Brian Heater talks to Rocketship co-owner Alex Cox ; the store is now really, truly closed.
“Our lease came up,” Cox tells me, “and we realized that we were either going to do this another five to 10 years, at which point it becomes a CAREER, in big letters, or not sign on again and do something different. That’s basically it. Of course, there are a thousand variables in there, all of which would be very boring and involved. In the end, the store was great to do for five years, but not something we wanted to be doing until we retired. So it was time to move on.”
While we’ll all be moving on, we’ll miss Rocketship.
Thanks for the signings, the wonderful space and selection, and for proving that such a store could exist and thrive.
Much thanks to the Rocketship crew for doing what they did so well. I don’t live in NYC, so I’m very grateful I was able to shop there a couple times during visits. Best of luck in whatever you guys do next.
I’m sure they’re a great couple of guys, but if I were a loyal customer, I’d feel a little angry about the closing.
Was there no possibility the store could be sold to new owners? Owners who might happily carry on?
Rocketship, the originator of Brooklyn style of comics!
To the previous commentor: it’s a beautiful world when we allow the people that we love to live their lives in a way that makes them happy. It’s a beautiful world when others afford us the same.
Weep not for comics in Brooklyn, Kings County will be okay!
:-)
So it’s a less beautiful world when the consideration is one-sided, as seems to be here.
“So it’s a less beautiful world when the consideration is one-sided, as seems to be here.”
Christ, what a sense of entitlement.
Thanks to Alex and his Rocketship co-owenr for running a great store and making it a platform for comics in the neighborhood and beyond. Rocketship was a terrific example of a new wave comics bookstore and there are and will be more stores like it. Rocketship Lives!!!
Rocketship was a great store but the legacy is being carried on by places like Bergen Street Comics.
“Christ, what a sense of entitlement.”
Christ, what a stunted concept of interpersonal relationships.
When customers *support a store*, giving the owner a chance to actually make a living doing something “great”, does the store owner owe them nothing at all in return for that? No one demanded that Cox keep running it if he doesn’t want to any more, only wondering why he couldn’t give equal consideration in return to his customers and sell the business to keep it open instead of just dumping them like an asshole ex-boyfriend saying “it was fun, but I’m over you, so bye”.
Sell the business? Do you know what it takes to run a comic shop? The overhead is nothing short of outrageous. Cox got 50% on a book which is a nice take but if he over-ordered, well – he had to eat those books. He couldn’t send them back. He could literally find himself in the hole even if he had an awesome week. And he had to do that every week all year long. It’s a true wonder he could keep it open as long as he could and this thought that someone else would just stroll in and buy it is comical. I’m sure if there was someone out there that wanted it Alex would have been all ears. Any of you guys ready to take over the lease in a part of town with skyrocketing rent? Personally, I’m happy for the guy. There’s nothing selfish about wanting to try something new.
I haven’t talked to a SINGLE SOUL who is “angry” at Alex and Mary for leaving the biz. It is their choice. Their lives.
Listen to yourself: you think that, in order to satisfy your own personally-formed impression of “interpersonal relationships,” the owners of Rocketship should have sought out buyers, possibly financially risked extending their lease in their own names just to transfer said lease to….*SOMEBODY*…just so that the store can remain open for a little while longer? Do you realize how crazy that sounds? Their lease is up. They don’t want to be in the business any more. They’re not going to renew the lease just to *attempt* to transfer it to somebody who may not even exist to potentially pick up the reins. That’s just….I’m sorry Heidi, I’m ruining your nice website.
And let’s be reality; Bergen Street Comics is just up the way. Brooklyn will have comics.