Rant: That comic book fan at the convention in Chicago last weekend really got under my skin

I was just browsing the back issue bins at a booth in Rosemont and this guy next to me started lecturing a kid about how he was holding his bagged comics wrong, like it was some kind of sacred ritual, has anyone else run into these gatekeepers at shows who make new fans feel unwelcome?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair9902d ago

That "sacred ritual" stuff is exactly why new fans get turned off. Gatekeepers like that act like they own the hobby, making everyone else feel dumb for not knowing the secret handshake. They're the reason comic shows feel cliquey sometimes.

kai_ramirez382d ago

and the thing is it's not even just comics man. i've seen the same gatekeepy vibe at local gaming meetups and even at that one board game cafe downtown. like i walked in once just to check it out and some dude immediately asked me "oh you actually play or just here for the aesthetic" like bro chill. it's this weird thing where people turn their hobbies into a whole personality and feel the need to protect it like some secret club. makes it feel impossible to just try stuff without getting side-eyed if you don't know the deep lore.

the_ben2d ago

Hear me out on this one. I'm not saying the guy wasn't being annoying, but is it really that deep? Like the kid was holding his bag wrong, okay yeah it's a little uptight but it's not like he got yelled at or kicked out. I've been going to shows for years and honestly, most people are just there to dig through boxes and talk about the one random issue they found. @blair990 I get the complaint about gatekeepers making it feel cliquey, but I think there's a difference between a grumpy dude who needs to chill and some organized secret club keeping people out. The kid probably forgot about it five minutes later when he found a cool variant cover he liked. Sometimes we build up these little moments into bigger problems than they really are.