expatNERD

Category: Solicitations

  • 07 – Letter Hack

    07 – Letter Hack

    Remember those things called letter pages, that would appear at the end of the comic book? This was an attempt by the publisher to garner and include feedback of the various issues, interestingly both good and bad. In the ‘olden’ days, every comic book had them, and if you had an issue that did not include it, either that series was doomed, or the editor/assistant editor simply did not have time to do it. I, for one, loved the letters pages and sometimes you would see the same name quite often, and these individuals were called letter hacks.

    They do exist in todays comics albeit sporadically. Marvel, for one, does include them quite often. DC, on the other hand, decided to remove them entirely. So I do wonder when something happens that you do not like, or perhaps really like, how do you let the publisher know? Well, if you did buy new comics you would know exactly what to do. If you are Curt, on the other hand, who has not bought anything new for quite a while, you resort to the old way.

  • 06 – Shelving

    06 – Shelving

    I don’t like to peel back the curtain too much, but I do swear on my comic book store that this exchange actually happened. I was also surprised by my ingenious plan, because it did actually work.

    If you own a store full of comic books, part of the joy is watching those eyes light up as they are absolutely enchanted by the wonderness that they discover within those two covers, perhaps even for the first time. Chances are, they will continue the hobby and collect and collect to their heart’s content. And then there comes a day when those same eyes return to you full of horror and sadness. Because now they have to figure out a way to store those items they bought that now probably have a count well within the thousands.

    Many solve this problem by putting them in the aptly termed longbox. Others prefer the device of their youth and put them in drawers. But for me, I have always preferred to put them on shelves, where they can live and breathe and be admired from afar. There is something about storing them in a box and putting them in a dark room that never appealed to me.

    But then there arises another conundrum. If you do not live in a space all by yourself but have to share one, perhaps that person you share it with does not like to look at your shelf despite the untold treasures it holds. Because to a ‘normie’, your well-kept medium that has been carefully placed in a plastic holder along with a board in reality looks like something that belongs to a crazy person. The normie would conclude that a Howard Hughes like person lives here and the only thing missing are jars of pee. But, if you were to adorn those same shelves with pictures of the person you occupy the space with, you have managed to transform yourself from hoarder to an adoring partner who actually cares about them.

    Seriously, try it. And then thank me later.