Blacklisting the BEFORE WATCHMEN team

First week after the new pull list.

I walk in. I'm carrying a large black garbage bag full of shopping bags, the owner appreciates the donations, and I am happy to be helping out. No other customers in the store, just two clerks talking. One telling a long story. Which he proceeds to take nearly ten minutes to finish. As I awkwardly stand there holding the bag, waiting for a break in the story to ask where they want the stuff. Neither guy offers to take the bag, neither guy goes to check my pull box. They finish their story.

I point out I've brought in a bag donation. Nothing. No one says "here let me take that." Or anything for that matter. I say it again, the guy telling the story nods and informs me I don't have any pulls this week. (I think to myself wow, if he would have just said that when I got here, I wouldn't have had to stand around waiting for the last ten minutes).

It gets better.

I get specific and ask where they want the bags. No one responds. So I give up and just set it over by the register and finally someone says "yeah, that's okay."

I go to the racks and see two comics on my pull list, (that I was just told weren't there), and start to get them. Atomic Robo has been on my pull list for years and the Miracle Man reprints I requested be added when number one came out 8 months ago, and BOTH were on the updated list the owner requested, that I gave them last week. I have one in my hand, and I'm reaching for the other when I hear the story-teller clerk guy say, "Let me double check the box." And like magic he produces three books. Atomic Robo, Miracle Man and the latest Usagi Yojimbo TPB. Holy crap they got it right!!! For the first time this year. After saying there was nothing!

I don't expect store clerks to be my bestest buddies, and I certainly didn't expect any huge demonstration of thanks for the bags, but I sure as hell didn't appreciate completely ignored in an empty store, standing around waiting while these guys were chatting. And then the first time they get my pulls right this year, the guy almost blows it buy telling me I didn't have anything. Which would have been hilarious next week when they would have tried to sell me them along with next weeks pulls, after I would have pulled them from the racks this week.

I spend anywhere from $10, 20 even $30 or more a week in this place, I think I would like a little less screwing around and get my orders right. Would you go to a McDonalds that got every order wrong for six months? I gotta find another comic store to go to.

It's all in the last line of your post, Joe. Really, those guys sound like the worst! A good LCS would be bestowing perks on you for your patronage, emailing a newsletter giving all the upcoming events, discounts and running additional titles by you that you may be interested in actually based on your pull list. Not to mention ordering books you want beyond what's listed in Diamond. Just to save the aggro, show 'em the door, or I guess just walk through it yourself!

edquinby001 wrote:

Just to save the aggro,

Exactly! Life's too short.

edquinby001 wrote:

Just to save the aggro, show 'em the door, or I guess just walk through it yourself!

Good advice. I'm probably a few weeks away from just that. I'll wait out a couple of series, then tell them to stop my pulls. I'll come up with a good excuse, so i don't burn any bridges. Don't want to alienate anyone, but i'm sure it might be unavoidable, if they ever get wind i moved my business down the street.

just got back from vacation, i was a little worried but all my comics were pulled right. the clerk still took his sweet time getting around to getting them, but given he just opened the store a half hour late, i suppose it could have been worse

Hey i just saw a new gaming store over by Melt, it was raining when i drove by so i didn't stop in. Maybe they have comics?

Yeah I saw that, I think it's called "Critical Hit" It looks like its in the spot where the stained glass studio was, we had some stuff made for our kitchen there, I might check it out tomorrow. It would be way cooler than switching to the magic card store, but they only do pre order comics.

My pulls were wrong again and weird too. Two issues of Doc Savage 7 & 8... and not the first time thats happened, I got two consecutive issues of the Goon recently, so either it's a coincidence or the owner has been really behind in getting his UPS shipments. Nice. Oh and they missed a pull too, I grabbed the last copy of the Shadow one shot off the rack that should have been pulled. This place is a trip but I really don't want to switch to a place that just does pre orders, I like to browse.

Crap forgot to check out the gaming store.

But i did stop my pull lust. I went in today around 3:00pm and the owner was just opening a box of new comics, nothing on the rack yet and he said they only got Marvel and DCs, he said come back Friday for and small pubs and indy comics.

Not sure how many days a week he expects people to come in to pick up books. And i'm not sure how long he thinks he can get away with blaming Diamond.

I left and went up the block to the other store. It's all Magic cards and gaming stuff, but they do take Previews orders. The owner there said i wasn't the first customer to switch over to his store. Same complaints.

I went back and the owner had left, so i told the clerk, I asked how far in advance they had ordered stuff and i would still come in for that, but to stop any future orders, he seemed cool with it

He was gone for the day by the time you got back?

How is this guy still in business?

He bought the thing from the long time previous owner only a few years ago, but he's hardly ever there, and he's moved to a way bigger location and he's hired like six guys, some of which are only part time, but the last owner only had one full-time guy. How can he afford the extra staff and space but then not understand why he can't afford to pick up his new comics at UPS on Wednesdays?

anyone still here?

Sure, yeah. Been around just really busy, swamped at work.

The new comic shop is going great, nothing to complain about. The transition went well, and the new shop owner was able to get everything even the stuff that was weeks, and in some cases months old that still hadn't arrived at the other store. Now I'm all current and ordering directly from the previews catalog.

None of them have really done anything worth reading since. Easy blacklist. Although, it would be easy to slip up. I can barely remember their names.

Moore has unfortunately made it onto the blacklist himself with the whole Glycon thing.

Anyway, give me an update. How is the blacklist going? Is it like that TV show where you guys go around killing these creators?

ChrisW wrote:

Put it a different way.  Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster unquestionably lost control of the character they brought to life.  But can anyone really say that if they had maintained control, Superman would be the icon he is today?  It was DC that led to the Fleischer cartoons, the serials, the 50s tv show, the Christopher Reeve revival, "Lois and Clark", "Smallville", etc.  Bob Kane wouldn't have even brought in Batman if he hadn't been told specifically how to compete with Siegel and Shuster.  S&S didn't make that happen.  DC made it happen, with a multitude of editors and producers and bureaucrats.

It doesn't take away from the unjust treatment of our finest creators to enjoy later works based on their efforts.  It does require an exceptional sensibilty to notice the difference, but most people aren't exceptional.  That's kinda implicit.  Christopher Reeve could never have captured a generation's imagination as the One True Superman if Siegel and Shuster hadn't lost control of their work.  Letting individuals and companies make their own decision moves us forward.  Anything that would prevent S&S, or Moore and Gibbons, from doing the same, halts forward progress, which hurts the medium, the art, and the business, not to mention the audience.

If you create something and it goes on to be an icon without any money going to you, would you like that. It would suck.

The Real Steel Deal wrote:

Anyway, give me an update. How is the blacklist going? Is it like that TV show where you guys go around killing these creators?

I don't think you are understanding correctly, I don't think anyone here had a blacklist, the discussion (at least at first), was commenting on some Indy comics guy who was publicly maintaining one. It's in the first post.

The Real Steel Deal wrote:

None of them have really done anything worth reading since. Easy blacklist. Although, it would be easy to slip up. I can barely remember their names.

wow, what a dick. not only didn't read anything but the title, missing the actual point, but then you type in a bunch of snobby condescending crap, seriously wow, what a dick.

I knew a "hipster dude" that used to work at a bookstore with me and laugh at the comic "fanboys" who would come in, he would pass judgement on every purchase. Anything he approved of was of course just "ironically" hated that guy.