Page 33, Vol. I, #4

Shortly after I started buying comics, Mad Dr. Jeffe and I started working a job together. We'd drive in, usually be on the same crew, then ride home together. Thursday was New Comic Day.

Oh glorious day!

My first jumps into comic buying were, as I've said said before, at Another Universe, a store in the Springfield Mall that started recognize that comic buyers were getting older and made it seem less nerdly to be into comics… though they still shoved the actual comics into a darkened backroom, where we could indulge our habit and not expose ourselves the uncompassionate outer world that was only there to get nostalgic 80's merchandising based T-shirts. It was hip.

It was also out of the way.

I soon became aware of Burke Books, which was a) closer to Friendly's, so I was there at least once a week anyway, b) closer to my house, and c) pretty much on the way home from A&A Moving and Storage in Chantilly to where Jeffe and I lived in West Springfield.

And to risk sounding like a lame indie fan, Burke Books was much less corporate and much friendlier. It had carpet, for one thing. And overhead lighting. Also, it didn't have mall rats there arguing about when mom was coming to pick them up. Maybe they did less business, but it was easier to go to, if only because I didn't have to feel like I was shamed into hiding my "habit."

The owner of Burke Books was Joe Gumbinger. I remember this because I wrote a lot of checks to Joe (I didn't have a check card, having been approved for a credit card but not a check card).

Joe may have appeared as the standard comic book shop guy – heavyset, facial hair, etc, etc – but he had two things going for him. First, I never smelled him, which is more than I can say for the guys who ran Imagination and Dragon's Keep in Provo, Utah. Second, while it was clear he loved comics, he ran his place as a business where people could show up and be welcomed. He never once sneered at my choice of comics or forced me into a nerdly discussion about some obscure instance of comic-dom. He didn't insist that his customers be interested in the cool comic/card brand of the week. he didn't think less of customers that weren't intimately aware of the pre-Crisis continuity of DC Comics.

He was, essentially, an enabler. He ran a shop that didn't force itself on the clientele or shame them. He made sure that anyone interested in buying a comic or comic-related merchandise would feel comfortable coming in.

And he'd talk it over with you.

I've been to a number of comic stores where you'd put in an order, or request a comic, and they'd write your name down and then you'd never hear about it again (I had this experience in Virginia, North Carolina and Utah, so I'm sure it isn't attributable to my theory that not a single business owner in Utah has clue one about what to do). But at Burke Books, he'd tell you, when you made the request, exactly what you could expect, and when, and how he was going to do what you asked.

Yeah, I bet most of you comic buyers think that being informed means reading Wizard Magazine. No, being informed means knowing what you'll get, when, and how. I was more than happy to give my money to Joe and to recommend him on the basis of this alone.

But add in some benefits. In most comic stores, the promo posters are given to the employees or sold on the side. However, I have a very extensive collection of promotional materials given to me by Joe. When the stuff came down off the walls, it was put into a pile. A pile I could leaf through. Again, one more thing that encouraged patronage by itself.

But the deal-maker was this. The third storyline I started to buy into was the ever terrible "Final Night," which was DC's universe-spanning crossover that summer. This was how they were going to kill Hal Jordan (only to bring him back, as three different heroes at different times). Anyway, part of DC's process of making crossovers is that every monthly will tie into the story, at least in passing. Still being new to the industry, I wasn't sure if those weren't necessary. I bought a lot of comics that simply weren't even interesting in order to have the whole storyline.

One of the comics was Supergirl (third series) #4. Featuring Grod. The girl and the gorilla. Also featuring Supergirl in a baby-doll and leather pants on the cover. I'm ready for this. Anyway, it had a very interesting story, and it made reference to a number of things I didn't know about. So I started trying to figure out as much as I could about this Matrix character. Plus there was the appeal that was at the beginning of a series, so it would be easier to have a complete run (remember, I was in investment buying mode, plus it's just a cool thing). The problem was getting the first three issues.

Actually, issues two and three weren't very difficult at all. I grabbed that off the shelf. The real problem was getting number one. Which sold out, very quickly, three print runs. (Right now a number of you are thinking "Supergirl? Really?" – we'll get to that next time.) I asked Joe what the chances were of getting a copy. At first he flat out told me it would be next to impossible, and that I should give up. But then he hesitated. "Hold on," he told me. He went into the backroom. I stood there for several minutes, waiting. At last, he came back out. And put in my hands a copy from the first print run. Then he charged me cover price.

Sure, Overstreet probably would not have put the price any higher than that so soon after release, but he could have charged me more, I would have paid (incidentally, today that issue goes for 8 times cover price). And keep in mind, this was probably from his personal stash. He sacrificed and went beyond the call of duty to get me this comic, for my own newbie desires.

But by just going back and getting it he earned my loyalty. By charging me cover price, he earned my dedication. I started subscriptions right then. I also started buying one or two extra titles a week (leading me to some very cool and rare finds). He converted me completely to the experience of shopping.

If all comic store owners could be like Joe, we'd be in a better world today.

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SaintEhlers is the overworked, underpaid, and excessively verbose associate editor of the Time Waster's Guide. He's gamed for 23 years or more, and is trying to convert his 6 year old daughter to the same. He's trying to write several novels, so he's grouchy much of the time. His writing has appeared in the Leading Edge and several online magazines.

Written by SaintEhlers on October 03rd, 2005