c/comic-book-fans

I finally stopped alphabetizing my long boxes by publisher

I used to organize my comics by DC, Marvel, Image, then smaller publishers. Spent 3 hours reorganizing after the Black Friday sales last year and it drove me nuts. My buddy at a local shop in Denver told me to just sort everything alphabetically by title regardless of who published it. Now I can find any issue I own in under 30 seconds. Anyone else switch up their sorting system and regret it or love it?

Went back to my old comic shop last Saturday and it felt like a different world

I stopped by Hero's Haven in my hometown after not visiting for maybe 4 years. The whole front wall was just Funko pops and board games now, and the back issue bins were shoved into a tiny corner near the bathroom. The owner said they sold more to folks just browsing for gifts than actual comic readers these days. Does your local shop still feel like a place for collectors or has it changed too?

That guy at the convention who said my variant cover collection was 'basic' really got under my skin

Last weekend at the Dallas comic con, some dude in a Deadpool costume looked at my signed 2012 Walking Dead #100 variant and told me I didn't know real comics because I wasn't reading the indie stuff he liked, so how do you guys handle gatekeepers at shows without starting a fight?

Serious question: Is it gatekeeping or good advice when a long-time fan says you should read the original run before the new series?

Saw a guy at the local con reading a comic upside down on purpose

I was at the Phoenix Fan Fusion last Saturday and this older dude in the back corner was holding a Batman issue upside down, just flipping pages normally. He wasn't messing around either, he had a stack of comics and did it with each one. Made me wonder if there's some trick to reading comics that way I don't know about or if he was just bored. Has anyone else seen something like that at a convention?

Vent: Tried organizing my long boxes by publisher and it backfired bad

Last Saturday in my basement, I rearranged my collection of roughly 400 comics into publisher sections. DC here, Marvel there, Image separate. Took me about 3 hours. Then I went to find a specific issue of New Mutants from 1985 and realized I had no idea where it was because the alphabet was completely thrown off. Has anyone else had a sorting system that sounded good but turned into a nightmare?

A reader in a Facebook group told me my page layouts were confusing and they were right

I had a guy named Derek comment on one of my posts last Tuesday saying he had to read my comic pages three times to figure out the order of the panels. At first I was mad because I thought my flow was obvious. But then I looked at the page again and realized I had a character who jumps from the left side of a panel to the right side in the next one with no visual cue. I changed my approach and started putting arrow cues or matching background colors to guide the eye. Now I even test my rough layouts on my wife before I ink anything. Has anyone else had a reader point out something that made you totally rethink your process?

Overheard a guy at the comic shop say fan art is just lazy copying

I was standing in line at my local shop last Tuesday, waiting to grab the new issue of something, and this older collector starts telling his buddy that fan art is just lazy copying and not real creativity. It got me thinking about how much time I've spent doodling my own takes on characters like Spider-Man or Batman just for fun. Sure, it's based on someone else's idea, but the way I draw the webbing or the angle on the cape feels personal to me. I've seen pages of fan art that tell better stories than some official comics I've read. Maybe judging it as copying misses the point that fans are just showing appreciation in their own way. Has anyone else felt like fan art gets a bad rap when it's really about connecting with the source material?

Comic book swaps used to be simpler 20 years ago

I was sorting through my long boxes last week for a local shop's trade-in event in Portland, and it hit me how much has changed. Back in 2004, you'd just hand over a stack of duplicates and walk out with something random from the back room, no appraisals or price guides needed. Now you gotta check eBay sold listings and grade every cover before you even think about bringing them in. Has anyone else noticed the trading scene getting way more serious than it used to be?

That $3 comic grab bag at a con was a total bait and switch

I picked up one of those mystery grab bags from a vendor at a small con in Denver last weekend. Paid $3 for what they said would be a random mix of 'golden age reprints and indie titles.' Opened it up and it was 8 copies of the same issue from 1994 that nobody talks about. Learned that those mystery bags are just a way to unload dead stock that's been sitting for years. Has anyone else had luck digging through long boxes instead of falling for these promo packs?

The $60 long box I bought on Facebook Marketplace was a total trap

I snagged a long box from a guy who claimed it was full of 90s era Image and Valiant comics. Got it home, opened it up, and it smelled like someone stored it in a damp basement for 10 years. About 60% of the issues had water damage and pages stuck together. I guess you can't trust anyone's idea of 'near mint' anymore. Has anyone else gotten burned buying collections from random people online?

Had to pick between two longbox options at a garage sale

I found a collection last Saturday. Guy had 80s stuff mixed with 90s foil covers. I had $60 cash. Could either grab a longbox of random Wolverine issues or one full of X-Men from the Jim Lee era. Went with the X-Men. 23 issues total from 1991 to 1992. Got home and realized three had water damage on the back covers. Still happy with the finds but kinda kicking myself for not checking each one. Anyone else make a quick call at a sale and regret it later?

