I used to gatekeep my comic collection and it took a kid at a con to show me

For years I had this rule that nobody touched my long boxes, not even my friends. I thought it was about keeping them mint. Then at Emerald City Comic Con last year, I saw a dad trying to show his son a specific issue, but the kid was scared to even ask the vendor to see it. The dad said, 'It's okay, some people just like to look.' That hit me. I realized I was making comics feel like a museum, not a fun thing to share. My whole attitude was wrong. How do you guys balance keeping your stuff nice with letting other people enjoy it too?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_jackson6520d ago

Get some nice plastic sleeves for your favorite books, it protects them from fingerprints. The rest can be handled more freely for reading and sharing. That way you keep the grails safe but still let people enjoy the stories.

patriciap5220d ago

Plastic sleeves are a total game changer for the books you really love. I put them on my signed copies and first editions, and they still look brand new. Lets you actually enjoy your collection without worrying about damage.

nina73518d ago

My friend had a similar wake up call when his nephew wanted to read his old X-Men comics. He was like @william_jackson65 and got some sleeves for his key books, then let the kid dive into the rest. Seeing someone else get that excited over a story reminded him why he started collecting in the first place. It's about the joy, not just the condition.