Your Membership helps keep a San Francisco Institution Alive.

The cost of doing business in San Francisco is really extremely high, and we want to pay our staff enough that they can thrive. For a small family owned neighborhood book store this is extremely difficult to do when we are limited to the fixed cover prices that are set by the publishers. We can’t “just raise prices” like your neighborhood burrito place might be able to, so we have to find other creative ways to keep the store operational.

We believe in the power and craft of the medium of comics, and our Graphic Novel Clubs are designed to showcase the medium, from a diverse group of creators and a wide range of genres and storytelling styles. Your membership allows us to continue this mission!

The tl;dr version continues below!

In 2018, San Francisco raised minimum wage to the nation’s highest at $15/hour over the next three years – a 43% hike. While we at Comix Experience absolutely support a living wage, this unprecedented increase put a huge pressure on small businesses like ours. To put it into raw numbers, given our current staffing at the time (and we run very tight), we had to generate an additional $80,000 a year in sales just to meet the rise.

Absorbing that kind of wage hike is our single biggest business cost. Historical rates of growth and the nature of selling comics (what we sell has a fixed cover price set by the publishers, therefore we can’t raise prices) means that it is virtually impossible to raise that additional income organically.

Comix Experience is a healthy business, and has consistently been that way for all of the 33 years of its existence, as of 2022. However, like most small retail businesses, every dollar that is earned is invested directly back into the business. That means we had to do something radical to generate the additional $80,000 in annual sales to meet this payroll mandate.

Further, wages in San Francisco are essentially guaranteed to go up every year — here is a link to the City of San Francisco’s record of wage increases.

A Solution that Reflects our Core Values

When deciding what path to take to increase sales to meet the new wage requirements, we kept a few of our guiding principles in mind.

1. Comix Experience strongly prefers to let the market solve the problem rather than raw patronage. While we have no problem with a fund-raising type approach, for us creating a way to generate new customers and provide our loyal patrons with added value is better.

2. Our solution reflects the passion and curation we offer to you every single day. We don’t sell comics merely to make money from them – we sell comics because we literally can’t think of a better way to spend our days than communicating the boundless love we feel for great comics and their amazing creators! And we don’t just love comics – we really know them as well; we get the secret alchemy that makes the best comics so. Every member of our staff feels just the same way: We burn for comics, and we want to ignite your passion for the best that our medium has to offer!

3. We foster a community through our stores, and build a safe space so that regardless of your circumstance, age, race, gender or creed, you’re welcome and participatory in your own fandom.

Therefore the path we set upon to save Comix Experience is this:

Comix Experience's Curated Graphic Novel of the Month Club and Kids' Graphic Novel of the Month Club

Since July 2015, every month, the staff and I use our passion and experience to choose the single best brand new graphic novel to give you. This book is always either a stand-alone experience, or the first volume of a new series. As a member of the club, you are entitled to unique benefits that won’t be offered to anyone else

• A curated selection of the best new graphic novel each month.

• An invitation to a monthly live book club meeting and social event to discuss that book. We record and stream the in-store meeting so club members all over the world can also participate.

• We regularly have the writers and artists of each of our picks participate in our monthly club meetings, (e.g. in person, speaking and doing a live event, or a video chat to answer questions).

• For select in-person appearances at the store, you receive an exclusive club-only invitation to attend a private after-hours event with the guest.

• Finally, we provide you with nice swag (like posters or bookmarks) for the selected book wherever possible

We also have a graphic novel of the month club for your children, too! It's only $15 per month for kid-friendly books, since those books are often less expensive. Check out the full details on our dedicated Kids' Graphic Novel Club page.  Annual memberships make great gifts for your favorite kids!

Ways to Join the Graphic Novel Club

• Month-to-Month: If you would prefer to take it one month at a time, the price will be $25 a month, a tremendous value considering all the benefits we are offering.

• Annual: If you are willing to commit to a full year, the price drops to just $20 a month! You can quit at any time for a full refund on your unused balance. Annual memberships make great gifts!

We Are Looking Forward to Having You as Part of the Comix Experience Family!

Our belief is that there are a lot of people who like comics, like the store, or simply want to help keep San Francisco iconoclastic and support small business. Perhaps you just don’t have the time to get into a comic store every month to stay on top of new releases.

The comics medium is truly in a second Golden Age right now, but with so much top notch, innovative work being released, how can you tell which new releases are the best? We provide that curated experience for you.

I urge you to join us. If you know someone else who would like to subscribe, I also urge you tell them about this service (or give them a gift subscription). Please help us spread the word! Each and every person truly matters in reaching our goal, and keeping Comix Experience alive to continue to take comics into a better place well into the future. On behalf of myself and the staff of Comix Experience, thank you so much for your support!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call either store, or reach out to me directly:

Brian Hibbs, Head Cheese, brian@comixexperience.com

Check out our FAQ section!