Why do comic fans get stereotyped so much?

[superboyprime]

A friend linked me to this yesterday, and I just had to share. Written and drawn by some guy who works in a comic book shop, Our Valued Customers is a webstrip in which he quotes actual things he's heard his customers say.



Some other stand-outs beneath the cut...

Comments

[bradhanon]

God help me, I don't doubt a single one of these. Thanks for the intro to the strip!

[fai_dust]

Good God, these are horrifing. Not supprising though.

[omnipotent]

My thoughts exactly. :(

[fifthie]

#7 is probably correct because Geoff Johns writes shit, HTH

[shadowpsykie]

i don't think there is anything Geoff Johns has written that i haven't liked... really i kinda like it all...

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah--he's not the best dialogue writers ever, but he's really good at creating characters and deep, layered mythos.

[fifthie]

deep, layered mythos.

I can only assume you're talking about the Geoff Johns who existed before Superboy Prime retcon-punched him out of continuity to be replaced with his shouty, badly characterized lookalike.

[lencannon]

Good talk.

[fifthie]

[eamelion]

Seconded. I mean, some of his stuff is better than other parts, but by and large he's amazingly consistent and awesome.

[shanejayell]

I've heard more than one of these. *sigh*

[ravenous_raven]

To be fair, this is just the comic-book flavor of certain...shall we say, different customers.

[majingojira]

I must be living in a bubble, I haven't heard any of these.

And for that, I'm grateful, because I don't doubt the stupidity of the common idiot.

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, luckily I haven't really heard any of that in my LCS.

[jarodrussell]

Well my fanfiction is better than Geoff Johns'!

...

I mean...fuck.

[sun_man]

well hover boards do exist and Geoff Johns can't write for shit

[darklorelei]

But...but...Tesla IS awesome.

[espanolbot]

That's true, but it helps if you know who he wasm, what he did and that his name was Nikola, not Nicholas.

It's like saying that Rasputin's first name was Gregory.

[darklorelei]

Oh, hahaha, I didn't even notice that they put Nicholas there. Hee!

[arilou_skiff]

To be fair, english people have a horrible tendency to do that. (Virgil? Plato? Ovid? Tully?)

[llei]

Nicholas Plato?

[liara_shadowsong]

Of course Tesla is awesome. (I mean, they went and named the SI unit of magnetic flux after him because of his amazing awesomeness.) But if you're going to claim someone as your favorite scientist, you should be able to name at least one important thing they did in at least one field of science, and be able to spell their name right.

[pyrotwilight]

This both amuses and depresses me. I can't even think of an icon to express this.

[liara_shadowsong]

Hm... I agree on the first part. As to the second, I don't think I can fully express it either, but this icon at least just barely scratches the surface, so that will have to do.

[northstarfan]

*really doesn't miss being The Girl Who Works At The Comic Shop some days*

[big_daddy_d]

What's weird is... a lot of these are spot on. I've been to the comic store plenty.. in which the one I visit regularly will be closing on the 14th of this month.. :(

Still, sometimes it's fun to have conversations with others and just geek out.. but there are times where you will hear some really weird shit being said.

Also.. Star Wars... way better than Star Trek.

Fans: "Oooooo.."

Star Trek Fan: "No he didn't.."

SW Fan: "Hahaha, oh yes. Yes he did. What are you gonna do about it?"

ST Fan: "Well..at least we don't have Jar-Jar!!"

SW Fan: "...Low blow dude..low blow. At least our hero didn't have a bridge dropped on him!"

ST Fan: "Now why do you have to go there huh?"

ST Fan 2: *speaks Klingon*

SW Fan: "Hey! You! Shut up! Seriously, how stupid is that? You guys actually adopted the language from a t.v. show!"

ST Fan: "As opposed to all of you speaking Wookie?!"

SW Fan: "Hey! Wookies make great travelling companions and will own Klingon ass any day of the week! You guys don't even have Jedi! They'll block your little phasers with their lightsabers!"

ST Fan: "Ugh! I get so fucking tired of hearing about Jedi and this Force shit! You know what? It's go time!"

SW Fan: "Bring it!!"

Annnd a fight breaks out... which let's be honest who wouldn't want to see geek warfare? lol

[dorksidefiker]

And then a quiet fan with a simple staff shows up, clocks them both over the head, announces "Ivanova is God," and goes on his merry way.

[his_spiffynesss]

I end up measuring the Trek vs. Wars debate by the lowest points in each franchises history. I still say sitting through Spock doing his Scarecrow impression , Beverly Crusher staring in her own own private bodice ripper, Quark in Drag, Tom Paris turning into a newt and sexing up Captain Janeway, and Captain Archer sitting all night at the bedside of his dog, and then topping off the night with Star Trek V would still be more enjoyable than watching the Star Wars Holiday Special.

