It’s strange that I found myself googling ‘how to get into comics’ and stumble across this website. I’ve never googled anything like that before. I read conventional literature too. I’ve never had to google ‘how to read Charles Dickens’. I’ve never been steadfastly worried about walking into a shop before. I’m sure the owners are just fine, but there’s something about the whole thing that makes it inherently intimidating. I mean to go in every time I walk past, but never do.

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for this article and the website. Next time I’m in town I’ll be sure to walk in and have a chat with the owners to get some recommendations on what I should read.

Hi Darren,

It’s a shame that one person can ruin the entire experience. Luckily the others who worked there were pretty good and that you were able to enjoy the books you like digitally. Hopefully you can find a new store who who doesn’t have an owner like the one described in your area.

To me it seems strange that he would act that way as the early days of the New 52 was bringing in lots of money and new customers for stores. While you don’t have to agree with what DC did you think he would have put his best retailer service in to keep as much of that extra money coming in.

I went into the store and asked the manager if he knew anything more about when they’d be released and if he would be getting them in. He then said he knew nothing about them and suggested I try WH Smiths (a mass market books and magazine retailer) or somewhere like Toys R Us… At the very moment he made this comment, I knew exactly what kind of comics consumer he thought I was… Some kind of 33yr old with mental age of 7, reading the comics purely because of the character and not being able to comprehend the deeper literary plots going on within.

On a slightly more positive note, all of the staff that worked for him, were more knowledgable and way more respectful towards me. If I picked up a title that wasn’t necessarily popular for them, they’d first engage in a discussion about it and how other people felt about it. Then they would suggest reasons based on their memory of my previous purchases, of why I might still enjoy it despite their and others opinions of the series. NEVER did they make derogatory statements based on the fact I enjoyed a hated series.

As such, I stopped visiting on new release Wednesday to avoid the manager as best I could. Although this didn’t really work out and eventually I stopped my standing order with the store, in protest and have since begun buying digital editions instead.