Feeling Like a Dork in Comic Book Shops

Yesterday I got into a conversation about comic book stores with my co-worker and he suggested a shop just up the road from where I work. Since I haven't made it to a store in over a month so I was pretty muddled about what had/would be out when I went in. So when I went in I had no clue where to start looking. Going into new comic book stores is always slightly intimidating to me. They're all laid out mostly the same but every store has its quirks. Most stores have a wall with the new comics from this week or month and then bins for older comics. But some stores will keep a few previous issues behind the new ones or will have separate bins based on qualifiers I can't identify. To top it off, I'm a chick in a comic book store. On top of my crazy paranoia about personally looking like an idiot who reads shitty comics is the added paranoia that I'm making all women look like idiots who read shitty comics.

My paranoia is kept at manageable levels when I'm in stores like A+ Comics and Collectables in Lexington or The Great Escape in Louisville. The people behind the counter say hi and then go back to what they were doing. The stores feel crowded and slightly intimate like a used book store, only brighter. And you're never the only customer in the store. When I walked into the store my coworker recommended, there were two middle age men behind the counter who mumbled some sort of greeting and then watched me walk across a huge empty room the racks on the side wall. I couldn't help but wonder if they were watching me, trying to guess what girly comics I'd be buying. I couldn't find the issues I was looking for on the wall. I turned around and considered trying to look in the bins for what I wanted but even when I'm at ease I can rarely find what I'm looking for in those. I decided the easiest course of action would be to just ask. Again I wonder if it's my paranoia, but I'm pretty sure they both gave me the dumbass look as I asked them questions. I did ask one genuinely dumb question. I'll be honest. But I also asked to very legit ones. And they did give me polite answers. But the paranoia sits in the back of my head, telling me they wrote me off the moment the saw my boobs come through the door. I wonder if they would've been more verbose if I was a guy. Actually tell me when more of American Vampire was coming in or make a weak attempt to actually help me find something I wanted to buy. Flustered, I turned to leave. With one foot out the door I do a double take and remember my final question, "Do you know when Batwoman's getting her ongoing?" A very visible change came over them. Because I was asking about a lesbian character, I must be a lesbian! Thereby explaining why me and my boobs could actually enjoy comics. They still gave me a terse and useless answer.

Like I said, I've got crazy paranoia. These guys could just be deadbeats who were kinda bummed anyone walked into their store. They could've actually been being nice and my paranoia was twisting it. I have this sort of paranoia for many things (calling delivery people, going into clothing stores for the first time, etc) but it's not nearly as strong as my comic book store paranoia. I think that unlike most of my worries, this one has some basis in fact. Comic book nerds do judge you by what you read/look at/buy. And though I have had no overt references made to my womanliness being a barrier to reading comics, it has been implied. Like many male dominated hobbies, women who attempt to join are ostracized and have to jump through many hoops before they can even consider being involved. No wonder girls don't read comics.