[icon_uk]

But... but... even if the rest of it is... frankly unspeakable, the Star Wars Holiday Special has BEA ARTHUR!!! And she sings too!

Would I be awful to admit...

[roguefankc]

I actually participated in a verbal sparring in my LCBS with a girl 10 years ago over whether Angel or Spike was the better person suited for Buffy? XD

I was defending Angel, she was defending Spike. And though it wasn't heated or violent, I had to admit it was entertaining to argue and debate over it and refer to past episodes of the TV show as evidence.

Re: Would I be awful to admit...

[liara_shadowsong]

And then an Angel/Buffy/Spike OT3 shipper showed up, and there was pandemonium? (I would volunteer to play that role in a heartbeat, if need be.)

Re: Would I be awful to admit...

[roguefankc]

By all means, we'd welcome the discussion. =)

I repeat: when it's not violent or heated, it's actually fun bouncing back and forth ideas and viewpoints and trying to debate our favorite shows and comics.

[mad]

I'm more of a HP vs LotR kinda gal, really.

[liara_shadowsong]

Solution: crossover fanfiction

Yeeeesssss...

[icon_uk]

"You made a little language out of a television program... that's...not right" - Caveguy in Freakazoid.

[drakyndra]

These are both hilarious and mildly terrifying.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Most of these are thoroughly deranged and hilarious, but a few sound semi-reasonable. I mean, the guy who's talking about how he wouldn't show comics with sexual themes to children - well, yeah, that's... one of those things you don't really do, right? It's a tad 'uh, yeah, we get that', but it doesn't exactly verge into 'WTF did he just say?' territory. The guy talking about 'Toy Story' may or may not be joking - a lot depends on what his tone of voice would be - and the girl who writes fanfiction is... well, she takes pride in her work. And as for the guy who's fretting over Catwoman, that's actually rather sweet. One gets the impression that, if he could, he'd send her some flowers with note saying 'sorry for your loss', or something like that.

[punishermax]

It's the "I Wouldn't EVER do that" because I really just imagined it said with shifty eyes and a nervous look around.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, I get it - what TVTropes would call a 'Suspiciously Specific Denial'. Yeah, I can see that now. 'Who, ME? Nuh-uh, I would NEVER do that! No, never! Never ever! Why, what have people been telling you? Hey, answer me! ANSWER ME! YELLING? ME? I'M NOT YELLING! I HAVE A CARRYING VOICE! IT'S ALL LIES, WHATEVER THEY SAID! LIIIIEEEEEEES!'

[angelophile]

Yeah, I'm not really seeing anything horrifying or funny about the fanfiction one. Like, so what?

[punishermax]

It's possibly the least insane of them all but to be fair it's kinda weird to tell a random comic shop owner about your sex Firefly fic that possibly has a Mary Sue self insert in it.

[kingrockwell]

Who's to say it has to have a self insert? Maybe it's slash.

[kamino_neko]

For some reason, I totally assumed slash. (Mal/Jayne seems probable. Jayne/Simon also likely.)

[psychopathicus_rex]

I'm guessing that one may be a matter of what she sounded like when she was saying it. A sufficiently bright and chirpy tone could make it sound a tad weird - it'd be like a Girl Scout saying it. 'Cookies for sale! And porn! And did I mention cookies?'

[nezchan]

If they're the vanilla oreo kinda cookies, I'm in.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Those are good, are they? I've only ever had the regular kind, myself.

[nezchan]

Yeah, they only have them every other year, and the GGs don't really come 'round my neighborhood that I've been around for (pity, they'd probably do pretty well here), but I used to work in an office down the street from their HQ back east.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Ah. No wonder, then. The only cookies I tend to have are the homemade kind - which, to be fair, are pretty damn good.

[nezchan]

Mmm, I should make cookies this weekend. It'd be a nice reward for this frankly insane week. Four deadlines, and I'm sick on top of it.

[psychopathicus_rex]

In that case, make a double batch. That's what I did for Halloween. Cookies for days!

OTP diet!

[teamrodent]

Hot Samoas on Thin Mints action!

Re: OTP diet!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Are Hot Samoas spicy cookies or something?

Re: OTP diet!

[teamrodent]

No, they're vanilla cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate stripes. (AKA Caramel DeLites)

Re: OTP diet!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Sounds good! Coconut isn't really my thing, but otherwise - yum!

[valtyr]

I'm inclined to file it with telling people anything about your hobbies - if it contains the word 'erotic', consider if you're really on good enough terms to be talking about that, especially with someone who's being paid to be polite to you.

