Comikaze in Kearny Mesa (Beth Accomando)

The San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing and Friday at 10am there's a panel called Retail Relevance, all about comic book stores. I spoke with a couple of local comic book store owners and a comics writer about the challenges of working in today's comic industry for a KPBS radio feature (you can listen if you don't feel like reading).

As you enter Comickaze, you're engulfed by comics and graphic novels stuffed onto shelves, spread across wire racks, and piled high in boxes. Owner Robert Scott has been running the store for almost 16 years and he's seen some changes over the years.

Batman beats Spider-man... at least at the box office (Warner Brothers / Sony)

It's official. The Dark Knight just broke the box office record for biggest opening weekend, formerly set by rival superhero Spider-Man (3) last year. The Dark Knight is also the fourth superhero film based on a comic to hit this summer (following Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy II, and five if you count Wanted's Wesley as a superhero). So is it any wonder that Hollywood has a big presence at Comic-Con? If you watched the Guillermo del Toro video, he comments on how the expansion of comics into movies and gaming has helped keep the publishing end of the business alive. I just interviewed a pair of San Diego comic book store owners who had strikingly similar reports from the retail trenches in regards to Hollywood and the comics industry.