c/comic-book-fans

My pull list system was alphabetical instead of by release date for 3 years

I kept wondering why I was always grabbing old issues at my shop in Austin. Turns out I had my long boxes sorted by title, A to Z, and I just grabbed whatever was on top. The clerk finally asked me why I was flipping through 2019 stuff when the new X-Men was sitting right there. I felt so dumb. I guess I never thought about how shops actually organize things. Has anyone else had a moment where you realized your whole comic routine was backwards?

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andrew_sanchez94•1d ago

Hot take: gatekeeping in comics is actually doing us a favor

I was at a con in Portland last month and watched a newer fan ask if she could skip Secret Wars and go straight to the current Avengers run. Three older guys jumped in with a 10 minute lecture about continuity, and she walked off looking crushed. But then I thought about it, maybe telling people they gotta read 300 issues before jumping in is the only thing keeping the back issue bins affordable. If every casual fan flooded the market, prices for key books would go through the roof. Is it fair to scare people off, or are we just protecting our hobby from becoming another overinflated trend like Funko pops?

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caleb_sanchez•9d ago

A kid at the shop made me rethink graded comics

Stopped by my LCS last Saturday and this teen was flipping through a beat-up copy of Amazing Spider-Man 300, no bag, no board. He said he just wanted to read it, not stare at it in plastic. Made me wonder if I'm hoarding books for the price tag instead of the story. Anyone else quit worrying about grades after a talk like that?

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adams.taylor•10d ago

That Saturday I spent 6 hours hunting a single back issue for my nephew

Last weekend I drove to three shops across Columbus just to find a beat-up copy of New Mutants #98 for my nephew's birthday. Found it at the third stop, a dusty little place near the university, for $18 and it had a coffee ring on the cover. I almost passed on it, but then I remembered how I felt at 12 when my uncle handed me a worn copy of X-Men #137. That one weird stain made it feel more real, like it had lived a life before my nephew would own it. He lit up when he saw it, didn't care about the damage at all. Has anyone else ever hunted down a specific issue for a kid and realized the flaws make it better than a mint one?

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richard110•11d ago

The variant cover guy at my shop called me a rookie for my bagging method

Ngl, I've been bagging and boarding for 8 years, but this guy at Cosmic Comics in Austin watched me slide one in and said I was doing it wrong. He showed me his way, which took twice as long, but honestly his edges were way cleaner. Am I the only one who just stuffs it in without creasing the flap?

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ellis.jennifer•12d ago

The difference in my pull list after 3 months of trimming

I finally cut my pull list from 14 titles down to 6 back in March after realizing I was buying 4 books a month I never even opened. Now I only grab what I actually read twice, and my Saturday trips to the shop are way quicker. Anyone else find that cutting down made them enjoy the books more?

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ryand26•12d ago

The math on my long box was way off, 400 comics later I did the count

I bought a long box at a garage sale for $20 and just assumed it was full of filler, but when I actually counted this weekend it had 412 issues. My estimate was maybe 150, so I checked pricing online and about 30 of them are worth more than I paid for the whole box. Anyone else ever buy a mystery lot and get the count completely wrong?

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river_jones•12d ago

Gatekeeping at the con, who decides who's a real fan?

I hit up the Denver Comic Con last weekend and watched a guy in a homemade Batwing costume get grilled by a vendor about not knowing a random Silver Age lore detail. The vendor laughed and said 'real fans' would know that. Meanwhile, the dude next to me had never read a single issue, only watched the movies, and was having a blast buying prints. So which is it, are we about the deep cut knowledge or just loving the characters? Has anyone else seen this weird gatekeeping at a show and felt like it just pushes new people away?

