Inside the Vortex - 50
The Latest From Vortex Books and Comics
Hello from inside Vortex Books & Comics. The weather outside is finally heating up, but unfortunately, the American economy is cooling down. That’s not a political statement. Anyone with common sense, regardless of which side of the political aisle they reside upon, can look at the data and the forecasts and see that things are trending downward. Sadly, it’s happening here at Vortex Books & Comics, as well. (And just to make sure it wasn’t just us, Brian spent the last week talking to a number of other local businesses here in Columbia, as well as stores similar to our own across the country). The consensus? Everyone is struggling right now.
We’ve been very lucky in that we have remained profitable every month since we opened. However, to maintain profitability, we are going to have to make some changes.
First of all, pull boxes. If you go more than a month without picking up the comics in your pull box, your subscription will be canceled and you will not be allowed to resubscribe later. Over the last two weeks, we’ve had to cancel two customers who had gone THREE MONTHS without picking up their comics. Comic books are non-returnable, so those two customers ended up costing the store over $600.
Secondly, we’ve done away with Sunday Magic the Gathering. While fun, it’s just not profitable for the store.
Finally, we have no choice but to close the Annex (Note: NOT THE STORE. WE ARE ONLY CLOSING THE ANNEX NEXT TO THE STORE). With the cancellation of Magic the Gathering and the mixed turnout for our last few signings and other events, we can no longer justify the $550 per month in rent and the monthly electric bill for that space. bringing with it the smoke from the Canadian wildfires).
Going forward, all signings and other events will take place in the store itself again, the way it was when we first opened.
And speaking of signings and events, a reminder that we’ve got a BIG one this Saturday (June 7). All the way from Australia, Aaron Dries is doing a rare U.S. signing at Vortex! And he’ll be joined by Central PA’s own John Boden, also a rarity on the signing and public appearance circuit. We expect a crowd for this one! It runs 1pm to 3pm. We have plenty of their books for sale. You may also bring books from home to be signed.
Another important note: Writers Group, which was scheduled for this Friday night (June 6th) has been canceled. The next one will take place Saturday, July 12th.
Other upcoming events include a signing by Tim Waggoner on Thursday June 26th, and Jonathan Janz on Saturday June 28.
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here.
Also, on Saturday June 28th, we’ll be sponsoring EVIL EMBERS — an event taking place at Bube’s Brewery. For one night, some of your favorite horror writers are going to gather around the fire and tell you scary stories. Tickets are only five bucks! That’s right — $5. You won’t find a better deal than that in this economy. Click here to secure your ticket.
VORTEX BESTSELLER LIST
Our Top Ten Best-Selling Books For Week Of 5/26/2025
1. Never Flinch by Stephen King
2. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
3. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
3. The Staircase In The Woods by Chuck Wendig
4. The Night Birds by Christopher Golden
5. All Who Wander Are Lost by Gemma Amor
6. The Great When by Alan Moore
7. The Sundowner’s Dance by Todd Keisling
8. Voyeur by J.F. Gonzalez
9. Island of the Dead by Brian Keene
10. Strange New Moons edited by Kayleigh Dobbs and Stephen Kozeniewski
and…
Our Top Ten Best-Selling Comics and Graphic Novels For Week Of 5/26/2025
1. Absolute Batman
2. Feral
3. DCeased (compact edition)
4. Godzilla vs. X-Men
5. Medieval Spawn
6. Absolute Superman
7. Absolute Flash
8. Adventure Time
9. Absolute Martian Manhunter
10. Mothra
And that does it for this week! Thanks for your continued patronage in these diffcult economic times, and we hope to see you soon!
Lots of exciting things happening!