Welcome to Store Tour, ROBOT 6's new weekly exploration of comics shops, and the people who run them. Think of it as the retailer version of Shelf Porn. Each Sunday we'll feature a different store, and also get to know the person behind the register.

To discover a comic store in your area, visit FindAComicShop.com

Today's store is Escape Pod Comics, located at 302 Main St. in Huntington Village, New York, on the north shore of Long Island. We spoke with co-owner Menachem Luchins.

Robot 6: Tell me about the layout of your store. How did you work that out?

Escape Pod Comics: Well, the big plan was to always be shifting; a changing, evolving layout. I had a lot of ideas when I started that I knew weren’t ALL going to work, so I tried to leave myself space and room to play with things while still keeping the general sense of permanence. For example: Since we opened, our new comics have been on the right wall at the far end of the main room, before the kids’ section. How close to the kids’ section, what was considered “new,” how much weekly stock we get -- all sorts of things have changed over the two years of business but the new books are still on the right wall at the far end.

We’ve also got a honking huge antique pool table base dead center in the main room, which has dictated a lot, acting as an anchor to the main room. The base has served as: a table housing thousands of $1 back issues, a display for holiday items, a sale table, a “recommended section” and more.

What's your store's secret origin? How did it come to be? How did you decide on its name?

Where does a secret origin begin? When a comic shop opened up two blocks from the house of a kid who was already inhaling the stuff from newsstands and treks of a mile to local stores, a kid who got suspended a lot, and needed a local safe place to be when he was out? Maybe when I first walked into Rocketship comics in Brooklyn, coming, with my wife, from Rockland County all the way to check out this shop we had heard so much about? Or on my second reading of Dave Sim’s Cerebus where I vowed to read all the letters columns and back matter and came across Mark Simpson and Stephen L. Holland’s manifesto for their new store Page 45 in Nottingham, England. Or when I saw a tweet that Golden Apple in LA was up for sale and I spent weeks with an accountant doing the math on if I could buy it. ... It’s probably much simpler than that, or more complex … or something.

The name is directly inspired by Rocketship. When they closed I bought a few of their fixtures for my personal use. When I opened I viewed myself as a refugee from there, traveling in my Escape Pod.

Why did you decide to get into comics retailing? Why comics specifically? What in your background do you think made you particularly suited for it?

At every point in my life comics, and comic shops, have been there in some capacity. Even if that capacity was an absence. I would go years without going into a shop because of the attitudes of the employees or the disorganization of the stock.

I knew what I felt was the most basic knowledge of ordering and reserving comics and was often met by staff who couldn’t be bothered or store policies that made little sense.

Rocketship and Page 45 certainly changed that for me. Add a crippling depression brought on by burning out as a High School English teacher and it happened. Comics are the medium I love the most -- it’s the medium I “get” the most. They say do what you love, so I threw myself into this.

As for what makes me suited? I have no idea. I play this game by the seat of my pants, trying to stick to MY GOALS and MY VISION while staying afloat without “selling out.” That’s all I’ve really got, but people seem to like it.

Do you have a philosophy or strategy to retailing? Has that evolved from when you first started? If so, what caused that change?

My strategy has always been that buying a comic should be as easy, if not easier, than any other purchase you make. If you go into a store looking for something, but you’re not sure what -- they should be able to help you. If someone else goes into that same store and they know exactly what they want, down to very specific details- the store should be able to help them too.

A comic store is a STORE, it’s a service! I can’t afford to give huge discounts to hold customers but I do my damnedest to make sure they have the books they want and have access to books they don’t know they want yet.

I guess it’s basically treating comic sales like food service (a field I spent some time in before and during teaching): you treat everyone nicely, because that’s good business and you treat regulars extra nicely and give them reasons to stay regulars and to bring friends.

The only major changes we’ve gone through have been in response to the above. I try to stay true to certain principles, but very few are set in stone. If you would have told me we’d be displaying thousands of dollars in Bowen statues a year ago I would have laughed at you (they’re on consignment by a customer who moved to the west coast with limited space). But if you would have told me, at the same time, that This One Summer and Sisters were my bestsellers of the summer I would have wept for the joyous prophecy of my desires. So it balances out.

What are your current bestsellers? What are your favorites that deserve to sell better at your store?

My bestseller, at the time of writing, hands down, is The Sculptor by Scott McCloud. It might be my bestseller ever, in terms of units sold in months. I ordered heavily on this book and then, three weeks before the drop date, read the digital preview provided by First Second. I doubled down right then and, before the book shipped, added another bunch of copies to the order. I cajoled customers about it, set up a display in advance of the release date and donated damaged copies to local libraries and institutions. And you know what? Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t “finally read it” or “finish savoring it, chapter by chapter” and come to tell me how amazing it was and how much they loved it.

I try not to let my favorites factor into it, too much. (The above story being an exception, of course.) There are about a dozen books I get just for myself, or for the rare customer who really digs what Nancy Collins is doing with Vampirella or who can’t wait for trades on Hinterkind, but I don’t hold grudges about things not selling as well as I think they should. If I really think that, I MAKE THEM sell better.

What is your customer base like? How has it change over time, if at all? Do you have a discount or loyalty program?

