Comics-616: Behind the business at the Wakefield comic shop that nearly didn’t happen

One Sunday morning in 2015, James woke up with an idea – “I’m going to open a comic shop in Wakefield.”

He had never read or even been interested in comics, and had no previous business experience.

In the year or two before, he had finished working as a voice actor on a series which was in pre-production, and described struggling to move into a “normal” job after this, and wanting to find something he could be passionate about.

James said: “That sent me on a bit of a path where I did struggle for a long time, because it’s very difficult to go from that side of things to then looking for a normal job.”

Today, Wakefield Comics-616, located on The Springs in the city centre, is packed with comics, graphic novels, cards, games, toys, books, and DVDs.

Every Wednesday, customers look forward to the arrival of fresh comics from America, and the shop has weekly deliveries of cards and DVDs.

Comics-616, 11 years on, is a successful independent shop, but the spontaneous idea James had on that Sunday morning nearly never became a reality.

His first attempt to set up the shop was in April 2015, when he approached the Job Centre to apply for a scheme that was being offered to help people start their own business, but was told he was not ready for the scheme and was refused.

James described feeling like he had fallen “at the first hurdle,” and wondered where to go from there.

Undeterred, James approached a charity in the following May, which was running a programme to provide support for people starting businesses, and attended a three-day course with them in the June.

The course enabled James to devise a business plan and projections, and during this time he put out a petition asking people in Wakefield if they would use a comic shop.

Despite receiving hundreds of signatures, however, he was not successful in receiving support from the charity.

James said it felt like he was “back to square one again.”

Despite this, James returned to the Job Centre, and tried again to apply for the scheme that was being offered there – this time with a business plan.

James was accepted onto the course, which took place at the beginning of September 2015.

Equipped with his business plan and knowledge he had picked up from the course he took with the charity, he progressed through the scheme’s application process quickly, and was now waiting to hear if he had been accepted for funding.

On a Friday evening around five days after being accepted onto the course, and some five months after his first attempt to gain support for the shop, the email arrived: “denied.”

James said: “It was like – that’s it. I gave it a go, and that’s that.

“I can’t say I’ve not tried.”

But James needed to know why he had not been accepted.

The following Monday after his application was rejected, James had an appointment with a member of staff from the scheme, where he was told that his application had been unsuccessful because of his phone interview — an interview which James said had not taken place.

On discovery of the error, James was then scheduled a phone interview the next day.

The interview was successful, and by the middle of September, everything was approved.

James said: “Everything seemed to be falling into place, and as soon as the money hit my bank account, it was like, right, now I need to start things.”

James said he went “straight to the estate agents” and by the end of October had his key to number 3, The Springs.

James recalled thinking: “I’ve done it, now the hard work starts.”

James began the process of setting up the shop, which he said used to be a fishing tackle shop, but had been empty for a number of years.

James described there being a “steady trickle” of customers on the shop’s first day of trading, which was a Saturday in November 2015.

Unlike the packed shelves which occupy the shop today, James remembered there being three bookcases of toys and DVDs, a couple of boxes of older comics, some Pokemon cards, and a clothes rack in the centre of the shop.

Over the years, the shop has been a success, and James said some financial support from the government helped it survive the Covid period.

Today, some tape to guide social distancing is still visible on the shop floor, and a plastic screen is still set up at the till.

James said it was important during the Covid period to “keep morale up” and he recalled checking in on some of his customers who were alone during that time.

He described a “massive boom” after Covid, when people were keen to get back into shops.

The shop is now in its 11th year, and James said he has a community of customers, some of which he has seen meet people, get married, and have children over the years.

Despite being able to buy books, games and comics online, he said one of the reasons his customers come is because they want to support the industry.

Something else which has contributed to the shop’s success, James said, is his “neutrality” towards comic books and products, meaning he is happy to order in anything his customers want.

“It’s not for my benefit, it’s for their benefit,” he said.

Wakefield Comics-616 is open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, except Tuesday, when it closes at 4.30pm.

The shop can also be found on Facebook and Youtube.

About the owner

Name: James Williams

Age: 35

From: Wakefield area.

Favourite thing about your job: The people that it helps.

Fun fact about you: Has previously worked as a voice actor.