[liara_shadowsong]

Maybe it's really, really, really bad fanfiction?

[kamino_neko]

and the girl who writes fanfiction is... well, she takes pride in her work.

Well, one assumes it's not, like, friends talking, or a discussion of fic, or the like.

I imagine it was just somebody noticing someone in a Blue Sun shirt, or buying a Kaylee action figure (are there Firefly action figures? I didn't pay attention), or a copy of Serenity, and popping out 'oh, by the way, I write smutfic for that show!'

[psychopathicus_rex]

I guess as an isolated comment, it would be a little freaky. 'You do, eh? That's... nice...'

[jacknoir]

Yeah, I would much rather read bad fanfiction than most Johns stuff. At least bad fanfic is an isolated incident. When Johns fucks up, the consequences stick around the DCU forever and we all have to hear about how great they are.

[liara_shadowsong]

OMG yes.

[jjgalahad]

Jesus. That is both horrifying and hilarious. Horrilarious?

The absolute worst part of all this? I'm now suffering through a mental debate of Danger Room Vs. Holodeck. At this point, I lean toward Danger Room.

[newnumber6]

While I'd happily bankrupt myself converting my home into EITHER, I think Holodeck wins out (assuming you have the Enterprise computer on hand) with it's ability to recreate complex fictional worlds on the fly. I know, depending on the writer, the Danger Room can sometimes do some of that, but I never got the idea that you could spend a week in the Danger Room and not know you were in one (assuming you were put in one without your knowledge), like you could a Holodeck.

[recognitions]

The Danger Room actually works, though. Honestly, with the amount of times the Holodeck has trapped people inside it and/or imperiled the entire ship, one would think they could just swap names and be done with it.

[bruinsfan]

Seriously, people today talk about how dangerous modern entertainment is? At least it doesn't malfunction on a semi-annual basis and risk killing the users. There is something seriously wrong with Federation society that they've abandoned non-immersive forms of entertainment in favor of something that's both glitchy and potentially lethal.

[outlawpoet]

didn't the Danger Room do the same? I thought it mutated into an entity that was out to kill the x-kids for a while. I stopped reading Whedon's run, but I think it was in there.

[timgueugen]

But the Danger Room is dangerous by design. It's a combat simlulator that includes what gets called "less than lethal" weaponry these days. The Holodeck isn't supposed to be. The Holodeck is the equivalent of a home theatre system that regularly and without warning falls over on the viewers and proceeds to deliver a potentially fatal shock.\

Heh, how's that for a geek argument?

[jjgalahad]

Well, I vaguely remember it being able to be as full-on immersive as a Holodeck from a few occasions. It simulated Hell well enough to give Illyana a flashback once, crawling with demons. I was particularly impressed when Cyclops once used it to take out half the team (when they were brainwashed by Mastermind) using a "Wizard of Oz" inspired arena. Pretty sure they also kept Sabretooth in "fluffy bunny meadow" scenario there for months, back when he was pretending to be a brainless animal. I can see your point but I think if they actually ever told the Danger Room it to be a maze or fake a complex city, it could be just as noodle-y as a Holodeck.

Truthfully, outside of the Danger Room's purpose being more dangerously educational, I don't see a lot of differences. I think the only reason I lean toward Danger Room is that it can make stuff you can leave with and that also has lasting physical effects on people. If it can make aerosol gas to knock Rogue out and exploding heat-seeking missiles, it stands to reason that it could probably make me a fake bar where I could get a decent beer, a t-shirt and maybe even an iPod (assuming nobody is programming it to murder me at the time).

[stubbleupdate]

I have no experiences like that in my dingy local store because there's hardly ever anybody else in when I go in.

I wish I could move back to where I did my postgrad, because the local comic book guy there is ace.

[arbre_rieur]

One time at the comic book store I used to frequent, the guy behind the counter and his friends were talking about how awful it was that the rape scene in the new movie Hollow Man was censored, and how the DVD better include the full version because that's what folks want to see. The were being pretty loud, so that they had to know I could hear them. I was fifteen years old at the time.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I would agree with the censorship issue on general principle, but... the specifics? Dude - uncool. Yeesh.

[greenmask]

Oh ewwww.

That's nasty! Glad you said "used to", geez.

[aelflar]

Bwahaha, Jane Austen`s gonna sue!! Oh noez!

[liara_shadowsong]

Maybe she's a Time Lord?

[khamelea]

Comic book fans have bad skin! That IS hilarious.

[janegray]

Are you sure the Toy Story one wasn't just a joke? Action figures get joked about all the time. "I'm a Marvel, I'm a DC" and Twisted Toyfare Theatre are all about that.

