I love talking to comics retailers.

These fine folks who run the comic shops that act as the heart of the medium for so many comic fans are crucial to the way the world of comics work, and I do what I can to regularly highlight what they do both on SKTCHD and Off Panel. I’m rarely able to get very far into what they do individually, though, as my check-ins with comic shops are by nature a look at the direct market as a whole, and every episode of Off Panel can’t be a retailer one. That’s why I’ve been thinking for a while about what a regular retailer-centric piece might look like, something to highlight different shops, what they look like, what their focuses are, and a whole lot more, all in a standardized way.

Thus, Tale of the Tape 1 was born.

My goal for this series is for it to be a monthly or bi-monthly look at different comic shops and what they’re experiencing right now, with the owners of each shop acting as the guide for the piece. And with the big news that it will soon be opening a second location, I thought where better to start than with San Francisco’s long-running Mission: Comics and Art? I’ve known its owner Leef Smith for a long time, and I thought he’d be a perfect first victim entry in this column. I was right, as he took readers inside his shop both through photos and the questionnaire that guides this piece.

You can read it below. This first edition is open to non-subscribers, but if you like what you read, make sure to subscribe to SKTCHD for more of this column and a whole lot more.

When did you get into comics retail?: I had never worked in comics retail before opening my store. So, 2009.

When did you open Mission: Comics and Art?: September 2009, pretty much at the bottom of the Housing Crisis recession.

Why did you want to open your own shop?: I had been saying for years that “somebody” should open a comic book store in the Mission District for several years. Al’s Comics had moved out of the Mission and the San Francisco Comic Company had been closed for several years at that point. The Mission was exploding with creative people doing interesting things and still had a lot of artists, art gallery, service workers living cheaply and the Web 2.0 gentrification was in its infancy. I was inspired by people that were already doing mixed retail/gallery businesses, and comic stores that were providing more of an experience like Secret Headquarters, Isotope and Challengers Comics & Conversations, along with a desire to create an intentional community.

What products do you carry?: We carry monthly periodical comic books and graphic novels from major publishers (like Marvel and DC) and other publishers, along with comics from local creators. We also stock all-ages graphic novels, Spanish-language graphic novels, Japanese manga, toys, board games, posters, and stickers. We also have a changing selection of used graphic novels and a small selection of back issues.

Has that evolved since you opened?: We originally had a dedicated gallery space and sold original artwork and sometimes prints. We also tried a rental library at one point. Over the past ten years we started stocking more action figures, Blokees, D&D books and dice. The rental library became used book buying and selling. And we started stocking more low-priced “reader copy” back issues. We stopped selling Silver Sprocket books when they were just a few blocks away and adapted to having Sour Cherry Comics just a few blocks in the other direction. We’ve shifted more to single issues as the more casual graphic novel readers are visiting the store less often and browsing far less often since the COVID pandemic.

How many distributors are you working with right now across all products?: We’re getting product from about 10 different distributors, not counting direct buys and Kickstarter books.

How many staff members do you have?: We have four staff members currently.

How’s the year going for you?: 2026 has been a very strong year for revenue! May was just our best month ever! It was about 20% over last May and Q1 2026 was our best quarter ever!

What’s a single-issue series that’s driving sales?: Absolute Batman for sure! But Fraction DCU Batman is selling better than any previous Batman has sold for us too, by quite a lot.

What’s a collection that’s been delivering?: Again Absolute Batman, but also Absolute Martian Manhunter and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

Do you have any standout graphic novel sellers?: Assorted Crisis Events, but it’s a pretty easy sell.

Do you have any handselling hits: We did quite well putting Destination Kill #1 in the hands of Absolute Batman reader’s hands.

What’s lagging: Pretty much everything Marvel, and most miniseries from non-DC publishers.

Foot traffic trends: The Absolute Batman annual by DWJ got noticed and really raised the bar for Absolute Batman. Since then it’s been more young readers coming in on a regular basis and setting-up pull lists. But as stated before we’re seeing a lot fewer older, casual readers picking up graphic novels.

Biggest reason for optimism: New readers getting into the habit of coming into the comic book store on a regular basis. These young readers are engaged with the story and have an enthusiasm for collecting single issues regardless of what printing it is. There’s also DC compact editions to help build their reading habits and Comics! The Magazine to help educate them.

Biggest reason for concern: Trump’s chaotic nature, and the economic and political fallout. Every day it seems at least possible (if not likely) that he will collapse the economy and run the country into the ground. Plus the equal possibility that the AI/stock market bubble will burst in a catastrophic fashion, deepening inequality in this country and making mass market comic books less affordable for more people.

Thanks for taking this tour of Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco. If you’d like to read more articles like this in the future, maybe consider subscribing to SKTCHD. The site’s entirely powered by its subscribers, with no ads and new articles or podcasts nearly every day of the week.