Comic Shop News is a free weekly newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 distributed throughout comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 specialty store

Specialty store

Specialty stores are small stores which specialize in a specific range of merchandise and related items. Most stores have an extensive depth of stock in the item that they specialize in and provide high levels of service and expertise...

s. It was launched in 1987 by Cliff Biggers

Cliff Biggers

Cliff Biggers is a comic book writer and journalist. His first published writing appeared in fanzines in the mid-1960s. He was a founding member of the amateur press alliance Myriad and was active in the Southern Fandom Press Alliance, a southeastern-based science fiction apa...

 and Ward Batty, both of whom continue to edit it today.

History

In 1982, Biggers became a co-owner of a Marietta, Georgia

Marietta, Georgia

Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...

, comic shop, Dr. No's, for which he began writing a newsletter, The Doctor Knows. That newsletter grew into Comic Shop News. CSN grew to become the largest-circulation weekly in the comic book industry, and still continues as a weekly publication.

CSN was originally four black-and-white pages, with a weekly circulation of 30,000. Now, over 1,100 issues later, CSN is eight pages and full color. Distributed to over 500 comics stores weekly, it is sold in bundles to retailers, who give it away to customers as a promotional tool.

Appearances in other media

A fictional issue of CSN is featured in the opening credits of Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith

Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...

's Chasing Amy

Chasing Amy

Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. It is the third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series....

.