And I can't help but find the Catwoman one rather sweet. When the comic book industry sports gems such as "yeah, sure, cripple the bitch" (editor's reply to Alan Moore's request to use Batgirl in The Killing Joke) and "they needed a rape. Because there’s nothing quite so badass as rape, lets face it" (justification for the fridging of Sue Dibny), I actually find it a relief that a fanboy was so concerned for Selina's well-being. So what if she is a fictional character? If a fictional work can't get you emotionally invested in its characters, that means the work in question sucks.

[greenmask]

It's a pretty misogynistic joke, though, even if it is meant only for lulz.

[janegray]

Hum... I had originally read it to mean that the male figures and the female figure could enjoy sexy hijinks all together, and fun times would be had by all; a dirty but completely harmless joke.

But, re-reading it, it does sounds like it can also mean "the guys are going to molest her, LOL!" Ok, yeah, if that's what he meant, that's creepy as fuck >_>

For the sake of what little faith in humanity I have left, I choose to believe that my original interpretation was the correct one.

[greenmask]

For the sake of faith in humanity, I think you're making the right choice!

[liara_shadowsong]

Your original interpretation is very good... I agree on the "dirty but completely harmless joke" portion. The other one is nasty.

[sandoz_iscariot]

Whether it was meant to be a rape joke or not, either viewpoint is sexist because the female character's only "value" is seen in giving sexual pleasure to men. It's creepy all around.

[janegray]

We'll have to agree we completely disagree on that one. I don't see how a bunch of "people" having sexy hijinks all together means that the females in the group are only there to give pleasure to the males. "Fun times are had by all" does contain the words "by all."

Frankly, I find your comment creepy and sexist, as it implies that a woman should never freely express her sexuality around men because that would necessarily reduce her to a sex slave.

[greenmask]

It's not so much, I think, that orgies cannot be consensual or that ladies should never get sexual, but that buying a female character-figure for the express and only purpose of shelf-fucking is less than savoury.

Buying a female character-figure because they are a neat character and then thinking "o hey, and they can DO IT with my other figures! lucky!"? Sure, unsketchy. Buying a representation of an established character just to be a sex decoration for already owned dude-toys.. sketchy.

[janegray]

I don't know if I'm in denial or just naive, but to be honest, I can't imagine anybody buying an action figure for the express and only purpose of shelf-fucking. It really does seem to me like the most likely explanation is that the guy was just making a harmless joke and people jumped to the worst possible conclusion.

Of course, I've been wrong plenty of times before, and I stubbornly keep expecting people to be good and sane when I really should know better, so there is that...

[taggerung301]

Yeah, I found the catwoman one nice too

Maybe it would seem silly to a non-comic book fan for someone to be concerned about the well-being of a fictional character, but I totally get it

[eightleggedbeast]

Oh, but she needs Batman to look after her, clearly.

(Or, answer in context: eh, it's Selina, she'll be fine.)

[cuntfucius]

I work at a comic book shop.

I don't know how much of it is confirmation bias, and I tend to see it way more on message boards than in the store I work at, but oh my god the negativity. And weird, unfounded opinions and dislike! My God, why the hell are you guys having so much fun in NOT having fun!?!?!? At least laugh about it and don't take it seriously!

Also I just really hate A-lister only fans omg.

[cuntfucius]

And I actually get REALLY surprised -- i mean lkwelawe it's totally jarring to go to s_d and less pleasant places like cbr forums and dc message boards and see the cynicism and fear of change and love of the status quo and the "just because" opinions everywhere and in my shop, have guys and gals come in who are actually excited about new stuff coming out, excited about lesser known characters, and have fun talking about characters and even recent bad decisions/events by the companies without having beautiful gems such as thoughts like "She should just die" "I just hate him, he's emo" "She's whiny" "She's useless" "He's boring"

[kamino_neko]

lkwelawe

Translation, please?

[cuntfucius]

FINGERS MAKING LOVE TO KEYBOARD , ANGRY HATESEX

[kamino_neko]

*giggles at that image*

*suddenly THINKS about that image*

*gets mildly disturbed*

*filed line away to use when the opportunity arises*

>_>

[fifthie]

The best kind of fans are the ones who feel a need to go on the internet and trash other fans for failing to like terrible things.

After all if people didn't incessantly trash other people for the vile act of having negative opinions of comic books, you wouldn't know that those people were better than all those negative fans they're trashing.

[cuntfucius]

yeah because i totally implied that if you have any negative opinions about a comic book, you're a terrible fan.


here let me get my hankie out :)

[fifthie]

yeah because i totally implied that if you have any negative opinions about a comic book, you're a terrible fan.

