Seeing Green w/Sub-City's Rob Curley

 

I watched as Rob Curley pulled the roll away door down on Sub-City Comics in Dublin, Ireland with a quick tug of the chain.  It was a rainy Saturday evening and Rob held a stack of comic scripts carefully as he checked the lock one last time.  I first met Rob back in 2008 while I was visiting the comic shops of Dublin during a business trip.  At that time there were four shops in the Temple Bar area, sadly today there is only one, Sub-City Comics.  To be fair there is a chain comic shop still operating in Dublin but I don’t count those as true “LCS” or local comic shop since this chain’s base of operation isn’t even in Ireland.  Today Rob has agreed to meet me after work for a pint or five and talk comics and the business of comics in Ireland.

  

Robert Curley is a comic creator, comic publisher, comic retailer, comic fan, and comic evangelist.  Today Rob has two retail Sub-City locations and a publishing company named Atomic Diner.  I asked Rob about the loss of the other stores in his area and he explained that a combination of rent and economic factors hit all retail hard.  Being a comic fan of course I would notice the missing comic shops but Rob pointed that book stores, record stores, clothing stores and many others were all hit and those shops that managed their rent and customers had the best chance of surviving.  Computers and technology have a place in Rob’s business but he doesn’t follow message boards or listen to internet chatter about comics.  Rob uses the old school method of talking and listening to his customers to understand what he needs to order and what to stock in the two different retail locations.  In fact it was this rapport with his customers that gave Rob the confidence to branch out into creating and publishing comics.

 

Atomic Diner’s first comic Freakshow was enough of a success to encourage Rob to publish more comics created in Ireland by Irish creators.  Today Rob edits a number of titles for Atomic Diner and he is the creator and writer of The League of Volunteers.  The League of Volunteers is the story of a group of Irish superheroes.  The story mixes Celtic mythology with Irish history, language and location, the result is something uniquely Irish and totally fun.  Add to that Vampires and Nazis and this book really has something for almost every comic fan.  Barry Keegan’s art is clean and developing from issue to issue.  I found the issue #2 pencils much richer and the last splash page has a real Gene Colan feel to it. 

Rob described the two audiences for this book as Irish comic book readers and Irish people who are proud of and support Irish made items.  This comic chronicles the first real homegrown superhero group based in Ireland.  To date League of Volunteers is going to a third printing for issue #1 and that represents 3000 copies sold through Sub-City locations and mail order.  The best part of this success story is how Rob keeps it all local.  The comic is printed locally in Dublin and recently Rob and Barry gave demonstration and instruction on making comics at local elementary schools.  They were not promoting their comic or the store; instead they were promoting comics and sharing their passion with the next generation.  This was done without fanfare or self promotion in and around Dublin.  

Rob and the eleven people he employs share this same focus.  Comics are a business and passion and both have to be in balance.  Rob has managed to thrive in tough times in a tough business.  The basic rules of business haven’t really changed even though the tools we use have.  Rob has found the right mix but always keeps the face to face interactions at the front.  I recommend The League of Volunteers and Freakshow and should you find yourself in Dublin be sure to stop by and say hello to Rob and pick up a few comics.  I want to thank Rob for his friendship over the years and especially for taking time to talk to me and tip a few pints. 

Links:

Atomic Diner Comics - http://www.atomicdiner.com/

Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/subcitycomics

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/League-Of-Volunteers/134067086605549

Irish Comic News - http://www.irishcomicnews.com/ 

That’s my story for today September 4, 2011.  Peace and Leftcoastlove!