For as long as the direct market — or the side of the comic industry centered on comic shops — has existed, attracting new readers has been a challenge. While there would be the occasional uptick, like during DC’s The New 52 relaunch in 2011 or the speculator-driven pandemic boom, those are usually rare and brief. Newcomers tend to recede as quickly as they arrive. We know that isn’t always the case, though, because a funny thing happened over the past two years.

New readers flooded into comic shops, with shops reporting significant gains in customer counts and foot traffic. These customers, who excitedly purchase comics of all genres, formats, and price points per retailers, are also a much more diverse and youthful audience than you’d expect to see on your average Wednesday. Even better?

They just keep on coming, with many sticking around as regulars — and others continue to follow right behind them.

This influx of customers has been massive for the fortunes of comic shops, as they’ve helped the direct market go on an all-time heater. We know all that, though. It’s been a topic of conversation in the industry for the past year. But while we accept it as true, there are still questions about this trend. Namely, what’s fueling it, and why is it happening now?

To find some answers, I turned to the comic retailers themselves, and their takes varied depending on who you ask. That’s because as much as people want to just say “Absolute” and move on, a trend this significant is always going to be about more than any one thing.