The comic stores I've been in (around here; maybe other cities do it differently) have the titles separated by publisher.

But Barnes & Noble doesn't shelve Random House books separately from Penguin*, is I think what Strega was getting at. For a newbie or someone who only reads comics occassionally, shelving comics by publisher is far more confusing than shelving (say) alphabetically by author.

(Signed, had to call my husband from Midtown Comics to ask him who published RASL because I couldn't find it on my own.)

*And if Penguin is a division of Random House or vice versa, please mentally substitute publishing houses that will make my point.

The two stores I go to with any frequency stock them by title, at least the new releases. Granted, one of them is more of music/DVD/collectibles plus comics store, despite having "Comics" in its name (that would be Newbury Comics), but the other is pretty much strictly comics plus other stuff.

Graphic novels are a bit less consistently organized - if the author is the thing (Alan Moore, for example) they'll keep his stuff together, but if it's the title/team (X-permutations, Spidey-permutations, Bat-permutations, etc.) they keep those together (mostly - stuff like The Killing Joke ends up in both sections). And the Neil Gaiman section doubles as the Eternals section.

The comic stores I've been in (around here; maybe other cities do it differently) have the titles separated by publisher.

My comic store used to do it that way. And their flier would list new releases by publisher,too. I don't bother to pick that up anymore since I got on their e-mail list.

When they moved and got a lot more shelf space, they switched to strictly alphabetical by title. Sooo much easier to find what I want. I could care less who publishes Grendel, I just want to be able to find it in the Gs and now I can.

My shop is, I think, still separated by publisher first, then alphabetical by title.

Given the general split between DC/Marvel readers, there is some sense to it.

But Barnes & Noble doesn't shelve Random House books separately from Penguin*, is I think what Strega was getting at.

Exactly, thank you!

I can understand not using author, since there are so many ongoing titles that have different authors every year or so. But title would be simple enough.

I think my comic shop is trying to shift toward genre/title -- which probably makes it even more confusing right now, but I like the direction they're headed. All the superhero back issues are on one wall, and I think they're still split publisher/title, but I'm not sure. The TPBs definitely are.

The cape-free shelves are sort of a mix -- there are a couple of separate shelves for back issues that are genre-based (I know there's one for horror books), and then there are shelves for Image and Vertigo and one for Indie books, and so on.

The TPB shelves on that side are just silly, though. I'm hoping they reorganize those next.

Yeah, my comic shop lists DC and Marvel by publisher and then everything else alphabetically by title.

I think there's a genre thing going on at my comics store; they've never explained it as they take me to where I need to go (and I've never asked), but I seem to recall one of them trying to decide whether Buckaroo Bonzai would be in superheroes or something else that I can't remember. But, I mean, there is probably some other overarching theme going on.

Blue Beetle! I hardley knew ye'! In fact, I'm only through the second trade. Condolences, Steph.

My store is by publisher but I'm rarely in the store for more than five minutes before someone asks me what I'm looking for and they can find anything I want for me in seconds.

In Spidey cartoon news I got my first disc of the 90s series yesterday. I'm enjoying the stories but not the animation. Everyone (especially Peter) is too hunky. It's like a nation of Ken dolls.

I'm rarely in the store for more than five minutes before someone asks me what I'm looking for

Exactly. They enable my lack of knowing how they're organized, and they seem to like the walk-n-talk, so it's all good.

Am I the only one whose store is arranged by title?