Interview Series with Sean McLoughlin of Scorpion Comics

     This week's interview is with one of my favorite online shops, Scorpion Comics.  I was lucky enough to get some time with Sean McLoughlin to get an inside look at the origin of the company and it's future.  If you haven't checked out their site, I highly suggest them, as they have some amazing artists they've collaborated with in the past for some top notch cover art.  And they always take great care in packing and shipping books timely in my experience.

What got you into comics?

• My love of comic characters started as a youngster. Growing up I loved Spider-Man and X-Men and Batman and Robin cartoons. In school we would draw and create our own superheroes.  Also playing with action figures of X-Men, Spider-Man and Batman.

Favorite childhood memory about comics?

• A fond memory that I look back in was a Spider-Man computer game my grandfather had.  You could create Spider-Man villains and scenes with the limited computer graphics.  Also doing chores to earn gold stars to be able to buy action figures.

What got you into selling comics?  How did Scorpion Comics start?

• I had to first start selling comics with my best friend Chris in order to pay for the expenses of going to Wizard World Philly. That was around 2006- we met a guy named Scott T. from CGC and qualified as some of the first non-employee Signature Series witnesses.
• Scorpion Comics began about 4-5 years ago while my partner Chris and I were out in AZ working a Todd McFarlane signing for our company NYComics. We were good friends with Matt Bryant who ran the Todd McFarlane signings and we all had much in common. We all had strong connections in the comic book industry at that point and loved the art of making a Signature Series book - the sig placements, the colors involved....then we said why don’t we make comic book exclusives?  We saw other companies doing it and felt we could do a good job.

Biggest mistake you made when you started selling?  Biggest obstacle when starting up Scorpion Comics?

• One big mistake was committing too much capital to an unsuccessful project. It left us short on money to do new projects and left us feeling like we had missed opportunities. The biggest obstacle was getting comic book collectors to accept our brand and enjoy our exclusives. It takes time and patience.

What’s your favorite character or title to collect?

• Spider-Man/Venom - The Amazing Spider-Man

Next big thing for your personal collection?  Your grail?

• I am very proud to say over the last few years I have checked a number of things off of the list. The comic market is going up in value and I have a family to provide for so it’s difficult to justify an expensive purchase. I do love to collect original art done for the exclusives that Scorpion creates.

Most unique or favorite thing in your collection?

• John Romita Sr. CGC SS sketch cover.

What's the future for Scorpion Comics?

• We feel that we have a bright future. For us it is a matter of getting better at what we do and building a great reputation. We are blessed with an amazing support team of true friends who help us ship and manage all of our exclusives. We are not in a position to expand nor do we want to open a big storefront. Our real goal is to keep building on our relationships with our favorite publishers and making comics that we ourselves want to collect.

Your favorite cover or project that you worked on with an artist?

• That is a very difficult question as the artists whom we work with are such talented people that we gravitate towards to highlight their talents. My personal favorite project was with Clayton Crain for Transformers Ghostbusters. I laid out an entire list of characters that I hoped would be in the cover and he crushed it.

 Advice to new sellers or sellers that want to work with artists for variant covers/exclusives?

• Don’t get over your head and ask someone who has been there before for specific advice. Also don’t try to do too much and make sure you can ship fast.

Thanks Joe this was fun! I really appreciate it!

This is the latest collaboration they have with Gabriele Dell'Otto for the 200th issue of Venom!!!  A huge thanks to Sean for doing the interview and giving some insight into the industry!

Check Scorpion Comics out here

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