Hey, everyone. How about we take a moment to put on our airbrush jackets and high-waisted jeans, sit backwards on our chairs, and have a 90s-style after school special moment.
Everyone feeling hip in a way that marketing thinks will test well among young families? Good.
Some comic shops suck.
Not just “they don’t stock my favorite book” suck. Some comic shops suck to the point where going there makes people feel tense, uncomfortable, or unsafe.
I’ve been pretty lucky in my comic shop experiences. In my 23 years of comic reading I’ve had one shop that was really rude to me, one that kind of made me sort of uncomfortable, and only one experience so creepy that I’ll never go to that store again. I’ve never had a comic shop experience so awful that I just gave up on comic books entirely. There are people who can’t say the same. As inane as it might seem to people who don’t suck, there are still plenty of people who have a very narrowly defined view of who comics are “for”. And some of them run comics shops.
The basic Real Geek litmus test for these people goes:
1) Does this person look like me?
2) And like the exact same things I like?
If you answered “yes” to both of those questions, congratulations! You’re looking at a real comics fan. Now quick – build your cootie-proof fort before someone asks about My Little Pony!!!
Do I sound bitter? I don’t mean to sound bitter.
…but I am a wee bit bitter.
Behavior like this creates a barrier to fandom. And I’m not into barriers to fandom. I’m much more into getting super excited about stuff and trying to contain that excitement enough to gently recommend things. I’m not always good at the second part, but I’m FANTASTIC at the first part. The wide availability of digital comics provides an easy way to avoid this, but…comic book stores, man. The ones that don’t suck are GREAT.
The reason I rep my current shop every week is that it’s always been a good one. I am an anxious, fretful sort. I wouldn’t read half as many comics as I do if I didn’t know I can ask questions, special order stuff, and think things over. No one’s going to knock my choice of comics. No one’s going to roll their eyes because I don’t remember how Magik (Stature/Hal Jordan/Human Torch/Ant-Man/Wasp/almost every Robin) stopped being dead. No one’s going to make me feel like I’m not a “real nerd” for not knowing the name of the Robin in Dark Knight Returns.*
Maybe you have a shop like that, too! Or maybe you’re looking for one! Or maybe you’ve had a really awful experience that kind of sapped the fun out of comics for you and now you want to spare others that fate…!
Hater Free Wednesdays is here for you. It’s a submission-based tumblr that’s designed to give users the chance to flag stores as safe/unsafe spaces. On the submission page you can tag stores as being friendly to newbies, kids, POCs, women, and LGBTQ patrons. You can also tag for shops that have Ladies’ Nights and shops that are wheelchair accessible. Entries include basic details about the shops and specifics of people’s personal experiences. If you’re looking for a shop, you can look using the map, the master list, or the location tags. They tend to post submissions in big bursts, so don’t be suprised if it takes a bit for yours to appear. And if you’re more into gaming, Hater-Free Wednesdays inspired the creation of Hater-free Saturdays. It’s run by different people, but their goal is to do the same safe space crowd sourcing for game shops.
*Hand to God, I spent all weekend thinking it was Carrie Nation.
Books I’m Picking Up This Week:
All-New X-Men #37
Help Us Great Warrior #2
Howard the Duck #1
Ms. Marvel #13
Spider-Gwen #2
Thor #6
You teach me and I’ll teach you!
COMIC BOOOOOOOOKS!
It drives me nuts how after years of being bullied, we geeks have turned into the bullies now that we’re the “cool kids.”
I agree – there are definitely people that approach things that way. It’s why I have so much respect and appreciation for groups and sites that take a hard line against harassment and make it clear that there’s no space for that kind of behavior in their nerdom.