Comic Book Staff

galactus

Comic Book Staff: do they ever recommend anything to you?

Do they even know your name, even though you're in there every day/week/month?

Is it just me or do they not give a ****?

"Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons seems to be an accurate stereotype!

Here's what it should be like for me: I used to get my comics in a small place in Cork. Everytime I went into the shop, the guy who ran the shop would give me my "regulars" as well as another pile of comics.

"You'll love these..." is what he'd say. And he was right 99% of the time. Outstanding! I'm happy, he's happy, everyone is happy.

What is it that Comic Book Staff miss here. Or should I say Comic Book Owners.

My current shop is getting a bit better but I doubt I'll ever see the likes of staff recommending stuff. You'd think it would be so much easier with databases etc to even email people...

A bit of a rant but Id like to know how other people fare with Comic Book Guy.

franman

Never had a problem with the guys in Subcity. They always put away extra comics that are in anyway related to my pull list and will always recommend stuff if you ask.
They even know my name when i don't know theirs

Fysh

I've found it varies; the guys in Sub City in Galway and Dublin I found to be very friendly and chatty, and while I never went to either place regularly enough to have them recommending stuff any time I got talking to them we'd end up chatting about whatever I was buying and what we liked/disliked about them.

Other realms is a weird mix though; I've always found the staff to be quite friendly, yet apart from a few occasions I've never really had much conversation with them - which considering I've been buying comics there pretty much every week for the last 3 years is a bit odd to me. There again, I don't have a box with them so I suppose that's part of it.

Overall I have to admit that the Comic Store Guy stereotype is, in my experience, not at all the case for comic shops in Ireland. It's down to the individual though, I suppose.

iguana

Count yourselves lucky! The guy in my local comic book store produces his own bloody awful comic, and everytime anyone comes into the store they get the hard sell. I generally end up breaking down and buying it, and it's not cheap.

Then the next time I'm in, he tries to sell it again and when I point out I already have it he enthusiastically asks for my opinion. Annoying as his comic is, he's a nice guy and telling him the truth would crush him, so I always have to think of something nice to say.

He does look a lot like the Comic Book Store Guy though, right down to the t-shirts and shorts in the summer.

robnubis

The fellas in Forbidden Planet in Dublin are pretty cool, i only partially know them because they happen to be the biggest in Dublin, so they see a LOT of customers.

wes

The guy in the Third place are nice. Recommend stuff now and again. The place is welcoming. Couldn't ask for anything else really.

Fysh

iguana wrote:

Count yourselves lucky! The guy in my local comic book store produces his own bloody awful comic, and everytime anyone comes into the store they get the hard sell. I generally end up breaking down and buying it, and it's not cheap.

Then the next time I'm in, he tries to sell it again and when I point out I already have it he enthusiastically asks for my opinion. Annoying as his comic is, he's a nice guy and telling him the truth would crush him, so I always have to think of something nice to say.

He does look a lot like the Comic Book Store Guy though, right down to the t-shirts and shorts in the summer.

So, you think his comic is bad but because he's put a lot of time and effort into it and therefore wants it to succeed, you don't want to tell him what you dislike about it?

If you don't give him honest feedback, how's he supposed to improve it? Being told someone doesnt like something you've put time and effort into sucks, but I'm sure he'll learn to cope with it. Or perhaps turn into a misanthropic hermit supervillain, who knows

Although I agree it's somewhat disingenuous to pimp your own comic from a shop you work in, I'm not sure that just saying "no thanks, I don't like it because x/y/z" could be all that difficult.

(I've just realised a lot of the conversations I've had with the Other Realms staff have usually started from me asking if they've got a given title in yet, then going through the obligatory Bitch About Diamond conversation, then eventually talking about what they've read and occasionally swapping recommendations of titles. I'm about due to do this again now, there's a few titles I've been waiting on for a while and want to pick up, especially since the monthlies are offering me nothing lately...)

iguana

Fysh wrote:

Or perhaps turn into a misanthropic hermit supervillain, who knows

Or just start hiding my comics.:rolleyes:

I can't describe how bad his comic is, it's never going to get any better. However it's so very derivitive of a certain Marvel franchise that the best anyone could do for him would be to tell him to destroy all evidence of it before they sue him and take his shop.

AngryBadger

If I'm not ordering stuff online these days I tend to get most of it in other Realms in Cork. Some of th staff are fairly friendly, and to be fair they tend to know when stuff is coming out, is out, or has already come out. That said there's one or two staffersd that're kinda reticent.

Not a big deal, it is a business after all, but nerdity is so kinda outside the box, it's nice to see some friendliness when I want to indulge, or get my "Ink fix" as thaed would say.

simu

The problem with Other Realms is that they don't specialise in comics - it's just another sector of the shop - so their selection isn't as good as it could be.

Darth Ratz

Yeah, I work in FP DUblin, I try to reccomend some of the stuff I've read that I thought was good, but I prefer to wait and pick up TPBs rather then collect the comics as they come, so my recomendations are usually a few months past...

Geranium

That's not true at all, I don't know anything about comics but the guy in subcity signed the comic he writes for me and got me some artwork, without me even asking. Really nice, polite guy. But I'd say evey industry has its jerks.