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Serious question, is gatekeeping at conventions getting worse?
I was at a small con in Portland last month and this older collector told a kid he couldn't look at a near-mint copy of Giant-Size X-Men #1 because his hands were dirty. The kid was maybe 12 and just super excited. I get protecting comics, but that felt rough. Has anyone else seen collectors treat new fans like they don't belong?
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cameronb524mo ago
Wait, the kid’s hands were actually dirty or the guy just assumed they were? I feel like there’s a difference between wiping down a book after a kid touches it and straight up telling them they can’t look at a comic at all. A lot of these older collectors treat their graded stuff like museum artifacts instead of… well, comics that are meant to be read and enjoyed. Kinda weird to gatekeep a 12 year old over some smudges, especially when they’re the ones keeping the hobby alive down the road.
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veramiller3mo ago
Grabbed a spare napkin from the food court and handed it to the kid so he could wipe his hands, then let him look at the book.
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amybarnes4mo ago
That guy just forgot what it was like to be a kid discovering comics for the first time.
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sean_walker453mo ago
Does that guy actually think 12 year olds are gonna have perfect clean hands all the time? Like, that's just part of the deal when you share a hobby with kids.
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