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jenny_carr52•13d ago

After 4 long boxes, I finally tried a pull list app and now I get it

I've been buying singles at my local shop in Austin for like 7 years, always just writing my pulls on a scrap of paper and hoping the guy behind the counter remembered me. Last month he got swamped and I missed issue 3 of a run I was collecting, had to pay double online. So I finally downloaded League of Comic Geeks and set up my pull list there. Now my shop checks it before Wednesday and I haven't missed a single book in 5 weeks. Has anyone else switched from paper lists to an app, or am I the last one to cave?

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ryand26•14d ago

Lost my entire pull list at a con because I trusted a phone number on a business card

Last year at the Cincinnati Comic Expo I stopped by this small shop's booth, talked with the owner for like 10 minutes about Batman runs, and he gave me his card saying he'd hold a couple back issues for me. I texted him that Sunday to confirm, nothing. Tried again Tuesday, nothing. By Friday I saw his shop had closed down, and I never got the books. I was kicking myself for not just paying the $25 deposit he asked for upfront. Has anyone else had a seller vanish on them at a show, or am I the only one dumb enough to trust a handshake over a receipt?

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rowan262•17d ago

Hit 500 issues in my longbox and it messed with my head

I counted my longboxes last night because I needed to reorganize after a shelf collapse. Somehow I crossed 500 individual comics, mostly from dollar bins and flea markets. That number felt huge to me because I started collecting 3 years ago with just 12 issues from a yard sale in Phoenix. I never planned to go past the stuff I actually liked reading, but now half the boxes are filler I grabbed for the sake of completeness. It made me realize I'm less of a fan and more of a hoarder with a spreadsheet. Anyone else hit a random milestone that made them question their whole collecting style?

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the_alex•18d ago

Is it worth chasing the full graded set or just buying the keys?

I dropped $340 on a raw run of a 90s indie series to complete a graded set, and it sat unsold for 8 months. But my buddy paid $200 for one key issue and flipped it for $450 last week. Do you guys think the completionist route ever pays off, or are keys the only smart money move?

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adams.troy•20d ago

Took me 6 hours to find the right back issue for one panel reference

I spent almost a whole afternoon at Dave's Comics hunting down a 1987 Uncanny X-Men issue just to check how Magneto's helmet was drawn in one scene, only to realize the page I needed was in the annual instead, has anyone else burned a whole day on something this stupid for their fan art?

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christopher594•20d ago

The floppy bin purge I did back in March

I finally boxed up all the 90s foil covers and variant chase books I'd been hoarding since like 1994, they were just taking up two full long boxes in my spare closet. Donated them to a local shop in Phoenix for store credit, got about $40 total and a ton of shelf space. Has anyone else actually cleaned out their old spec stock, or are we all still sitting on bags of Valiant comics?

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mason.mary•21d ago

Caught myself reading back issues in reverse order and it clicked

I've been collecting X-Men trades for like 7 years, always reading newest to oldest because that's how they sat on my shelf. Last week I finally started from Uncanny X-Men #94 and worked forward. Turns out I missed half the character arcs because I knew the endings first. Does anyone else organize their pull list chronologically or am I the only weirdo who fixed this after a decade?

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sanchez.mary•21d ago

A kid at my LCS made me rethink how I read back issues

I was at Midtown Comics on 42nd last Saturday and this 12 year old was flipping through a long box next to me. He said 'why do you read the ads first, that's the best part?' and honestly I never thought about it like that. He pointed out that old ads show what people actually wanted back then, like the X-Men #1 ad for a pizza place in Queens that's still open. It hit me that I've been skipping the fun stuff for 15 years just to get to the story. Anybody else got a habit a kid or new fan called out that stuck with you?

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rubybarnes•23d ago

Digital trades beat physical for my collection after 3 moves

I moved twice last year, once to Chicago and once to Denver, and hauling 14 long boxes of comics was the worst. Switched to buying digital trades on my tablet and now I read 3 times more on my lunch break. Anyone else give up physical books for space reasons, or is that a deal breaker for you?

