Gatekeeping or protecting the hobby? Met a guy at my local shop who told a new reader to 'go home and research first'

I was at Cosmic Comics in downtown Portland last Saturday, just browsing the new releases. There's this older guy, probably 50s, in a vintage X-Men shirt. A kid maybe 19 or 20 walks up holding a copy of House of X #1 and asks if it's a good starting point. The guy looks at him dead serious and says, 'You need to at least read the Claremont run from the 80s or you won't get half the references. Go home, do some research, then come back.' The kid just put the book down and walked out. I stood there feeling torn because on one hand, I get wanting to preserve the history and depth of these characters. But on the other hand, that kid might never pick up another comic again. So which side are you on? Is that kind of gatekeeping necessary to keep the fandom from getting watered down, or is it just pushing away new blood?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_butler1d ago

That reminds me of the time I asked a guy at a record store about a punk album and he spent 20 minutes lecturing me on why the 80s UK hardcore scene was the only real punk. I stood there nodding until he was done, bought the album anyway, and honestly I still don't care about whatever obscure feud he was on about. People just like feeling like they're the guardian of something special, but scaring off a new person helps nobody.

ruby_foster931d ago

Ngl, this is exactly the kind of thing that keeps hobbies from growing, and honestly it happens everywhere. @nina_butler's record store story is spot on. I see this at coffee shops, bookstores, even the gym. Like there's this unspoken rule where some people think if you haven't put in your ten years of time, you don't deserve to enjoy something. It's weird because everyone was new once. Tbh, the guy could have just said "Yeah, House of X is a great start, just jump in and look stuff up as you go." It's not that hard to be nice. I get wanting to protect the history, but a kid walking out the door is a lost fan, not a preserved canon.