There are always a million different reasons why some comics are not available. Why can’t I read a Flex Mentallo TPB? Because the Charles Atlas estate sued. Why can’t I read the last issues of Miracleman? Because Todd Macfarlane and Neil Gaiman don’t like each other. Why can’t I read the next issue of All-Star Batman and Robin? Because they publish one issue a year. Why can’t I read Joss Whedon’t past work? Because Dark Horse doesn’t have the most progressive trade distribution in place. Gotcha. Life goes on. Don’t yell at your retailer. Cool? Cool.
If people are so hungry for Whedon’s work, Astonishing X-Men and Runaways are right there. I mean, geeze.
People who can’t wait three weeks for their orders to be processed have a very heightened sense of entitlement that really disagrees with me. To any angry Whedon fans — that Fray TPB that you’re interested in? Um, that thing has been out for years. You’re really out of line for giving the retailer grief that they don’t have it in stock. I mean, where were you 11 months ago? You’ve had ample opportunity to ask about it, so don’t get all huffy when Christopher Butcher cannot make it magically appear in your hands immediately, you spoiled prat. Seriously.
In conclusion — there are worse fates in life than having to wait for your Whedon collected trade to be special ordered. I believe in patience. I believe in tolerance. I believe in realistic expectations. Sometimes, you can’t get the exact item you want at the very moment you want it. In this instant gratification world, that message often gets lost in the white noise.
]]>I don’t usually let comments get posted without the respondent including their e-mail address–mostly for spoofing purposes–but I think you make an interesting point and I wanted it to go up. Mostly to respond.
The fact that you have found a cool store that treats you right and helps you out is proof that they’re out there. I like to think I help run one myself, and yeah, a lot of new customers are shocked when I happily get up off my stool to get whatever they’re looking for. I’m sorry if your experiences have been ‘mixed’, I’ve been a lot of crap stores myself and can empathise.
But Dorian and Kevin? They’re actually really good at comics retail, even though neither one of them makes it their primary vocation, currently. But they are speaking from a position of accumulated experience, and if, in their experience, “Whedonites” are a little more difficult as customers than Joe-Shmoe hereoes fans, I’ll defer to their experience. Much like how a paragraph ago I deferred to yours, when you said lots and lots of store that you’d visited were ‘difficult’ in lots of ways too.
The thing is, it’d be just as easy for me to take offense at your generalisations about retailers, as it was for you to take offense at the generalisations about “Whedonites”, though neither of us were the ones being talked about in this thread.
I think, Micky, it’s better to just try and stay positive all around.
Also, you ended on a sentence fragment.
– Christopher
]]>This has been the problem with many comic retailers: contempt for the newbies. I’m a long time comic fan in a large metropolitan area, and I have encountered this “Comic Book Guy” attitude at several shops… shops I refuse to frequent the second I get a “you made me get off my stool for *that*” vibe. I’m lucky that I do live in a large market and I’ve found a great chain that welcomes customers and doesn’t insult them with terms like “Whedonites” or expect them to understand the behind-the-scenes reasons for lack of product. Here’s an idea: if paying customers are so tweaked that you don’t have a Whedon item, *explain* that Dark Horse–the publisher of wanted item–is crap at making enough for everyone. Maybe suggest something else? How about explaining your subscription service so the customer will get what they want when it’s published? Perhaps work on that thing called “customer service†so this person who wants to spend money will come back to your shop?
Why on Earth some comic retailers have such contempt for people who want to give them money is a mystery to me. It’s *exactly* this type of attitude that runs off potential new comic book fans. And this industry cannot afford to lose potential new fans.
]]>