Comic Store In Your Future: Sweet Sixteen Years In Business

Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic store in your future, post office

Comic Store In Your Future: Sweet Sixteen Years In Business

Comic Store In Your Future: Sweet Sixteen Years In Business... sixteen more to come? Rod Lamberti is having the time of his life.

Published Sun, 13 Sep 2026 18:02:07 -0500
by Rod Lamberti
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Article Summary

• Celebrating sixteen years in business at Rodman Comics, with hard-earned lessons from a changing comic shop market.
• Sixteen years in business taught me comics retail is constant math, with shifting publishers, distributors, and trends.
• Running a comic store means handling difficult customers, doubters, and setbacks while staying focused on what works.
• After sixteen years in business, I am happier than ever, inspired by young comic readers and the good in people.

On October 3rd, Rodman Comics will celebrate sixteen years in business. October 1st, the first day we opened, does not fall on Saturday, so the 3rd it is. The journey has been eventful. I started out wide-eyed and naive. There were many pitfalls and setbacks. It was a learning experience. I wish there had been a better source to learn from and to see what others who have owned or own a comic store know. This would lead me to write for Bleeding Cool, hoping to share information that others in the business, or people looking to get into it, could learn from.

One of the many things I enjoy about going to Las Vegas is visiting my friend Ralph, owner of Alternate Reality Comics there. I enjoy talking shop with a non-competitor. I am human; it helps to know that things I am having issues with others are also having. Ralph has many more years under his belt as a comic store owner than I do. One of the many things I have learned at Rodman Comics is that this business is a never-ending, changing math problem. Just when I feel like everything is figured out, it all changes. Years ago, if someone had told me Marvel would fall to second place, behind DC, I would have said no way, Disney will never let that happen. I would have been wrong. Years ago, if anyone had said that Diamond would not only stop being the main provider of comics in the future, but also declare bankruptcy, I think everyone would have laughed. When I first opened, I learned people who stole from me were only sorry when they were caught. None of the people caught or their parents ever offered to pay back what had been stolen.

Knowing everything that I know now, would I still have opened Rodman Comics all those years ago? Yes, I do wish I had the knowledge that I have now back then. Years ago, one of my employees asked how I could put up with certain people. How can I let people lie about me come here? I replied that if I only did business with people who shared my values, I would lose many customers. Some people got banned, and there are people I do not like dealing with, just like other people who deal with the public; you do not get to pick a person's character just because they walk in. Learning about a new customer a long with their buying habits is a challenge.

Many people look down on me for owning a comic store, while many think it is cool. People from all walks of life, with all kinds of jobs, may like and appreciate the comic store I bring to Ankeny. The flip side is that many people with whatever job they may have, be it I.T., H.R., security, or so on, for whatever reason, may look down at me because of our different backgrounds or who knows what. I had a post office worker I dealt with when shipping out orders bought from us online who, for some reason, always nagged me about not having a "real" job, in her words.

Needless to say, I have no idea if she transferred or what, but I sure don't miss her. I had another store owner come in and ask if I knew of any real comic stores in the area. I said the name of another comic store and asked if he needed directions. He was surprised and said no. His store did not last long. He would have been far better off asking for advice from someone who has been running a store for years.

Often, people do overlook the fact that Rodman Comics has been around for years and that maybe, just maybe, I know what I am doing. I know that the comic store I shopped at for over a decade had people who, for whatever reason, decided there was no way they were making money. Like, they were losing money for a decade straight. I knew that defied logic; people, sadly, can be, for lack of a better word, idiots. Makes it seem daunting to deal with people. Dealing with the public means dealing with all kinds of people. That said, I have never been happier in my life than I am now.

I am doing what I enjoy. I am happy to see more young people buying comics here than I ever have before. The Absolute line brings the next generation in. Print is not dead. I have had some of the kindest and just plain good people come in. Some people are so good that I feel like I should be doing more good in life for others. Thanks to the store, I know a kid who does far more charity work than I ever did at his age. People who remind me that there is still good in this world, along with people who like comics. Positivity can go a long way.

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