My Comic Book Shop Relationships
I know what some of you are thinking. This is going to be another middle-aged guy talking about how digital comics are ruining the world and if you don’t support your local comic book shop, you’re a terrorist.
Well… you’re partially right. I am a middle-aged guy. Generation X in da hizzouse! Er… or something like that. Otherwise, I love digital comics and I’m sure you have completely different reasons for being a terrorist.
This all has more to do with my relationship with local shops than discussing the pro’s and con’s of how people take in this art form.
I started reading comics in the mid-80’s during what used to be called “junior high school”. Just like many pre-teen relationships, I kept this one secret from my parents because I knew they wouldn’t approve. Of course, giving in to this forbidden love only heightened my sense of excitement as trembling hands caressed each page of books like the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.
I didn’t start collecting until the early 90’s though. While it was the worst possible time as it relates to the whole speculator-fueled, poly-bagged, variant, chromium, holographic and other gimmick covers era, it didn’t really effect my attraction to the shops themselves.
The say that you never forget your first love. That’s mostly true for me. I remember that it was a narrow little shop in a hidden shopping center in Oak Ridge, TN. I remember having conversations with the owner who was both helpful and personable. Nothing at all like the stereotypical Asperger’s Syndrome-plagued store owners we see on television.
Sadly, I can remember everything but his, or the shop’s, name. I know… typical guy. At least I have the decency to be ashamed by the fact. Of course, it closed within months of our introduction so, perhaps, I may be forgiven for the lapse.
My next store was in Knoxville, TN. (It’s name escapes me also.) This shop was everything my first shop wasn’t. It was large and popular and busy. Everyone who worked there, however, was equally helpful and friendly. Because there was usually a small crowd hanging around, I was introduced to the discussions that arise any time passionate people with different tastes are thrown into a room together. DC versus Marvel. Captain America versus Batman. Chromium versus lenticular. You know… the usual banter.
Sadly, this is also the time where I fell prey to the speculation mentality of the day. The poly-bagged Death of Superman? I’ll have three, please. One to read, one to sell when I need to make a house payment and one to retire on. The Todd McFarlane variants of Spider-Man #1? I had many of them. Sometimes multiples of a single variant because you just never know when the price of the mikado/amaranth color combination is going to go through the roof.
I mention this self-destructive behavior because I want to make it clear that the shop owners themselves never suggested that comic books were a reasonable alternative to a good 401(k). Like any relationship, you get out of it what you bring to it.
After a short time, I ended up with a job opportunity in Paducah, KY. (I swear it’s a real place!) I made a quick trip to scout the location and had just three items on my checklist. First was to find an apartment I could afford. Second was to figure out how to get to my new place of employment. Third was to find a comic book store so I could get my next fix. (Listed in ascending order of importance.)
In the local mall, I found what looked like a partially stocked store. Apparently Legend’s Comics was moving from a smaller space to a larger one. Neither spot was really open for business, but I was invited to check out their new home and left with a handful of free comics and posters. Yes, I can be bought.
I toned down my speculative behavior but I offset that by buying practically everything. Particularly first issues of new runs because you just never knew when that breakout character would appear. I’m sure those of you who never picked up Secret Defenders #1 are kicking yourselves over missing the debut of Dreadlox!
The workers at Legend’s learned what I liked and made recommendations based on my tastes. They’d even give me a book to look over because as any good pusher knows, “the first one’s free” scheme usually works.
One of the guys even got an copy of Shadowman #19 with a guest appearance by Aerosmith autographed and personalized for me by the artist because they knew these were all things I liked. Don’t judge me.
Sadly, they too went out of business for reasons I never really understood.
The only other store in town was their competition, Crash Comics. But any port in a storm, right?
Located in a cramped storefront downtown, these guys did it all. Comics, cards, gaming, swords… the works. All packed in this tiny space that usually required climbing over a group of guys playing Magic: The Gathering at a table in the middle of the room.
As unappealing as that may sound, it felt like coming home.
There wasn’t that same closeness I’d had with previous owners. In fact, for a while they didn’t even know my name. I was just “that guy who looks like Green Arrow”.
But there was a certain familiarity. Walking in to Crash was very much like I’d imagine walking into Cheers was for Norm, Cliff, et al. Even when they moved to a much better location, it was still home.
Then I moved away.
For the first time I found myself walking away from something good. I’d gone there for years. They didn’t go out of business. There was no searching for a replacement or rationalizing that it was time for a change anyway.
In fact, for about a year I did not read a single new release. And why? For the silliest of reasons. I felt like I was cheating on my LCBS. (That’s the acronym the cool kids use for “local comic book shop”.)
After a year, I started buying again digitally. Just a book here and there through Comixology. After six months I’m up to maybe 4 a week. Maximum.
I added a Marvel Unlimited subscription last week and didn’t feel too guilty about it.
So now I’m moving again and while we’re looking for apartments in another state, I find myself in Paducah for a few weeks. I thought I’d swing by Crash for old time’s sake. As Fate would have it, Free Comic Book Day was in full swing as I drove into the parking lot.
Walking up to the door, was strangely surreal. But in a good way. And walking inside and seeing many familiar faces… shaking hands… catching up. It was like I never left.
I just wish they’d stop calling me “Mr. Queen”.
If you’re still reading this, I’m surprised. And grateful that you let me indulge in waxing nostalgic. I do have a point to make, however.
Collecting and reading comic books is more than a punchline in an episode of Big Bang Theory. (My hate for that show will have to wait for another article.) It’s more than fighting over which publisher is better. More than wondering how much Thor’s hammer actually weighs.
Ultimately, comics are about people. The people who, while they might lead very different lives, come together in the real world because they share at least one common interest; stories that reflect the concerns and values of the world we live in today.
I’d encourage you to visit a store on the next Free Comic Book Day and just soak it all in. It won’t cost you a thing and it’s arguably more fun than that one time a year you attend church for Easter Sunday.
Just be prepared to get hooked. Remember… the first one’s free.
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