Met a guy at a con who had the wildest pull method

I was at the small comic shop in Portland last Saturday digging through the back issue bins. This older guy next to me pulled out a copy of X-Men #266 and just handed it to me saying "first appearance Gambit, you look like you'd appreciate it." He didn't even buy it himself, just wanted me to see the cover art. Has anyone else had a random stranger at a shop go out of their way to show you something cool?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianaanderson20d ago

Portland back issue bins, huh? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a nice gesture and all, but I gotta side-eye the idea that this is like some "comic book handshake" thing @emery_white mentioned. I've had dudes at shops randomly shove books in my face to show off a crease or a color splash, and like half the time they're just excited to talk at someone. It's cool, but it's not, you know, some profound bonding ritual. Dave is out here treating a five-second pointer like it was a secret fraternity induction or something. It's just paper and ink, people get way too serious about a guy with claws and a guy who can throw cards.

the_thea20d ago

Same. It's just someone pointing at paper, not a secret handshake.

emery_white20d ago

My buddy Dave had this happen to him at a shop in Denver. A guy pulled him aside and showed him a beat up copy of Amazing Spider-Man #300, just to point out the McFarlane art style. He didn't buy it or anything, just wanted Dave to see how the ink work looked different on the actual paper vs in a reprint. Dave still talks about that random encounter like it was some kind of comic book handshake or something.