Nearly got kicked out of a comic shop for laughing too loud

I was at my local shop in Austin last Saturday and this guy walks up to the counter with a stack of 90s X-Men comics, dead serious, asking if they'd be worth more if he never opened them. The clerk just stared at him for 5 seconds and said 'sir, these are all still in the polybag with the trading cards inside, they're worth maybe $3 each.' I burst out laughing so hard I snorted, and the guy turned around and gave me the dirtiest look. Has anyone else witnessed a crazy overvaluation moment at a shop?

Had a guy at a con try to quiz me on my favorite character's backstory

I was at New York Comic Con last October just flipping through a booth and this random dude comes up, says he saw my Flash shirt, and starts grilling me on Wally West's 90s run. He literally stood there waiting for me to mess up. Has anyone else dealt with gatekeepers trying to test your knowledge at events?

Worst comic book fan encounter I ever had at a con

Last year at the Phoenix Fan Fusion, I was in line for a Mark Waid signing. Some guy behind me started loudly arguing that my copy of Kingdom Come was a second print and not worth getting signed. He kept going for a solid 10 minutes about print runs and grading, even though I didn't ask. Then I got to the table and Mark actually complimented my beat up copy because it clearly got read a lot. That guy just walked off without a word. Anyone else run into fans who act like they own the hobby?

My buddy at the comic shop was right about variant covers being a trap

He told me last year not to chase every foil cover that drops, and I laughed it off. Well, 60 bucks later on a Batman #135 variant that's now worth $8, I guess he was right. Anyone else get burned by the variant hype?

Guy at the comic shop told me I was reading superhero comics wrong

Last Tuesday at my local shop in Portland, some dude in a Deadpool hoodie walked up and said I was wasting my time on 'kiddie stuff' because I wasn't analyzing the panel layouts. He spent 10 minutes explaining how Frank Miller's Dark Knight is the only real art in comics. Has anyone else run into these gatekeepers who act like you have to study comics instead of just enjoying them?

Am I the only one who liked the pre-New 52 DC better?

I see everyone raving about how the New 52 reboot cleaned up DC's continuity, but I miss the old stuff from before 2011. Reading through my collection from like 2005-2010, the stories felt more grounded and the characters had longer arcs that actually paid off. The New 52 rushed a lot of relationships and backstories just to sell new issue #1s. Does anyone else think the old universe was better, or am I just stuck in the past?

My favorite LCS closed with no warning. Missed their final sale by a day.

Walked up to my local shop on a Tuesday last month. The one I'd been going to for like 7 years. And the door was locked with a note taped to the glass. Said they closed permanently the day before. I was crushed. They had this massive 50% off everything blowout the whole weekend. I was out of town visiting my mom. Missed the chance to grab that longbox of 90s X-Men I'd been eyeing. Now I gotta find a new shop that feels right. Anyone else lose their go-to spot like that? How did you pick a new one?

PSA: That $50 omnibus I snagged off eBay was a total scam - pages fell out on first read

I spent $50 on a used X-Men omnibus from a seller with good ratings and the binding cracked on page 20. The glue was completely dried out and about 30 pages just slid out. Has anyone else had luck reselling damaged books to local comic shops or am I stuck with this paperweight?

Guy at the comic shop told me my pull list was trash

Some dude I never talked to before said I was wasting money on too many variant covers and not enough indie stuff. I dropped 5 of my 12 pulls and picked up Department of Truth and Something is Killing the Children instead. Anyone else ever get roasted by a stranger and actually change what you read?

Hulk's comics back in the 80s vs. now

I used to read Hulk issues where he was just smashing tanks and bashing bad guys, plain and simple. Now it's all deep trauma and emotional drama every issue, like he needs therapy more than a fight. Am I the only one who misses when comics were just fun action instead of a psychology lesson?

Question about gatekeeping at the comic shop on Wednesday nights

I was at my local shop last Wednesday for new comic day, and this older guy saw me grab a copy of a new indie series. He straight up said "you probably won't get the references if you haven't read the 90s run." I've been reading for about 4 years now, so it kind of stung. But another regular nearby told him to chill and said everyone starts somewhere. So which side do you fall on - should fans let newcomers learn at their own pace, or is there some truth to needing background reading first? Has anyone else dealt with someone making you feel like you don't belong?

My longbox COLLAPSED last night and scattered books everywhere

I had this cheap plastic longbox from the 90s that finally gave out under the weight of about 150 issues. The bottom just cracked right open around 2am and sent comics flying across my bedroom floor. Has anyone else had a storage solution fail on them like this?

A reader told me my lettering was too cramped and I had to fix it

I just started writing letters to the editor in my local comic shop's newsletter. Some guy commented that my word bubbles were so tight it hurt his eyes. I took a look back at my last submission and yeah, he was right. I redid the whole page with bigger gaps and wider balloons. Does anyone else get feedback that makes you rethink your whole approach to comic layout?