Where will LeBron James buy his comics?

LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes of our times, a four time NBA champion, a three time Olympic Gold medalist, and simply one of the best known human beings on the planet. But yesterday, he was something we can all relate to: a guy who wants to know where he can buy some comic books. 

https://x.com/KingJames/status/1849480697515262302

“Best place to order comic books from???,” he asked on Twitter. “ Used to collect when I was younger. Batman being my fav. I can order and read from IPad or best to do straight off the comic??”

And I am proud to say that the community rallied to his side! We are an open and welcoming group, and eager to help folks looking to start reading comics find a jumping on point, even folks who can jump right over us while dunking a basketball. 

DC films honcho James Gunn slid right into L-Train’s mentions right away, with a solid offer: 

https://x.com/JamesGunn/status/1849492611179966694

“DM me and I’ll hook you up.”

Jim Lee soon offered aid: I might know a guy who can help

Image Comics assured King James that he had their axe: we got you covered

Todd McFarlane helpfully threw in the Comics Shop Locator service! Looks like you’re ready for some SPAWN action! Find tons of great comic shops near you here: https://comicshoplocator.com

Rob Liefeld also suggested a terrestrial comics shop, the famed Golden Apple, near (in LA terms) LeBron’s Brentwood mansion: Golden Apple in L.A. is your best bet, King.

But Marvel also offered help, via editor Nick Lowe:DM me. I’m the Spider-Editor at Marvel and would love to send you some!

Digital comics platform GlobalComix soon entered the bake-off: We’ve got you covered @KingJames! Get the GlobalComix app and read unlimited comics, including Batman, here: 

And on and on….Boom, Mad Cave, Comixology, more comics shops, everyone in comics, really, stepped up to answer the call. Including my own pick, the Golden Apple itself. 

Come into the OG shop in LA on Melrose and LaBrea and get the goods, celebrating our 45th year in business or you can order from our website. Link in bio. Either way, Kings should read printed comics, not digital.

Never let it be said the comics industry does not help those in need! (And sometimes Beat contributor Tim Rooney gave his own reading tips to James.)

Of course, LeBron may have other things on his mind, like the just begun NBA season, where he’s teaming up with his own son on the Lakers, a basketball first. Perhaps his head is swimming from all of this, and he’s going to quietly pick up the latest Sarah J. Maas book instead. 

But a few observations on “LeBron James is the Comic Book Bachelor.”

First, two long hallowed stories from the long ago, two that are well known to older folk such as I, who are baffled by how short TikTok videos are now the #1 shopping recommendation in the US. 

The first is the story of Fonzie’s Library Card. Fonzie was the most popular character on the 70s sitcom Happy Days. Portrayed by Henry Winkler, the tough guy with a heart of gold became a heartthrob and icon to millions. Legend has it that after an episode in which Fonzie got a library card, kids nationwide did likewise, sparking a boomlet in libraries. While Snopes has rather cruelly debunked this legend, the effect of celebrities endorsing products on their followers is well known, and the rise of “influencers” as a job title where attractive, peppy people get paid to say they drink Exploda-Soda on social media shows that it’s something marketing people dearly cherish.

The other tale is of “the Comic Book Milk Board.” The Milk Board is what people understandably called  the National Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), and its 90s “Got Milk?” campaign. In days past, milk was considered a healthy beverage, one that might actually be consumed with a meal. This was long before the effects of lactose were widely known, and some 65 to 70 percent of the world’s population has some form of lactose intolerance. Far from being a wholesome drink for many, it can make you feel gassy and bloated. To counteract this, in the 90s the Milk Board ran a campaign of celebrities with milk mustaches under the slogan “Got Milk?” to make milk sexy again. 

See what I did there?

Anyway, back in the 90s when comic book sales were in the dumpster, at many a meeting to save comics I would hear someone say “We need a milk board!” the idea being that an ad campaign showing famous people reading comics would promote, well, reading comics. 

Smash cut to October 24, 2024! LeBron’s very tweet expressing a desire to read comics and enjoy the pastimes of his youth again is almost its own Got Milk/Fonzie’s Library Card all wrapped in one. With 53 million followers, even on the decrepit and diseased platform known as Twitter, LeBron will be heard and seen. All the comics folks rushing to his aid is really just smart marketing on their part. Maybe some regular NBA fans were wondering the same thing themselves and will read a few of the replies and maybe investigate on their own. 

As this unfolded in real time, many people complained that Gunn’s DM’s offer of free comics was cutting off the effect of LeBron maybe going to a real comics shop and supporting his local retailer. 

While I hope that James will someday find a comics shop he likes (and again Golden Apple is well acquainted with celebrity shoppers, so no problems there), dude did mention his iPad. He is digital ready. I’ve mentioned here many times that James Gunn is one of DC’s biggest marketing assets, and the comics shop locator number was included in a poster for THE Suicide Squad. Gunn moved quickly to make sure James had some comics, and maybe we’ll see more tweets showing LeBron and Bronny reading Batman and Son. The possibilities are endless. 

Of course, lest we forget, LeBron knows cartoons. He starred in the remake of Space Jam after all, although that is perhaps best forgotten. And he’s starred in several comics himself, from both Marvel AND DC (and elsewhere.)

Maybe this was all a stunt. Or maybe LeBron picked up on something I noted myself at NYCC…comic books are…..in the air. They are somehow getting hot again, and even LeBron James wants to get involved.