Nah you did a pretty good job phrasing your passive-aggressive swipe at a broad group of people well enough that any attempt to pin down specifically who you're shitting on is easily deniable on your part, you should be proud.

[cuntfucius]

passive-aggressive swipe at a broad group of people well enough that any attempt to pin down specifically who you're shitting on is easily deniable on your part,

Lmao GURL. Hmm, broad swipe? Let's see, I specifically name:

People who are stubbornly ONLY fans of A-listers and will only give A-list characters a chance.
People who are miserably and overly negative (as opposed to people who don't like something, different. Very.)
People who throw out phrases at characters like a net to flatten and simplify without substantial evidence to back it up or address anything contrary suggested at them.

Seriously. I named the phrases, and said it's annoying when people don't really give much behind their opinion on that. I have voiced displeasure at various story turns, treatments of a character, and writing decisions before. There is nothing wrong with not liking something.

But have a little perspective and distance. These are comics. This is a genre. This is an art form, learn to divorce personal taste and preferences with the actual view of composition and structure. Many people don't. This isn't a public sphere where people are speaking of social injustices and those who talk against the status quo or The Man are oppressed and silenced in a similar way. This is about cape comics and superheroes and marketing gimmicks and the whole shebang. There are public spaces (the comic shop I work at) where it is entirely inappropriate to be voicing rage over how crappy (and it is, imo) Brightest Day is when young kids are thumbing through it and having fun. It's called tact, and the rhetoric is just memetic and a bore. It's too much to ask for actual reasonable dialog about this stuff, though, I guess, and about voicing any sort of displeasure.

Now, it being broad, of course you had to project your oppressed fan insecurities. I admit it, I'm a total meanie jerkpants who hates everyone that doesn't like Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Bendis, and all of our comic overlords. I believe you all should shut up and be pleased with whatever comes out.

I have a more optimistic view on life. For example. one of my favourite characters is Really Really Defensive Fan. I think they've been written terribly lately, though, and I voice my criticism often, but I have faith that they will be written justly :') according to my vision. You are SO shat on for disliking Geoff Johns and all other shitty terrible bad comics put out today!! My god, I just am totally crapping all over, what happened to my bowels?

You know, I always wondered the identity of RRDF... I mean, I noticed you're always taking bathroom breaks and stuff when they're around but...nah. You wear glasses and they don't. Couldn't be.

[punishermax]

You know, I'm curious, as a female comic shop worker, how many times have you been hit on and also how totally fucking awkward was it each time?

[cuntfucius]

It happens quite often!!! Probably a few times a day. My coworkers were always very polite, if a bit awkward at socializing, so their attempts to flirt were always just pretty sweet I guess, and very respectful once I turned them down. The customers, not so much. They're usually pretty creepy and there is this one guy that always says the "Giggity" thing every time I go on a ramble about some continuity knowledge or w/e

re: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4o3yLHCqaI

[cuntfucius]

^ btw that is like verbatim the talks I hear guys have on alien babes in green lantern

[punishermax]

Alright so a few things

1. I'd forgotten that clip and the fact that it works so god damn well to this day is magical.

2. If yoou actually use the word "Giggity" when you are aroused be something then I'm pretty sure you've committed a mortal sin and you will be sent to the newly constructed 10th circle of hell.

3. Has a guy, after finding out you're not interested in them from a sexuality standpoint, ever gotten angry at you? I'm sure hat has to end reeeeaaally badly for the whole store.

[cuntfucius]

1. Isn't it!?!? I STILL LAUGH AT IT WHEN I WATCH THE CLIP, and when I think of all of the similar conversations I've overheard and eavesdropped on ever-so-politely.

2. I know. I think he just is trying to be funny, but it comes off as so obnoxious. I was recommending Life with Archie to somebody and he popped in, and I didn't even see him enter the story, and made the most generic threesome joke ever. I just think it is the saddest thing ever that he exists.

3. I have two coworkers by my side almost always who are incredibly thoughtful and really good at picking up on my discomfort :) and steering away guys who are harassing me. I can stand up for myself, but it actually really helps me out, when they take the burden off of me since I'll just be seen as a bitch or a stick in the mud or whatever. I've had that happen at a lot of other jobs, but never at this job. People have never accused me of leading them on or anything, but I have had the generic "Get your mind out of the gutter, I just wanted to be friends" comments after I refuse to give my number for like the tenth time.

Overall I get slight discomfort from some advances, but most are annoying in their frequency/persistence, but less offensive than what I've experience, interestingly enough, than working in let's say the food industry or retail.

