The Billings Outpost Frontpage 7/30/09 12:52 PM

search...

Latest News Big Sky Comics closing Big Sky Comics closing doors doors Pollution tax idea blasted Trunk holds war records End of a comic book dream Catapult deadline near Outlaws win, 50-7, close in By ANNA PAIGE on championship For The Outpost

Main Menu Home News Features Today's Calendar Deadlines Commentary Arts and Entertainment Sports Ads Weather Deaths Billings Blog Free tickets Media Kit Links

Special Sections Business Seniors Photo by Anna Paige/Pen and Paige Dave Crispino, owner of Big Sky Comics and Collectables, is closing his store on July 31. Medicine Conservation Dave Crispino isn’t your stereo typical “comic book guy,” popularized by the animated television sitcom, “The Archive Simpsons.” A Black Flag neck tattoo poking out from under his Misfits band T-shirt, Crispino appears more like a hard rock aficionado than a comic book lover, but he’s both. July, 2009 June, 2009 May, 2009 In many ways, Crispino represents the modern-day comic book guy: introspective, chatty, and at variance with April, 2009 social norms. His passion for the graphic novel, countercultural writers and noir-themed comics spurred him to open Big Sky Comics and Collectables in April 2007. Polls “I’ve wanted to open a comic shop since I was 18,” Crispino said. Now 28, Crispino has run his own shop for Do you agree with more than two years but has decided to close the doors on July 31. the way Obama is handling Iran? “I’m very sad,” Crispino said, “but seeing people sad about it hurts me more. The thought of giving up on my customers and them not knowing what to do afterward hurt me more than the actually doing it.” Yes Mostly Though several chain stores that serve the area carry comic books and related merchandise, Big Sky Comics and Not really Collectables, at 323 24th St. W., and the Splash Page, 2545 Central Ave., are the only direct market comic book Not at all stores in town. The Splash Page, which opened in 1994 in Billings, is locally owned and has a second location in Missoula. Vote Results Crispino said he has processed the store’s closure and has “let go.” Outpost RSS 2.0 “As a business man, it’s a failed venture. But as a fellow comic book reader, it kills me to know that these people may or may not keep reading because of me,” Crispino said.

The state of the global economy played a role in Crispino’s decision to close Big Sky Comics and Collectables. Crispino notes that only 1 percent of the population are comic book readers, and he has seen customers curtail http://billingsnews.com/ Page 1 of 4 The Billings Outpost Frontpage 7/30/09 12:52 PM

or cease their spending on “luxury” items such as comics.

“At the time I opened, it was a viable business,” he said. “I may have started the business at the peak of the economic dive.”

Though the economic downturn hurt his business, Crispino attributes the store’s closure to several issues, including location, a lack of funds for advertising said location, and overspending when the shop opened.

“I should have done more bare bones to figure out what was what the community wanted as far as comics, instead of immediately going big and scaling down,” he said. But Crispino does not regret starting the business, which he opened shortly after relocating to Montana from Baltimore, Md. He was lured west by “a woman,” and though that relationship didn’t work out, he took his knowledge of the comic book business gained in Baltimore and opened his own shop in Billings.

“I always had a love for comic books — the art and the writing — and being from Baltimore, we had a plethora of comic book shops, eight within a 10-mile radius of each other.”

Before moving to Montana, Crispino spent two years learning the ins and outs of the comic book trade from his mentor, Randy Myers, who owns Collectors Corner in Baltimore. It was during this time that Crispino immersed himself in comics’ counterculture heroes, from Grant Morrison (“Zenith,” “Arkham Asylum,” “JLA: Earth 2”) to Alan Moore (“Watchmen,” “V for Vendetta,” “From Hell”) to Warren Ellis (“Transmetropolitan,” “Planetary,” “Global Frequency”).

“I was tired of reading Marvel and DC and solely reading superhero comic books. I knew other writers were writing other things, so I started seeking them out,” Crispino said.

The sole proprietor of Big Sky Comics and Collectables, Crispino is also its only employee. He estimates he’s worked around 77 hours a week since opening shop, something that has taken an enormous toll on him.

“I’ve been nothing but a giant stress ball while I’ve lived in Billings,” he said. Though he’ll have time to relax once the store closes, he’s not sure what his next move will be.

“I can still open another shop. I’m getting multiple ideas of what to do next. There are talks of going west, going north, going home. I have options, and I feel good about having options.”

Big Sky Comics and Collectibles, located at 323 24th St. W., specializes in comic books, soft and hardback graphic novels, trade paperbacks, hardcover graphic novels as well as figures, gaming manuals, collectable cards and role-playing games. The store will be closing July 31 and store merchandise and non-subscribed monthlies (excluding new) are reduced 30 percent and back issues are buy one get one free. Store hours are Monday through Saturday noon to 7 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Call 656-0664 for more information.

Last Updated on Thursday, 30 July 2009 10:22

Pollution tax idea blasted By T.J. GILLES For The Outpost

The United States should not go it alone or sacrifice its economy in trying to curb greenhouse gases, business leaders said last week in Billings.

Speakers derided restrictions, added costs and unattainable goals of the American Energy and Security Act of 2009, which has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate. It also is known as Waxman-Markey, after Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman (Calif.) and Ed Markey (Mass.), its authors.

Two years ago, this same Montana Growth Network was lambasting a similar – but far less drastic – proposal called Lieberman-McCain, named for Sens. Joe Lieberman, then a Connecticut Democrat who turned “independent” after losing his party’s Senate primary, once ran for vice president with Al Gore and spoke at last year’s Republican National Convention.

John McCain, of course, was that party’s presidential candidate last year.

The current legislation calls for the United States to reduce its carbon emissions by 83 percent below 2005 levels within the next 35 years. The key ingredient is to tax polluters beginning at a rate of $15 per ton, with allowable emissions decreasing regularly until the year 2050. If companies exceed their pollution quotas, they are allowed to purchase “carbon offsets” or “credits” on a commodities market. Money would go to those with specific projects to clean the air by reforesting, planting permanent vegetative cover, implementing conservation measures, or switching to renewable energy such as solar or wind.

Not qualifying are those who maintain extremely low “carbon imprints” such as homeless people who walk or take public transportation, eat leftovers or donated surplus food, and sleep outdoors during clement weather.

http://billingsnews.com/ Page 2 of 4