c/comic-book-fans

That jam at the local con last weekend broke my backpack straps

I was at GalaxyCon Raleigh on Saturday and my bag was loaded with about 15 comics I bought from a vendor. Right when I was heading to a panel on X-Men history, both straps snapped at the same time and everything hit the floor. People had to step over my stuff and I spent 20 minutes trying to fix it with a lanyard. Now I'm only bringing a tote bag or a small backpack to shows, no more overloading. Anyone else had gear fail on them at a convention?

That talk with a new collector at the shop changed how I see my old longboxes

I was at my local shop flipping through some 90s issues and this kid asked why I keep buying comics if they're worth nothing now. It made me realize I was treating my collection like an investment instead of just enjoying the stories.

Heard a guy at the comic shop say he 'skips all the old issues' to just read the big crossover events

That hit me weird because doesn't that mean he's missing all the character growth that makes the big moments actually hit hard, and has anyone else noticed new fans skipping the setup issues entirely?

Found a cheap way to organize my long boxes that actually works

I was getting sick of digging through stacks of long boxes looking for specific issues. Tried those plastic dividers from the shop but they cost like $2 each and I have 8 boxes. Ended up just cutting strips of old comic backing boards with a label on each strip sticking out the top. Cost me nothing since I had the boards already and it honestly works better than the expensive dividers. Has anyone else tried making their own organizer stuff?

Realized I was bagging comics wrong for 15 years

I used to put my Silver Age books right into standard bags with the flap on the back. Then a guy at a shop in Portland pointed out I was trapping dust against the spine. He showed me how to flip the bag so the flap faces forward and the crease runs down the front. Anyone else learn a basic storage habit way later than they should have?

Just realized the Punisher skull logo actually started from a comic book printing error in the 80s

I was reading an old back issue of Amazing Heroes magazine from 1986 and found this weird fact... Frank Castle's skull emblem on his chest was originally drawn way too big because the artist wanted it small. The printer accidentally blew it up and it stuck. I double-checked with a few online sources and it seems legit. Has anyone else run into hidden facts like this buried in old fan magazines?

Hot take: stop calling every random back issue a 'key'

I was at a show last weekend in Portland and saw a guy trying to sell a 1993 X-Force #1 for $40 as a 'key issue'. It's not. Not every first appearance or minor variant deserves that label. Has anyone else noticed new collectors overusing that word until it means nothing?

My uncle told me to bag my comics back in 1985

My uncle Ray was a big collector in the 70s and he swore by stacking comics flat in plastic bags with cardboard backing. I bagged all my early issues like that, including a first print Secret Wars #8 I picked up for a dollar. Fast forward to last year, I pulled that issue out to get it graded and the bag had stuck to the cover in spots. The humidity in my basement did a number on it over 40 years. Anybody else had bags ruin older comics or is it just my bad luck?

I finally saw a grown man cry over a comic book cover last Saturday

I was at this little shop in Austin called Austin Books and this guy in his 40s found a beat up copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300 in a bargain bin. He actually teared up and told me he had been looking for that exact issue since he was 12. The owner only charged him $15 for it too. Has anyone else had a moment like that where a random find hit you right in the feels?

That thing where fans only talk about the same 5 storylines

I was at a con in Portland last month and every table had someone praising The Killing Joke or Watchmen again... don't people read the deep cuts anymore? Has anyone else noticed how hard it is to find a fan who actually brings up obscure runs from the 80s?

That time I heard a kid call a comic book a "graphic novel" and felt old

Heard a guy at the comic shop say reading runs in order is for nerds

I was flipping through some old X-Men at my local shop last Saturday and this teenager tells his friend that reading comics in proper order is just for nerds who can't handle surprises. Said he jumps into whatever issue looks cool and figures out the story from there. Made me think about how I used to stress about missing a single issue before starting a run. Now I kinda see his point, not gonna lie. Anyone else ever skip around and still get the gist of a story?

Why does nobody talk about the guy who argued continuity errors ruin whole runs

At a con in Portland last spring, this older collector cornered me about a tiny inconsistency in an issue of X-Men from 1983 and said it made the Claremont run unreadable. He dead serious pointed to a panel where Cyclops wears a brown jacket instead of the tan one from three pages earlier. Has anyone else met a fan who can't enjoy a story because of one small mistake?