[punishermax]

"So I was just saying that Green Lantern is getting reall-"

"Yeah, green, red, but we're all pink on the inside huh ~suggestive eyebrow waggle~"

"...Funny. Anyway Archie was-"

"Yeah, Betty, Veronica, why do you gotta choose between em ~crotch grab~"

"Wow, thanks for that, you able to find it alright in there? Want me to get Steve to find it for you?"

"Maybe you can find it ~eye waggle~"

"Really? That-that's your pick up line. You want me to find your dick? Like, it's so small you lost it? Should I send a fucking search party out to find your schlong? Can you just leave already?"

"But-"

"No. Just fucking go. I don't need your money, it ain't worth hearing you joke like Dane Cook's secret half brother he has locked in his basement and you smell like Satan's asscrack. So fucking go"

"Frigid bitch..."

"Yeah, I know, I'm so frigid taht I didn't immediatly blow you after you used pick up lines from a dating simulator. They usually work on the maids with huge tits and glasses who call you Onee-chan but not so much in the real world."

[kamino_neko]

Also I just really hate A-lister only fans omg.

One of my buddies is sort of like this - and it's bizarrely recently...while he supported Manhunter and Blue Beetle when they were coming out, anything headlining a b-(or c-)lister, or breaking from the format (Superhero books only - he's good with non-Superhero books, but superbooks which break away, not so much), etc...

I'll be geeking out over Great Ten, or Knight and Squire (which he admits to liking, but...see below), or the Mighty Crusaders, whatever, and conversation will grind to a halt when his reply is 'won't sell'/'not selling'. (I've not even bothered trying to discuss the First Wave universe with him, although the main book and Doc Savage have both been awesome, and The Spirit passable.)

It's frustrating.

[cuntfucius]

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A NIGHTMARE INTERACTION WITH ME, TBH. Frustrating is a kind word I'd use to describe those sorts of interactions as. I wasn't a part of the conversation, but I remember when the sweeeeetest guy who works with me was like, trying to suggest some old avengers title on a guy who wanted to play catch-up in marvel, and he went on a rant immediately about how he only reads THE REAL AVENGERS and it was just the most overly defensive and zealous thing I had seen from such a simple suggestion. I get this reaction when I praise R.E.B.E.L.S, too.

It reminds me of like, I don't know, a Tea Partier. I WANT MY COUNTRY/REAL AVENGERS/REAL JLA BACK!!!

I mean if the writing is bad, I understand, but godddd the vehemence aimed at certain characters advancing or trying to break the glass ceiling is just wow

[cainofdreaming]

I think I sort of see what your friend is thinking. Maybe. No claims to being able to read minds though. Books that do not sell are discontinued. Which really sucks if you've invested yourself emotionally.

I'm of the mind of enjoying myself while the going is good, even if the journey will eventually head over a cliff. But people are different, I guess.

[kamino_neko]

Yeah, I do kind of get that, but...a little bit of awesome is better than none, and every sale is a chance for it to, you know, not die.

It's a little bit annoying when it's simply 'that book's getting cancelled, why bother' (because it's awesome, that's why!), but it's really annoying when it's a preemptive dismissal - Some examples from recent attempts at conversations: 'A Knight and Squire - or better yet, DCU London - ongoing would be awesome.' 'Eh, wouldn't sell.'; 'I'm really looking forward to Mighty Crusaders.' 'They're not selling, it won't sell.'

[arilou_skiff]

I can sort of see not wanting to commit to a series you think is going to get cancelled just as soon as it gets good. (The worst part, of course, is that it is a self-fulfilling prophecy)

[punishermax]

My local comic shop sort of lost a lot of it's luster after I heard a customer actually use, in all seriousness, the phrase "God made Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve."

Who fucking says that? Who? For fucks sakes.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, evidently the customer did.

[big_daddy_d]

My mom...seriously..she said that.

[sailorlibra]

Seriously...? Seriously? Wow, that's really dumb.

[cainofdreaming]

God made Adam and Eve, who begot Cain and Abel. I'd say score one for Steve there.

Err... self preservation instinct aside, that is.

[thanekos]

well, after the operation, we just call him Lilith now

[bruinsfan]

You win the internets!

[liara_shadowsong]

*gigglesnort*

[newnumber6]

I've sadly heard that phrase a few times.

As it turns out, none of them were in a comic store, or by anyone who I suspect would read a comic if they were stuck in a waiting room for hours and it was the only thing to do other than stare blankly at a wall.

[lieut_kettch]

It's a fairly common Fundie anti-gay line. Right up there with "God hates fags."

But yeah, who says that in a frikkin' comic shop? What was he looking for, Spire's Archie series and Jack Chick tracts?

[punishermax]

I thought it was a fucking joke thing like, did people actually say that?

