The Doctor is In: I Have Issues, but My Money’s on the Trade
In The Doctor is In, Allan “Doc” Dorison operates on a specific part of popular culture.
I recently walked into a comic book store in Brooklyn Heights and picked up the newest issue of Kick Ass.
The guy behind counter asked me: “Would you like a bag and board with that?”
“No I’m just going to roll it up, throw it in my back pocket and chuck it when I’m done,” I replied without thinking. The look on the clerk’s face was priceless. I continued: “It’s going to come out in trade paperback in about six months anyway.”
He gasped, then gave me a scowl and an unspoken “F&@% YOU!” as I walked out of the store.
As I strolled down the street with a rolled up comic in my pocket, I started to feel a little guilty. Only ten years ago, I would have torn someone’s head off if they treated a comic that way. Not anymore, though. Had I grown away from my obsessive fanboy tendencies?
Well, I still make weekly trips to the comic shop… I read Wizard regularly… I sneak new “exclusive” and “limited edition” Mighty Muggs onto the shelves of my bookcases even though, as my fiancee reminds me, the tchotchke quota of our apartment has exceeded critical mass… So… Nope. I’m still pretty nerdy.
As I dug deeper into my collector’s soul, I got down to the truth of the matter. Basically, I feel the single issue is dead.
