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.