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mila395•24d ago

My con floor meltdown over a variant cover price at SDCC

I was at San Diego Comic Con last summer, the big hall, and this seller had a Todd McFarlane variant I really wanted, marked $120. I asked if he could do $100 and he just shook his head and turned to another customer, no words at all. I stood there for a full minute feeling stupid, then realized I had the cash but it was about the disrespect, not the deal. I walked away and found the same issue online for $85 two days later, so I saved money but I still think about how rude that guy was. Has anyone else had a vendor just dismiss them over a price check?

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anna_craig•1mo ago

A kid at the shop made me rethink how I read back issues

I used to hate when people bought comics just for the variant covers, thought it was a waste of money and space. Last month at a flea market in Portland, this kid maybe 12 years old was flipping through a long box and grabbed a beat up 1991 X-Men issue with a torn cover. He said to his dad, 'This one has a letter from a reader who wrote in about losing his dog, and the editor answered with advice.' I looked inside and sure enough, there was a full page of fan letters and responses. That interaction stuck with me because I realized I never read those pages, I always skipped straight to the story. Now I actually check the letters columns and editor notes first before anything else. It's like getting a little time capsule of what fans cared about back then. Has anyone else found a random letter or ad that made them see an old issue differently?

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the_vera•1mo ago

The difference in a collector who opens their books vs keeps them sealed

I noticed a guy at my local shop yesterday who had a stack of 90s X-Men issues he clearly just opened, while another collector was showing off a sealed copy of the same book. The opened copy had some wear from reading but the sealed one looked perfect, but the guy who opened it actually knew the story details and could talk about the art. Has anyone else seen a shift in how people enjoy comics between those who keep the bag on and those who actually crack it open?

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harperb46•1mo ago

Found a cheaper way to store my single issues than those pricey bags and boards

I was at a local comic shop in Portland last month and the owner showed me how he uses these comic-sized clear polypropylene sleeves he orders in bulk from a packaging supply place. He said he pays about 3 cents per sleeve versus the 12 cents for branded bags at the shop. I tried it with 50 books from my longbox and they fit perfect. Has anyone else found bulk storage hacks that save money?

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logan263•1mo ago

Am I the only one who liked the older, grittier art style in X-Men from the 90s better?

I grew up reading the Jim Lee run and then the guys who came after. But around 2010 or so, everything got super cleaned up and digital looking. The lines got too smooth, the shadows lost that rough edge. I saw a comparison of an issue from 1994 and one from 2014 side by side at my shop last week. The old one had this energy, like you could feel the ink on the page. Now it all looks like a video game cutscene. Has anyone else noticed this shift and miss the old style?

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nelson.michael•1mo ago

Pro tip: Stop treating a first issue like it's the holy grail just because it's old

I used to hunt down any #1 from the 90s thinking they'd be gold, until I saw a copy of X-Force #1 in my longbox going for $3. Realized I was chasing print runs of 3 million while ignoring key issues like Wolverine #75 or New Mutants #98 that actually hold value. Has anyone else had a wake-up call about what's actually worth collecting?

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kaiharris•1mo ago

Guy at my local shop told me to bag my comics in Mylar instead of poly bags. Said they last decades longer.

I rolled my eyes at first. Thought he was just trying to upsell me on expensive supplies. But after a year I checked some of my older books that I had in standard poly bags. They already started yellowing around the edges. The ones I switched to Mylar are still crisp. Lesson learned the hard way I guess. Anyone else had a shop employee give you advice that actually saved you money or hassle down the line?

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harris.emma•1mo ago

That guy at the comic shop changed my mind on variant covers

I used to think variant covers were just a money grab, but this older collector named Mark at Golden Age Comics in Austin showed me his 1990s Spider-Man variants and explained how some of them had real stories behind the art. He pulled out a Todd McFarlane cover from issue #15 and pointed out the hidden details in the webbing that tied into the plot. It made me realize these aren't all just cash grabs, some are actually cool pieces of history. Has anyone else had a collector show them something that flipped your opinion?

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