Buddy at the comic shop said I was reading wrong, made me think about how I pick books

I was at Cosmic Comics in Austin last Saturday grabbing my pull list. A guy behind me saw my stack and goes "you just grab whatever has a #1 on it don't you." He wasn't being rude but he was right. I realized I've been chasing first issues for years just to feel like I'm in on something new. He said he picks runs by the writer not the character and hasn't bought a dud in 5 years. So now I'm sitting here looking at my long boxes full of first issues that never went anywhere. Anyone else ever get called out like that by a stranger and actually change their whole approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardfox1mo ago

Idk man, that guy's approach sounds solid but did he actually show you what he meant by picking writers? Like, did he name-drop any specific runs that changed his mind, or was it just a vague "follow the writer" thing? I feel like that's the kind of advice that sounds great in theory but falls apart when you're staring at a shelf and don't know who half these people are. Maybe it's just me, but I'd need him to prove it with a concrete example before I tossed out my whole "grab the #1" habit.

ninas701mo ago

Question why it's even that deep though. Is it really that serious to toss out your whole way of picking books just cause some guy at a shop gave you a tip? People act like this is a life or death decision when it's comic books we're talking about. If his advice works for him, cool. If you're fine grabbing #1s and that gets you what you want, why change? Half the time these "rules" just make you overthink what's supposed to be fun. You read what you like and move on. No need to turn it into a philosophy lesson.