Big Planet Comics Bethesda store changes owners, continues on course set in 1986 [updated w/ quotes]

Joel and the logo he designed

by Mike Rhode

[updated at 9:47 with 2 quotes from Joel]

First, here's the minimalist press release they sent out tonight...

For immediate release:

January 3, 2023

The end of an era.... A passing of the torch....

Big Planet Comics founder Joel Pollack has retired after more than 36 years at the helm of the Bethesda landmark.

The shop will continue on in the more-than-capable hands of Nick Liappis, manager of the Big Planet U St shop for the past decade, and member of the Big Planet family going all the way back to the old days of the Vienna store.

After operating curbside only since 2020, the shop will now be open for in-store shopping,

Tuesday-Friday 11-7
Saturday 11-6
Closed Sunday and Monday.

7939 Norfolk Ave,     Suite 200
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-654-6856

 

 

 

 

Now, my comments...

Joel opened the store in July of 1986, just as some great adult comics such as The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were hitting. There were competing stores around, including Geppi's, Barbarian and Another Universe, but he's outlasted all of them via wise stewardship. The initial store has remained in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle for all the intervening years. It opened on the 2nd floor of a building on Cordell Ave, moved to a ground floor space on Fairmont Ave, and then back to another building on Cordell but on the ground floor. COVID-19 hit the business hard and it moved to the second floor of the building above the California Tortilla (which also was founded in Bethesda). The store survived by being pickup only in the current space, a situation that is now changing as Nick builds out the space for customers. I've seen it and it has the usual great BP selection. When I sent this blog post to him, Joel provided detailed information on the store's moves, stating "We started in 1986 on the second-floor of 4865 Cordell Ave. In 1991, we moved to 4908 Fairmont Ave. When the wrecking ball came for the Fairmont store in 2012, we high-tailed it to 4849 Cordell where we spent eight glorious years until Covid struck. We were forced to seek radically lower rent which we did by moving to a second-floor location at 7939 Norfolk. So I started on a second-floor and finished on a second floor. Funny, the same family owns both of those buildings."

Matt Wagner and Greg Bennett at SPX

Co-owner Greg Bennett, who began working at the store when it opened, and he was 16, has also sold his stake. He tells me he's considering moving to Europe to work in the field there. Greg had previously owned and operated a branch in Georgetown which metamorphosed into the U St store, now owned by Mars Imports founder (a great 1980s project to import European comic books) Jared Smith. Smith also owns the 3rd store in the chain in Vienna. The 4th store was bought into the chain by another employee, Peter Casazza and co-owned with Jared, until it was recently sold earlier this year to 3rd Eye Comics. As you can see, the chain has grown by bringing employees into ownership positions - something that has always impressed me. Dan Nadel escaped though to become an art historian of comics. Joel and Greg were big supporters of the Small Press Expo (SPX) since its very earliest days as well. The local comics scene owes Big Planet an immeasurable debt and wouldn't have been the same without them.

The Fairmont Ave store awaiting demolition

Joel has been part of my life ever since that July he opened, when I was brought up there by a girlfriend who had heard about it. We've become friends and hit the road to tour exhibits together. For many, many years I would take my Wednesday lunch time at his store, while my coworkers ate in the local restaurants. I've met some great cartoonists there too. For years, Joel & Greg saved me the ephemeral advertising that comic book companies put out, and lots of it is in the Library of Congress and Michigan State University among other collections; some went in the mail to MSU today in fact. They also regularly set me up with Halloween comics and Free Comic Book day floppies that I could hand out for Halloween, as well as donate sets to those comics collections.

 As the years went by and my work situation changed, I couldn't head up every week, and I was becoming disenchanted with big two companies anyway. The guys would set aside material they thought I'd be interested in for me, and I usually was. Whenever I'd go in, I'd find more to buy as well -- including last Thursday. I've still got my pull box of the original #45 though and I'll be visiting monthly to give Nick my money. 

As for Joel? "My love of the comics medium was a driving force in Big Planet's creation, but it was the wonderful people I got to meet through my business that sustained me all of these years."

