When do I get my decoder ring?

[orangerful]

So I think I'm officially a comic book geek. I can add that merit badge to my shirt.



Saturday we went to Georgetown to pick up my Serenity trading cards that I had asked the comic shop to hold for me. I had done all of this via email. So I walk in and say who I am and they call to the back to find the person I emailed. jimithingy hears the person respond "Oh, he's here!" when told of my arrival. I sorta snicker to myself (see previous post on anonymity).

Anyway, so they are ringing up my trading cards (jimithingy's dad slides in their while I'm browsing the Buffy toys that are right by the checkout desk and pays for the cards) and I suddenly feel this urge to throw down - to show test my comic skillz. It seemed like a nice enough place, I wanted to see what the reaction would be if I, a girl who is somewhat dressed up due to having just come from a play at the Shakespeare Theater, asked them to reccomend a comic.

I start by asking for the Y The Last Man comics, since I'm still missing trade #3 & #4. They were sold out of the exact same issues. So I tell the guy that I really like Brian K Vaughan and can he reccomend anything similar. He begins to ask about Ex Machina - I tell him I've read it. He turns to look thru the superhero stuff - I tell him I just read the Xmen run and Mystique. He starts to reach for 'Runaways' and I tell him I've read those. He has trade #5 in his hands, which I point out is a digest.

I tell him to switch gears, that I love Transmetropolitan, got any of that. ("That's quite a gear switch!" he says) He has a few trades so I pick up the next 3 I need. We talk about Patrick Stewart wanting to play Spider and the rumor that he apparently has at least one of Spider's monologues memorized and either performed it while at the BBC or for Warren Ellis in a bar. I also mention Nextwave but he only has the issues I have. I'm flipping thru the Transmets and he looks above my head, desperate to suggest something to me.

"Have you read 'WE3'?"
"Yes"
*look of awe*

I gesture to the comics behind him "I've started the Preacher series too, though I'm not gonna buy them as I'm afraid they might kill me in my sleep". I think the fact that I had read 'Preacher' and enjoyed it just blew his mind because he sorta stopped trying to suggest anything at that point and just telling me about the next issue I would be reading (when the library gets it shipped in from whatever random state has a copy).

So yeah, anyway, I totally roxxored.

Also, I have read a lot of comics. And a pretty wide range of comics. It makes me happy. (I brought home book 2 of 'walking dead' today (shipped from Ohio of all places) and also 'Hellboy: Weird Tales Vol 2' because I noticed some names on the cover I knew (Frank Cho, Doug Petrie, Craig Thompson...) plus I found out we had the comic book version of 'hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy' and since it's my mission to read every version of that book I had to order it (how many versions of hitchhiker's guide are there! Radio, Book, TV, movie, comic book, trading cards, shadow puppets???)

Is it wrong that I just want to go to comic shops now and do that all the time, just to watch the guys faces as they realize this random chick knows something about modern comics?

Comments

[whitemartyr.livejournal.com]

ha ha ha yeah that's awesome. Yeah you've got me beat. Your tastes are more broad than mine. I'm sooo picky. :p But that is SO awesome. This post/story makes me happy. :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Part of it is that I had you and vertigozooropa and blu_harvest suggesting different titles. And the fact that Joss got into comics and started suggesting titles too hehe, whatever Whedon says, I must do!

luckily, he usually just says "hey lets have a sandwich".

[vertigozooropa.livejournal.com]

Well, if you ever need to know about comics, you know who to ask.

I'll think about it, then give you some suggestions.

Oh, speaking of which, wait a bit, because all the new Vertigo titles are TPB'ing soon.

Loveless and DMZ are very good. Testament, The Exterminators, and American Virgin are iffy.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

can I get authors for those titles - helps me when I'm ordering them from far away libraries ;)

And I have a lot of thanks to you and Kim for reccomending such a wide range of titles to me and getting me HOOKED!

I still need to spend my $20 gift certificate at the local comic shop...any titles that are not TPB'ing anytime soon that I should go pick up?

[blu-harvest.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's wrong at all! If you got it, flaunt it! In all seriousness, I admire you're comics skills! My comic-fu has grown weak from sporadic use. Also, Infinite Crisis has labotomised me, but I digress. Once, you were the learner. Now, you are the master! There is of course, still room for improvement. Next week, I will deliver The Filth as we discussed. Then it truly begins....

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

only a master of EVIL!

yes, it turns out I'll be doing a fly-by tomorrow because the SRC preview is at WCO - so I shall return Alias to you. I still have the Wonder Woman comic and Nick Fury to read...but I just got a bunch of new ones from the library so I'm gonna read those first...

[destertale.livejournal.com]

"Is it wrong that I just want to go to comic shops now and do that all the time, just to watch the guys faces as they realize this random chick knows something about modern comics?"

Just let me know when you go next, we can tag-team. ^_~ lol

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

bwhaha!

it won't work with the comic shop in Glen Burnie - i know they have a girl who works there, so it wouldn't be as shocking hehe. I need to pick out some comics to get with the gift certificate mathew gave me for my b-day!

[teach81.livejournal.com]

What no Archie? Pwned!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

ADULT graphic novels. and new ones too. Archie is more family friendly and definately not "new". :P Though there is an abundance of Archie in this apartment, jimithingy enjoys them.