Found my old convention badge from 2018 with a quote on the back

I pulled out a box of old comics last night and found a Seattle ECCC badge with 'you know that guy from the panels?' scribbled on the back, and it hit me how much I used to judge strangers based on their pull lists at the shop, has anyone else caught themselves acting like a gatekeeper without realizing it?

2 comments

2 Comments

carter.julia28d ago

Yeah I caught myself doing exactly that back when I switched from DC to mostly indie books. Some guy at the counter gave me a look when I handed him Saga and some random Fantagraphics stuff, like I was suddenly too good for capes or something. It stung because I realized I'd given that same look to people buying only big two event titles a few months earlier. What actually helped was just talking to the shop owner about it, he laughed and said everyone cycles through phases and the only real gatekeepers are the ones who think their phase is the only valid way to read. After that I made a point to ask people what they actually liked about their picks instead of judging the covers.

kellymurphy28d ago

My buddy once got made fun of at a con for buying a Rob Liefeld variant and he just said "I like big guns and weird feet" and walked away. Honestly that energy made me rethink why I cared what anyone was picking up in the first place.