Leigh Tyberg and Morgan Epstein in 2015 at the 2nd Cordell location

Joel and I plan to sit down soon for an oral history, and I've mentioned wanting to do one with Greg as well. There will be "more to come" to steal a line from some other real comics journalists...

 

Richard Thompson and Joel, who introduced me to him and changed my life.

 

A new graphic logo for the 21st century

 

The pickup table during the start of the Covid downturn

The Georgetown location run by Greg.

The current U St NW store and Belgian comics museum curator Willem Degraeve.

Greg, Nick Bertozzi, Joel, and Jason Little on Fairmont.

Nick Bertozzi brought Picasso with him to Fairmont Ave., but this is a picture of me.

Baltimore Comic Con's Randy Tischler talks to Gene Yang on Fairmont Ave.

Jared and Peter set up at Baltimore Comic Con.

The FCBD rack at the Vienna store was typical of the whole chain.

A post SPX party night at the Fairmont Ave location.

Greg at the counter of the 2nd Cordell Ave store.

Jared likes to publish comics too. Cartoonist is Chris Artiga-Oliver

Halloween comics to hand out in 2016.

The Vienna store.

David Lasky dedicace from his signing in 2014.

 

 

 Here's 184 photographs tagged with "Big Planet" on my Flickr account. I'm sure there's many others waiting to be labelled.

Q&A: Jared Smith of Big Planet Comics/Retrofit Comics

Jared Smith is one of the owning partners of Big Planet Comics, which almost two years ago dipped its toes into publishing by taking on some of the duties of Retrofit Comics. We thought it'd be interesting to check in with Jared on how that partnership with Philadelphia-based comics creator Box Brown is going.

Big Planet Comics has been publishing and distributing Retrofit Comics since about mid-2013. How have things been going?

Smith: I think really well. Box Brown, the founder of Retrofit Comics, has a great artistic vision, so working with him as editor and with Big Planet covering the rest of the publishing has been a good team.

What has been the biggest challenge so far? How are you tackling that challenge?

Smith: Distribution is tricky. It is very depressing to see the same few stores that are interested in carrying small press comic books (I'd say only about 20 in all of the US.) And some areas of the country are well served, like the major cities, but whole other areas have no stores that are interested. We've been reaching out to stores directly and trying to get more reviews and general awareness. We also distributed our first big graphic novel, FUNGUS: The Unbearable Rot of Being, through Diamond Comic Distributors, which has the best reach into comic stores here and internationally.

Big Planet Comics has several shops and locations, each with a different owner, correct? Was everyone initially on board with starting a publishing/distribution venture?

Smith: There are four stores, and there are four co-owners. We work together on most things though. Everyone was interested and supportive, but it was my idea and passion so I handle most of it, with help from various members of the Big Planet team like Kelly and Kevin and Peter.

How have you been getting the word out about Retrofit Comics?

Smith: We send out a lot of copies to reviewers, and of course the internet is huge for letting people know about your work. But we also go to a lot of conventions to reach people directly. It helps we publish such a wide range of artists of different styles and nationalities. I think it makes us a more appealing package, and when fans of one of our artists are directed to us, we have a lot of other things to appeal to them.

Several other retail shops around the country have also dipped their toes into publishing — such as Bergen Street Comics with Copra and Desert Island with Smoke Signal — though on a smaller scale. Do you think this is the start of trend? What makes publishing appealing to some retailers? 

Smith: Yes, there are about 10 retail stores who are publishing as well, such as Floating World, Locust Moon, Kilgore, and Secret Headquarters. I don't know if it's a trend, but it is just relatively easy for retail stores to support some of their favorite artists in a new way, by publishing their work. Most artists who are just starting out do it for the love of creation, and aren't making much money (if any). Plus many prefer to focus on the artistic side, the business side is a distraction from creating more comics! So if we can handle some of that, it works out well for everyone. Publishing also distinguishes your store and it helps gets better comics out into the world.