[bluejaybirdie]

Students (and some teachers) at my conservative Texas high school do. In my case, they occasionally modify it to "Amy and Eve". I really can't wait for college and getting out of the South.

[liara_shadowsong]

I feel very bad for you right now. I hope you get into a very good college where you can also enjoy the company of the people around you.

[liara_shadowsong]

I've heard that before. I kind of wanted to ask them if they actually had two functional neurons to rub together and spark a thought in the logic center of their brain. I mean, what the hell? It sounds like a pre-fabricated line brainwashed into people's heads in a cult, or something. For fuck's sake. If they're going to be a bigoted jerk either way, can they at least make a half-assed attempt at being original about it, instead of spewing these trite lines made by twisting the Bible to their own ends, and then daring to act like it makes them witty somehow?

[brandiweed.livejournal.com]

I mean, what the hell? It sounds like a pre-fabricated line brainwashed into people's heads in a cult, or something.

There's a case to be made for it being exactly that.

[liara_shadowsong]

I think I've read about that, they made a very good case for it being the case at least some of the time. >_<

[runespoor]

Every single time I read that phrase, I'm reminded of the fact that there's a French male name (Yves) that's pronounced exactly like 'Eve' in English.

There's a song about it.

[baihu]

Well...God being..God, technically he created everything. So that includes Steve. Cos not like the kinds of people were ever known of their abilities to interpret things in a non-biased manner.

[proteus_lives]

Why would a store lose it's appeal because of one dipshit?

[icon_uk]

Thing is whilst, sadly, I can't dispute any of these examples as I've heard similar things too often, you could probably find analogues between this sort of extreme, and the things guys says in sports bars, or in the bleachers, or stamp collecting fairs. Every hobby has it's assholes, alas.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I'd say most of these belong more to the lunatic fringe than in the category of assholery. Not all of them, of course - the guy talking about WW2 and the Danger Room/Holodeck guy are pretty clearly jerks - but most.

[icon_uk]

Fair point, the WW2 example is frankly horrifying, worse yet because I can't imagine ANYONE reading Maus that way...

[psychopathicus_rex]

In a weird sort of way, I kinda see what he was getting at, even if he phrased it abominably. The thing about WW2 is that, even though it WAS pretty much the earthshaking event it's presented as, we are overexposed to it to the point where it's become old hat. I don't think there's been a year in recent memory that didn't feature at least two or three WW2 movies coming out in theaters, not to mention the countless books, TV shows, etc. I can see how someone could get desensitized to the subject to the point where its genuine importance just doesn't register - WW2 has practically become a genre in and of itself, and people say similar things about various genres. It's like Westerns - there WAS a genuine Wild West, and it was an important period in American history, and all kinds of interesting things happened during it, but we've been buried in Westerns to the point where just the idea of it seems corny to some people. (It's not the best of comparisons, of course - the Wild West didn't feature the systematic slaughter of countless people - but you see what I mean, I hope.)

[icon_uk]

Maybe it's being British and probably a little older than many on the comm, but I can't quite view the past like that, and despair of a world that could.

And I think there might be quite a number of Native American tribes who would demur with your last point, up to a point of course.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, all I can say is that I've seen my fair share of WW2 movies, and they're getting awfully predictable. I recognize that they chronicle an important war that we must never forget and so on, but a break would be nice, ya know?
And yes, fair point, but I would call the US treatment of Native Americans of the period more 'systematic oppression' than 'systematic slaughter'. It included a good deal of slaughter in the bargain, of course, but there was a hell of a lot more cooperation between Native Americans and Wild Westerners than there was between Jews/minorities/etc. and Nazis.

[greenmask]

Well noted.

[valtyr]

Possibly due to being British, I agree with you.

[icon_uk]

It had to happen sooner or later! :)

[valtyr]

I like to agree with people sometimes. It's good to be a little bit unpredictable... ;)

[icon_uk]

Ah yes, Rule of Acquisition 76 - "Every once in a while, declare peace... It confuses the hell out of your enemies."

:)

[brandiweed.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's being British and probably a little older than many on the comm, but I can't quite view the past like that, and despair of a world that could.

A couple things: 1) The US doesn't have (for want of a better phrase) many physical scars from WWII-- our country never got bombed so there aren't areas where people in living memory can tell you how they had to rebuild the entire block; 2) American media really, really loves WWII (both in movies and games), perhaps because it was our last "good war" (without all the moral ambiguity and sense that 'we lost' of Vietnam).

