The day I stopped gatekeeping back issues at my LCS

Honestly, I used to judge people who flipped through the bargain bins or asked for help finding a #1 for a movie character. Last month at Graham Cracker Comics in Chicago, a kid asked me if he could look at my pull list while I was waiting. I snapped at him, and his mom said, 'He just wants to see what a real fan reads, not what an algorithm tells him.' That hit me hard because I started collecting the same way, reading my uncle's old X-Men stacks. Now I hand my list over to any newbie and ask what they're into, and tbh it's way more fun hearing their takes than guarding my own. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you were the snob the whole time?

2 comments

2 Comments

lopez.karen21d ago

he just wants to see what a real fan reads" got me too, cause it's true everywhere, not just comics. Like at the gym, people judge you for doing the same workout as them, or at the grocery store for buying the same bread. Gatekeeping is just insecurity wearing a costume. Once you let someone in, you realize they're not a threat, they're just another person trying to figure stuff out. Honestly, the more I share my pull list, the more I learn about runs I missed or artists I slept on.

sullivan.finley20d ago

Security wearing a costume" nails it, and sharing my pull list got me into some wild indie runs I'd never have found.