Distributors.
There he quickly became the top seller within the department and was widely
recognized by his customers as someone who was not just good at selling comics,
but was someone who loved talking about them, writing about them and in general
communicating his enthusiasm for the four-color field and the characters that
populate it.
In addition to his previous work at Diamond Comic
Distributors, for over four years he has been a regular contributor to Comic
Book Marketplace and Comics & Games Retailer. Scoop talked
with Mark about the upcoming launch of the Diamond International Galleries web
store and his excitement about comics.
How did you get started with
comic characters?
Around age 8, the Sunday color comics section of the
Cleveland Plain Dealer just captivated me. I guarantee you that I didn’t
understand 95 percent of the jokes, but I knew instinctively that comics were
the greatest things that mankind had ever invented. We didn’t get the Plain
Dealer that often. My father read the Cleveland Press because that
was the afternoon paper, so when I would see the Sunday color section, I would
just go ballistic. I actually collected them for a few years. Every summer, we
would visit my Grandmother’s farm in Pennsylvania, which was about an hour and a
half south of Pittsburgh. When I saw the Pittsburgh Press Sunday comics,
I couldn’t believe that so many other comic strips were out there in the world.
Pittsburgh had Moon Mullins and Hatlo’s They’ll Do It Every Time
and Major Hoople and a host of new strips for me to discover. The one
strip that scared me was Henry. It really scared me; he had no mouth and never
talked. My uncle Joe (who ran their farm), loved it and would always point Henry
out to me to make sure that I was reading it. I could never tell him that the
little mute was scaring me to death. This went on until the Batman show
hit in ’65. My father was going to night school and when he would go to the
downtown Cleveland library, I would tag along and head to the basement where
they kept microfiche copies of old newspapers. I would tell the librarian I was
doing a report on WW II and then sit there and scroll through the old
strips.
Did the Batman show bring you into comic
books?
I had been aware of comic books. I knew who Superman was because
of the B&W TV show. When I was five, I had broken my arm by jumping off the
back of a chair to show my brothers and sister how to fly. 42 years later, they
are still laughing at me for that. The Catholic school I was attending also sold
subscriptions to the long forgotten weekly comic, Treasure Chest. You
couldn’t subscribe until you were in fourth grade, but there was always a way
around that. Treasure Chest had the necessary Catholic slant, but it also
had great stories. These were usually about sports heroes and, if I remember
correctly, a weekly cliffhanger story about a small group of friends. It has
been at least 35 years since I have seen a copy of one of those. When we
couldn’t go to the ’64 Worlds Fair in NY, my father had bought me a
Flintstones Go To The World Fair Giant. I had also seen a lot of the
Harvey Giants by then. They were always fun. You could find all kinds of
characters in there, Blondie, Sad Sack and one of my all time
favorites, The Little King. But you are right; the superheroes took root
because of the show. From there on out it was DC all they way. I still kept up
my love for the strips though, I collected the Peanuts reprint paperbacks
and I also kept up with my collection of Sunday sections from the two papers.
The Marvel titles began to show up when I was 14. I had come into a collection
of them through a trade with another paperboy (I was delivering the Cleveland
Press), but within a year or so my comic book addiction was starting to be
embarrassing. When I joined the Army in ’74, the PX carried a full line of
titles and I read them off and on for the three years I spent in Germany and
Colorado. Comics are great when you are in the service. A lot of my fellow GI’s
would never be caught dead with a comic back in civilian life, but I promise you
that if you are on field maneuvers for a week and a half, a copy of
Avengers or Justice League can be passed around to 20 people,
including officers.
What are your favorite comics?
I still
love the idea of the team up. Brave and Bold had been a real early
favorite. When Batman ended up taking over the title, I was disappointed that it
left 50 percent of the available heroes out in the cold every month. I loved
Batman, but I was more interested in finding another great pairing like
Starman and Black Canary, or Green Arrow and the Manhunter from Mars.
Showcase was always great, even the Inferior Five. The team up of Dr.
Fate and Hourman is still in my top ten. Green Arrow is better today than
anyone could have thought possible. I still read the strips, but my heart misses
Hatlo and Major Hoople.
How do you think your background in
customer service at DCD will help you?
The six years I spent working
directly with the retailers gave me a perspective that no college degree can
ever hope to teach. Over the time I was there I spoke with literally thousands
of retailers. While my main area of responsibility was California and Nevada, I
still took calls from all across the country. I got a first hand chance to see
what make a store a success. I developed a strong relationship with many of my
regulars and they were always quick to fill me in on what they were doing, what
they were planning and how they were going to accomplish their goals. That is
the one thing that every successful retailer had in common, they had goals.
Another idea they all shared was a commitment to customer service. Not in the
false, TV advertising way where a person with a fake smile stares in the camera
and promises you baloney, but in the way that was real and personal. I was very
lucky because I was able to not only learn from the retailers, but the
management team in Customer Service taught me a lot about patience and problem
solving. So I was lucky enough to get an education on both sides of the
job.
Who is working on the Gallery store with you?
The website
has been in the planning and design stages for about a year now. Early on, Josh
Geppi was juggling his responsibilities as an Outreach Sales Manager with that
of contributing to the website. I am lucky that he was in on such an early
stage. It has allowed me to walk into the project when the dirty work has
already been done! Also, Joe McGuckin has helped tremendously with inventory set
up and inventory control as well as design. They have both contributed a lot to
this idea. Josh knows some of the most obscure characters possible and his
knowledge of action figures and statues is extraordinary. He is also a bit of
Disney geek, so I am looking forward to taking advantage of that when we get
into original animation cells. Between Josh and I, we will be handling the
day-to-day activities. When you e-mail the Gallery, your reply will be coming
from one of our desks.
