Comic Book Buying

I decided to stop by the local comic shop last night on my way to do other errands, and then immediately regretted it because it was market night and the shop is in the middle of downtown. It's hard to say which was worse, parking or getting around the store.

I picked up Dark Tower for a co-worker, and Wyrms (bleh. why did I do that?) and Wonder Woman for me. I glanced over the display of older Buffy comics and go to the counter. There was a line, so I had a few minutes to notice the boxes and sign directly across from the counter: "10 comics for $4, 30 comics for ..." some price I couldn't see because someone was in the way. (Someone who didn't move the entire time I was there, btw. Note to fellow customers: some of us need to learn to be a bit nicer about moving along and browsing a few feet over after a few minutes.)

"Ah-ha!" I thought "so this is what a bargain bin looks like!" Since I was waiting anyway, I started rummaging through the boxes. I ended up walking away with a couple of back issues of Manhunter, a few titles that I've never read but that look interesting (Arana and Neverwhere), and then a couple that just made me crack up. Mostly the Robotech (totally rocks!) and Voltron comics. Plus, it took long enough that the line was gone.

Comic store guy started ringing me up and asked "No Buffy?" and then immediately started to apologize for stereotyping.

I cut him off with "Wait! You have copies?!" all the while mentally kicking myself for not paying better attention to it's release date.

"Yeah, two left, I think." Said comic book guy #2.

So I ran to get one of them; they were in the section I had to look at by glancing around other people and the title is little itty bitty, so I don't feel too stupid.

I got back to the counter and cbg #1 apologized again and said something about me getting Dark Tower. I told him I was glad he asked and then feel a little guilty for making it more likely that women who don't want Buffy will have to hear that every time they come into the shop.

Whether he did the right thing or not depends on why he mentioned Buffy. If it was because I'm a girl, that was stupid. If it was because he had made a guess based on the reading material I was already getting, that's cool. As a fellow bookseller, I consider it part of the job description. If it was because I'm a girl and because of my reading material....that's the part I'm not sure about. But I also know I've been guilty of doing this myself.

ps - I was checking the dates for a couple of festivals/conventions that I'm considering going to, and I noticed that Comicon pre-registration (ie the cheaper tickets) ends Monday. I was thinking of going this year, but I hadn't decided yet. Any opinions on the matter? Does anyone have any idea how much the single day tickets cost?