Hot take: I used to gatekeep my comic collection until a friend called me out

A buddy of mine, who's new to comics, asked to borrow my 'Saga' hardcovers last year. I gave him this whole speech about handling them right, which honestly just made him feel bad. He said, 'I mean, I just want to read the story, not pass a museum test.' That stuck with me. I realized I was more focused on the object than the shared love of the stories. Now I just put a simple plastic cover on loaners and tell people to enjoy it. Has anyone else had to check their own fan behavior like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

miam751mo agoMost Upvoted

Some things are meant to be shared carefully, not just handed out.

felix_lane991mo ago

Nah, I gotta disagree on this one. Holding stuff back too much just makes things weird and secretive. Sharing openly builds way more trust in the long run. Keeping everything locked up feels like you're playing games, and that's exhausting for everyone.

amy_foster791mo ago

Remember how you said you put plastic covers on loaners now? That's the key part you got right. Sharing carefully is exactly what miam75 meant. It's not about locking things away, it's about simple steps so everyone can enjoy it. My brother borrowed my first edition of The Dark Knight Returns and got a tiny coffee ring on it. I was bummed, but he loved the story so much we talked about it for hours. A plastic sleeve would have saved my book, but his excitement was the real win.