The 10 issue rule finally got me through a whole run

I used to start reading a new series and drop it after 3 issues max, lol. Then a guy at my shop said I had to give any comic at least 10 issues before judging it. I tried it with a random Image series I had zero interest in and actually finished the whole 25 issue run. The payoff around issue 7 was wild and it totally hooked me. Has anyone else forced themselves to stick with a book that long and had it work out?

Found a crazy stat about DC reboot sales numbers

I was reading through some old Wizard magazines I picked up at a garage sale last weekend. Found this article from 2011 that said DC's New 52 #1s sold over 200,000 copies on average but within 6 months most titles dropped below 50,000. That's a 75% drop rate and I had no idea it was that steep. Did anyone else stick with those early New 52 runs or did you bail after a few issues?

My comic book store gave me bad advice on grading and now my Action Comics #1 reprint is ruined

I took a 1980s reprint of Action Comics #1 to my local shop in Austin to see if it was worth grading. The guy behind the counter told me to clean it with a magic eraser to fix some stains. I did that and it took the ink right off the cover. Now it looks worse than before. Has anyone else had a store employee give them terrible restoration advice? What do you even do in that situation?

My LCS pulled a bait-and-switch on my pull list and I'm still mad about it

Had 3 issues of Batman on my pull list for the last 6 months. When I went in last week to pick up the new arc, the owner said he 'accidentally' sold my copies to someone else three weeks in a row. Then tried to upsell me on the variant covers for double the price. I just walked out. Anyone else have a shop mess with your pull list like that?

Were golden age comics actually better written than 90s stuff? I'm seeing a shift

I was comparing some old Detective Comics from 1939 with a run of X-Men from 1991 and the difference in storytelling is wild. The older books focused way more on tight mystery plots in like 12 pages, while the 90s issues dragged everything into 6 issue arcs with crazy pouches and big guns. Did the switch to direct market distribution in the late 70s cause this change toward decompression, or was it just artists like Liefeld pushing style over substance? What side do you lean on?

The back issue bin trick that saved me $40 last weekend

I was at Harrison's Comics in Portland digging through their dollar bins and found a run of Moon Knight from 1989 that looked clean. But I noticed the guy next to me was flipping through the same box but checking the top corners of every book first. I asked him why and he said he looks for spine stress at the top staple, not the cover. I tried his method and found 12 issues that were actually NM for a buck each instead of the $4 they'd normally go for. Has anyone else got a weird bin hunting trick that actually works?

Had to choose between two long boxes at a garage sale yesterday

I was at a garage sale in Arlington and found two long boxes of comics for $40 each. One was mostly 90s X-Men issues and the other was a random mix of Bronze Age DC stuff. I grabbed the X-Men box because I know those sell easy on eBay. Got home and found a near-mint Uncanny X-Men 266 in there, worth about $80 on its own. Anybody else ever luck out on a blind box buy like that?

My buddy said comic book fans are just grown men playing dress up

He said that after I showed him my signed first print of Saga #1, and honestly it hit different because I couldn't even argue with him after seeing some guy in a full Iron Man suit at the last con I went to, has anyone else had a non-fan make a point that actually stuck with you?

Had the worst comic book convention day of my life last Saturday in Atlanta

I spent 6 hours at the convention center getting nothing but a torn bag, a spilled drink on my only variant cover, and a guy who argued with me for 10 minutes about why Spider-Man's clone saga was actually good, has anyone else had a day where everything just went wrong at a con?

Compared reading physical floppies vs collected trades for my pull list and the singles win every time for me

I always thought trades would save me money and shelf space but after stacking 8 issues of that Wolverine arc next to the hardcover, the cover art and ad breaks between chapters just hit different and make me feel more connected to the weekly releases. Has anyone else found that floppies keep you more invested in the story month to month?

Thought Alan Moore was overhyped till I read Watchmen in one sitting

I used to roll my eyes whenever someone called Watchmen the best comic ever. Figured it was just old fans being nostalgic. Then I grabbed a copy at a con in Austin for $15 and read it straight through on a Sunday. The way Moore built that world with no clear heroes and that ending hit me different. Any other skeptics get converted by a specific run or story you slept on?

Can we talk about how long it took me to stop bagging comics wrong?

I used to put my floppies in those cheap poly bags with the flap facing out, thinking it looked cleaner. After 6 months my roommate pointed out the flap traps dust against the cover and now I flip them all inward. Has anyone else had a comic storage habit that made you feel dumb when you figured it out?