An Ode to the LCS...
One of my favorite Internet columns right now is ReTales by Jud Meyer over at Comics101.com. It's also featured as a regular column over at Comic Book Resources. It's a great look at the behind-the-counter operations of a comic book store. But more than that, Jud writes several heart-warming stories about his regular customers, comic book fans like you and me, but with some twists.
It got me thinking back at some of my local comic book store experiences. Here in the Philippines, comic book stores, even the ones with multiple locations in different malls, are still largely an LCS. The owner can be seen, usually on weekdays, managing the till. Pull lists can be reserved. Regulars are addressed by name.
I've only been a "regular" at an LCS one time. It was surprisingly a refreshing and comforting feeling to go to a store where you're known. Even though I was only buying one or two series regularly (Ron Marz's Green Lantern and Morrison's JLA), there's a slightly ego-boosting aspect of having your comic book "reserved" for you.
I also had a bad experience with a different store where I consigned some comic books to sell. A younger me had faith in this guy promising to sell my X-men Fatal Attractions crossover so I left it there without anything stronger than his word. After regularly dropping by monthly to check if the books sold, I stopped visiting when I moved houses for a while. Guess what? The books sold, but I didn't get anything. And since I didn't have any proof... all it was was an expensive and bitter lesson.
The local comic book store... what are your memories about it?
It got me thinking back at some of my local comic book store experiences. Here in the Philippines, comic book stores, even the ones with multiple locations in different malls, are still largely an LCS. The owner can be seen, usually on weekdays, managing the till. Pull lists can be reserved. Regulars are addressed by name.
I've only been a "regular" at an LCS one time. It was surprisingly a refreshing and comforting feeling to go to a store where you're known. Even though I was only buying one or two series regularly (Ron Marz's Green Lantern and Morrison's JLA), there's a slightly ego-boosting aspect of having your comic book "reserved" for you.
I also had a bad experience with a different store where I consigned some comic books to sell. A younger me had faith in this guy promising to sell my X-men Fatal Attractions crossover so I left it there without anything stronger than his word. After regularly dropping by monthly to check if the books sold, I stopped visiting when I moved houses for a while. Guess what? The books sold, but I didn't get anything. And since I didn't have any proof... all it was was an expensive and bitter lesson.
The local comic book store... what are your memories about it?