An Ode to the LCS...

[markpoa]

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

Comments

[angelophile]

I guess I've been lucky in my comic store experiences. I always used to pick up reprint titles when I was younger and, eventually, graduated to a store, Wonderworld, which was based in the nearest decent sized town. On occasion I'd pop across with my parents. I never had enough disposable income to really get into comics at the time, though, and although the store was just down the road when I was at college, I didn't spend much in there.

I ended up going away to college and used to keep up with my comic book reading by visiting the library, which had a large graphic novel section. I wasn't a regular reader of anything and, on occasion, used to pop into the local store (Alan Moore's local as well, apparent) and pick up the occasional graphic novel or collected volume (mostly Cerebus the Aardvark).

I can't honestly remember what got me into comics again. I think it was when I was working again, had disposable income and popped into the local store near where I worked and picked up an X-men trade. I know I got into Chamber as a character, but I've no recollection of what prompted this enthusiasm and where the heck I was first introduced to him. What I do know is that from then on I was picking up trades at the store and buying collections off the internet of complete runs. The store experience wasn't that interesting for me. The guys in the store were pretty stand-offish and as a graphic novel-only reader, I wasn't welcomed in the same way as someone who bought individual issues might have been.

Eventually, however, I started buying floppies again. I wish I could remember when and how, but again, the fuzzy memory. All I know is that I discovered Wonderworld, still open after all these years. The guy there was chatty, welcoming, completely non-geeky and seemed to warm to me and shared his enthusiasm. On Saturdays the store used to host D&D sessions and I think I was seen as being relatively non-geeky by the manager, who seemed the least likely guy to be working in the store, more surfer dude than comic fan. He always gave the vibe of it just being a job and not buying the whole geek culture, but liking comics too.

So I became a regular visitor and when I moved fully into the area, I used to pop in regularly. Suddenly one day I went in and he wasn't there. He'd been telling me over the previous weeks how he was buying the actual owner out. I'm not sure of the details, but it was clear there'd been a major falling out and he'd walked out the day before. The store was taken over by the owner's daughter and a friend and, although well meaning, they clearly had no clue about running the store as a business. Shipments started happening irregularly and they'd only start getting new comics in when they had enough money. This meant gaps appeared in my collection where my pull list would only turn up one week out of three or four and eventually the store closed for "refurbishment". It was pretty obvious that it was going for good when they had a party and invited all the regular customers, which was a bit of a laugh to go to.

After that I migrated back to the other store, which had moved premises, got a larger store, a different owner, who's been generally extremely helpful, chatty and friendly. I can go in there and chat about latest comics with him as he tends to read the same stuff that I do. Recently the poor economical outlook's seemed to have had an effect on how chatty he's been, but I know I can go in there, pick up my pull list and find he's maybe slipped in an issue of a comic he thinks I might be interested in and often am. It's been a painless experience and when we've chatted, he's shared some of the same concerns as I have and scans_daily members did. He was particularly pissed off with Marvel over Brand New Day and after reading some of the interviews with writers of that comic, commented, like us, that Marvel's attitude towards their readership has been borderline contemptuous. Just the right blend of pundit/customer and retailer.