[runespoor]

Talking as a jewish Frenchwoman, I for one would definitely be happier if there were a little less grossly over-dramatized bad flicks about WW2. I can confirm that desensitisation to WW2 and to the Shoah is rampant in France, to the point where there are people basically saying 'oh no, not again with that, aren't you ever going to stop whining'. To the point that it gets flung in your face when you try to voice concerns about antisemitism today - often, it gets overlooked, because Jews are viewed as stuck in the past.

And I also think it's an upsetting lack of respect about tragedy. Not all movies/books are like that, obviously, but sometimes I wish the Shoah was a little more taboo a setting in fiction.

[irrelevant]

the Wild West didn't feature the systematic slaughter of countless people

A goodly number of Native American peoples would beg to differ.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Please see my response to icon_uk, who made the same point.

[newnumber6]

To be honest, the first time I read it, I thought he was saying:

The Nazis are Cats, the Jews are Mice, so this way you actually care about who wins (between cats and mice).

Sort of playing on a fairly commonly expressed sentiment that funny animal books are pointless, you can't get invested in the struggles of cats and mice. Then I read it again and realized it was probably meant:

The Nazis are Cats, the Jews are Mice, so this way you actually care about who wins (between Nazis and Jews).

Which is obviously horrific.

Then it occured to me that although these may be "actual conversations", every conversation the creator relays is reinterpretted in his own head first. I mean, half the time when I repeat what somebody said ONLINE, with the text right above me, I quote it wrong and have to double check. Unless he was actually video/audio recording his customers, or has a photographic memory, it's always possible something was misheard. It could very well be that the person meant the first one and his words actually reflect that.

I hope that's the case in at least some of them, but of course pretty horrifying people aren't uncommon.

Powergirl's reaction says it all..

[big_daddy_d]

I just took a look at that blog. Some things were funny, some were just.. really out there and downright fucked up. Some of the things said, you can usually find in an internet forum, so it amazed me that they were said out loud like that. I can't help but think of the Clerk's tagline when I first saw the trailer, "We may serve you, but we don't have to like you." I think it was said a bit different but the meaning was the same. I get that impression reading that blog.

[cuntfucius]

That's what freaks me out! When people say stuff you'd normally see reserved for message boards. I can take customers spouting off fandom memes and laughing at their own clever fridge jokes or retcon jokes or arsenal jokes or whatever while I just stare blankly, but it's come to the point where I try to be super cautious when/if I talk about The 99 or the Question or Batwoman or w/e because I know I might hear something that just disturbs me. Luckily I get more positivity and open-mindedness than the weird pessimistic bigoted jerk attitude.

[big_daddy_d]

You're very lucky. After reading that blog, I actually use to want to work at a comic store... now I'm seriously second guessing that as I doubt I'd have the patience. If I have any stories, it involves a good bug of mine, see he always bashes Superman and want to know why? Because of Superman's invulnerability. Not for the reasons you think. See with all of Supe's powers, he honest to god believes that he should be able to handle anything and anyone just like that. When the subject of Lex comes up I have to remind him of Lex's genius and how he knows Supe's weakness to use against him... he STILL argues. I bring up how there are plenty others out there just as powerful or at least powerful enough to hurt Superman in a fight... he doesn't buy it. I bring up Superman's weakness and ways he can be beat... he still argues. Trust me... he's my boy but he grinds my gears with this argument. I even go as far as to use the most basic come back: That if there was no real threat to Superman, the damn book would just be boring. He STILLL argues.

I remember you bringing up those who like only A-Listers. You know what's funny is this same friend, there are plenty times when he doesn't care about b-listers and lower, but all it takes is seeing them in a video game, movie, t.v. show, etc for him to even build an interest when I already told him of said characters previously.

One more thing I gotta bring up... show recommendations.. he often asks me what shows should he watch. I'm going to bring up a recent debate we had. I recommended Walking Dead. He has no interest and then when I say at least check it out, trust he's been into zombie stuff before, we get into a debate about how much he tried to get me into Naruto and don't give that a chance. Now here's the ridiculousness of his argument... More than once, I told him... I had NO interest in Naruto. Before he even repeatedly reccomended it.. I tell him... checked it out... not interested. Eventually I do at least give it a second chance and while I don't think it's as bad as I thought... I tell him... it's at the VERY bottom of my list of interests... and he still argues saying I never gave the show a chance when I, in fact, have... more than once.. yet he literally doesn't give a show a chance at all unless later on he comes across it by accident or saw it in another form of media when I recommended it to begin with.

[thehefner]

I've worked at a comic shop for about ten years, and at this point, I really just gotta say that I think we've lucked out when it's come to customers. Maybe it's the isolated nature of these cartoons that really shines a spotlight on them, but man, between these and your own experiences... yeah, I thank my lucky stars that my shop's customers at the very least keep such opinions to the internet.