Our customer base reflects our motto: “Comics are for everyone.” We have loads of kids who come weekly with their folks, lots of teens and college students who are looking to get into stuff, and regulars with weekly holds who range from ages 11 to 84. Our dedicated Kids’ section is always a hit, also.

Hold lists are all managed with the comiXology retailer app (more on that later) and we give hold list customers 10 percent off everything they buy, not just reserved stuff. We also try to hook them up with sale items and specials from Diamond, especially when it’s things like statues or merch, which we don’t really carry much of.

How do you reach out to new customers? How do you advertise?

Social media is a big part of our marketing. We also run a basic Google Adwords campaign as well as having a Yelp, Foursquare and Google Places listing -- those are all so that people looking up “comic shops” in the area see us prominently on search results.

We also run Facebook targeted ads for big events (like Free Comic Book Day or our “Comictoberfest” programming around New York Comic Con).

But most of all, we rely on word of mouth, which is a powerful thing. People get sent over to us from the local independent bookstore, the local Starbucks, the Play N’ Trade across the street, and many other local stores and venues -- all places that customers of mine work in or where I made a concentrated effort to get to know the owner or employees while I was first opening.

Probably the most expensive part of our outreach is our location, which is right in the middle of a very bustling and busy main street (actually called Main Street). We knew we wanted to be a comic shop with something for everyone and an open and approachable layout. We decided to make sure we were right in the thick of it all, so that people who might never wander into a comic shop in their life might walk in the door and be able to peruse and, hopefully, find something that grabs their interest.

You seem very active online, such as your podcast and creator interviews, as well as social media. How do you feel that supports or supplements your store?

Comics is a community. It’s kind of like one big party. I mean, it’s a global party, with cliques and fighting and in-fighting but it’s still a party. I find the more you go out there, the more you talk to people and reach out to them and engage them, the more they respond. Which is just great. Likewise, the more “plugged in” you are the better of an idea that you have what’s coming, what to order, what new thing your customers or you might like. And, if you’re “plugged in” you can tell the creators, editors and whatnot what works for your shop and what doesn’t. So it all feeds into itself, I think.

Pretty much every signing or event we’ve ever done was sparked up through Social Media in one way or another. Steve Niles Skyped into us the day after he was discussing the idea of “virtual signings” on Twitter and our awesome Gotham Academy release party came from spending a year trying to pin down a time/event for a signing with Becky Cloonan via Twitter direct message. But social media also talks to customers who, though they live across the country, will buy a book only a few stores have (The Art of Ulises Farinas or the signed and numbered Cerebus Archives) or even just one that we’ve been talking about on our podcast a lot (Sunstone) -- so having a dialogue with them on multiple platforms helps too. I have customers I email, customers I call, customers I tweet at, and customers I message on Facebook and Instagram. Some of them I’ve never met in the flesh but they’re good steady customers with hold lists or standing orders.

How do you like comiXology's digital retail portal?

It’s funny, I don’t really THINK about the online portal much, expect when people tell me they read digital- then I ask them to buy through us so we get a few cents. Before we ever opened I solicited advice from different retailer and Tom Adams of Bergen Street Comics told me in no uncertain terms: Use the comiXology hold list program. It costs us money but within 6 months of being open the digital sales (literally, pennies on the dollar per purchase) came to enough to balance out the cost of the monthly fee and it’s stayed that way ever since. We could not provide the level of customer service that we do without that program, so …

I could go on and do a whole thing about retailers who rail against digital comics and comiXology as evil and how shortsighted and wrong they are … but I’m already taking up too much space.

Do you have any events or programming, such as signings? How is it coordinating those?

We have a monthly cosplay event and all sorts of different signings. We also go ALL OUT on Free Comic Book Day AND Halloween Comicfest.

Coordinating them is HARD. My brain is already in overdrive working on FCBD this year. We’ve got a whole roster of guests, thousands of free books and even got the awesome Stjepan Sejic to do an Avengers piece of art to advertise (and sell a limited-edition print of on the day itself). We’ve got over 4,500 books and the buzz is just getting bigger and bigger as it gets closer. Which also means the headache grows. But it’s always worth it. Last year we had over 500 people, and that was only our second year! Here’s hoping we double that this time.

Do you attend conventions? Does your store benefit from them?

I do not attend conventions. My partner has gone to a few representing us, but usually as a “fan.” Since it’s just the two of us, we can’t “DO” shows and sell. But, if you think about it, it’s not really our market. About 95 percent of our back issues (thousands, remember?) are priced at $1 or less, so even if we brought ALL those I doubt we’d make back our costs by much -- plus the store would have to be closed and we’d lose THAT business ...

Anything coming up at Escape Pod Comics that is a good excuse for someone to stop by?

Of course, Free Comic Book Day! We’ve got Jim Zub, Meredith Gran, Mike Holmes and Joe Caramanga (so far) beside a store-wide sale and our usual cosplayers bringing their A-game. Of course, the BEST part about our FCBD is that we do it on the Sunday AFTER, so you can go to your local store on Saturday and then come check our event out the next day!

Escape Pod Comics is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Also check out its podcast, upcoming events and Menachem's Weekly Picks at 13th Dimension.

If you’d like to see your store featured here on Robot 6, email here.