In addition to the site, customers will be able
to call with questions, correct?
Our hours will be 10-5 EST, Monday
through Friday. We may not be able to pick up every telephone call, but we will
call back within one working day. E-mails will be answered the same way. All
orders will be shipped via UPS within two working days.
What type of
material will you be featuring on the internet store at first?
Out of
the gate, we wanted to get a lot of the Dell Four Colors back in circulation.
These are some gorgeous books that haven’t seen the light of day for forty
years. The website is not going to just cater to high end books either. We’re
going to have a lot of different material. We have a lot of mid grade Marvels
and Dells and Harveys that are just aching to be in the hands of
readers.
Will there be anything special within those
categories?
Definitely. I should have mentioned that the Dell Four Colors
are File copies. They’re pretty cool.
Will you be adding other
categories of material as you go?
Absolutely. Original comic book and
comic strip art will be showing up shortly. Also, some great animation cells
will be making an appearance. Right after that, we will be offering collectibles
like pins and other toys.
trips though, I collected the <i>Peanuts </i>reprint paperbacks
and I also kept up with my collection of Sunday sections from the two papers.
The Marvel titles began to show up when I was 14. I had come into a collection
of them through a trade with another paperboy (I was delivering the <i>Cleveland
Press</i>), but within a year or so my comic book addiction was starting to be
embarrassing. When I joined the Army in ’74, the PX carried a full line of
titles and I read them off and on for the three years I spent in Germany and
Colorado. Comics are great when you are in the service. A lot of my fellow GI’s
would never be caught dead with a comic back in civilian life, but I promise you
that if you are on field maneuvers for a week and a half, a copy of
<i>Avengers</i> or <i>Justice League</i> can be passed around to 20 people,
including officers. <br> <br><b>What are your favorite comics? </b><br>I still
love the idea of the team up. <i>Brave and Bold</i> had been a real early
favorite. When Batman ended up taking over the title, I was disappointed that it
left 50 percent of the available heroes out in the cold every month. I loved
<i>Batman</i>, but I was more interested in finding another great pairing like
Starman and Black Canary, or Green Arrow and the Manhunter from Mars. Showcase
was always great, even the Inferior Five. The team up of Dr. Fate and Hourman is
still in my top ten. <i>Green Arrow</i> is better today than anyone could have
thought possible. I still read the strips, but my heart misses Hatlo and
<i>Major Hoople.</i><br><br><b>How do you think your background in customer
service at DCD will help you? </b><br>The six years I spent working directly
with the retailers give me a perspective that no college degree can ever hope to
teach. Over the time I was there I spoke with literally thousands of retailers.
While my main area of responsibility was California and Nevada, I still took
calls from all across the country. I got a first hand chance to see what make a
store a success. I developed a strong relationship with many of my regulars and
they were always quick to fill me in on what they were doing, what they were
planning and how they were going to accomplish their goals. That is the one
thing that every successful Retailer had in common, they had goals. Another idea
they all shared was a commitment to Customer Service. Not in the false, TV
advertising way where a person with a false smile stares in the camera and
promises you baloney, but in the way that was real and personal. I was very
lucky because I was able to not only learn from the retailers, but the
management team in Customer Service taught me a lot about patience and problem
solving. So I was lucky enough to get an education in both sides of the
job.<br><br><b>Who is working on the Gallery store with you? </b><br>The website
has been in the planning and design stages for about a year now. Early on, Josh
Geppi was juggling his responsibilities as an Outreach Sales Manager with that
of contributing to the website. I am lucky that he was in on such an early
stage. It has allowed me to walk into the project when the dirty work has
already been done! Also, Joe McGuckin has helped tremendously with inventory set
up and inventory control as well as design. They have both contributed a lot to
this idea. Josh knows some of the most obscure characters possible and his
knowledge of action figures and statues is extraordinary. He is also a bit of
Disney geek, so I am looking forward to taking advantage of that when we get
into original animation cells. Between Josh and I, we will be handling the
day-to-day activities. When you e-mail the Gallery, your reply will be coming
from one of our desks.<br><br><b>In addition to the site, customers will be able
to call with questions, correct? </b><br>Our hours will be 10-5 EST, Monday
through Friday. We may not be able to pick up every telephone call, but we will
call back within one working day. E-mails will be answered the same way. All
orders will be shipped via UPS within two working days.<br><br><b>What type of
material will you be featuring on the internet store at first? </b><br>Out of
the gate, we wanted to get a lot of the Dell Four Colors back in circulation.
These are some gorgeous books that haven’t seen the light of day for forty
years. The website is not going to just cater to high end books either. We’re
going to have a lot of different material. We have a lot of mid grade Marvels
and Dells and Harveys that are just aching to be in the hands of
readers.<br><br><b>Will there be anything special within those
categories?</b><br>Definitely. I should have mentioned that the Dell Four Colors
are File copies. They’re pretty cool. <br><br><b>Will you be adding other
categories of material as you go? </b><br>Absolutely. Original comic book and
comic strip art will be showing up shortly. Also, some great animation cells
will be making an appearance. Right after that, we will be offering collectibles
like pins and other toys.<br><br></div>
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