Why does nobody talk about how gatekeeping kills new readers?

I was at my local shop in Portland last Saturday and this kid maybe 12 years old picks up a new Spider-Man issue. The guy behind the counter starts grilling him about what runs he's read and who the current writer is. Kid just wanted to start somewhere. I stepped in and told the guy to chill but it bugged me all day. This is why comic shops are dying. Has anyone else seen clerks do this?

2 comments

2 Comments

thompson.tyler3d agoProlific Poster

The part about the guy grilling a 12 year old about what runs he's read really got me. My buddy took his nephew to a shop in Denver last year and same exact thing happened. The kid liked the cover of a Batman trade paperback and the clerk asked him if he knew who was writing Tec right now like it was some kind of test. My buddy told me the kid got all quiet and almost put the book back. He had to step in and say "he's 11, he just thinks Batman looks cool." That store lost two customers that day. Why do some clerks act like they're guarding secret knowledge instead of selling fun stories to people?

ninam762d ago

Guarding secret knowledge" yeah that was me a few years ago til I saw a kid walk out empty handed. Changed my whole view.