It’s now the holiday season, and that includes Christmas. Since I’m already being asked what people should give me this year, I thought I’d share my thoughts on how to “make merry” wisely in 2025!
‘WHAT DO YOU WANT?’
As a long-time comics fan who has been regularly keeping up with the weekly releases via my local comics shop, when a friend or family member asks me what they could give me for the holiday, I often tell them this: The best thing you can do for both of us is to give me a VISA gift card for the amount you feel is appropriate.
Really. I know some people judge their relationship with others via the size of the box or the cost of the item, but I often have already purchased what I would like to have.
I’ve had friends actually seek out the current shop I frequent, then tell them that I am a big Batman fan (which I am), then ask the person behind the counter what they should give me.
Granted, not everyone who works in the shops I go to know my buying habits, including my weekly pull list. So, the person there directed them to “the most popular Batman trade paperback” they are aware of.
So, when I get the gift and open it up, I try to be pleased and surprised, but I’m not very good at that. That person can immediately tell that I’m disappointed. “You have that already?” they ask. “I actually have the individual issues in this book as well as the hardcover version, so, yeah,” I have to tell them.
That’s usually when I tell them to get me a gift card next time. That works so well because, when I get to the store, I can use it to cover this week’s “stash,” as people call it, and it gives my own VISA card less of a hit before I take my books home and dive into them.
The truth is, many times, I honestly don’t know what I want until I actually see it. I notate on my pull list what I want each month, and they pull it for me, hence the name “pull list.”
Of course, the person in charge of the LCS often guesses, based on what I’ve told them, what I would like. She even ordered a $250 Batman: The Animated Series statue that I had never mentioned or even heard about for me. She did make a good choice, which I happily bought and stands looking at me as I write this. But I don’t trust very many people that way.
Occasionally, I surprise the folks at the LCS when I decide to buy a comic or a figure or a statue that goes against what I’ve told them previously. I like the darker, blacker Batman costume rather than the blue-and-grey suit Adam West wore. However, every so often, I see one bust or something that still appeals to me. They are shocked when I take it to the cash register!
THE INDUSTRY HAS CHANGED!
In years past, I used to pick up everything comic-related from the LCS. That included DVDs, action figures, t-shirts, and other stuff. However, I remember the day when the guy in charge of the comic shop I was buying from at that time told me he no longer would order DVDs because the local Wal-Mart got them months before he could sell them, and they could sell them for a LOT less than he could. That was the end of an era for me!
On the other hand, I remember back before I bought a ton of statues or maquettes and I was frequenting another store. I told them I wanted a Batman statue that represented him from his earliest days, even sporting purple gloves. The guy behind the counter told me, “Okay,” and I didn’t think about it. A few months later, my brother and I were driving from where we lived to where our family’s home was, and we stopped at the halfway point to check out a comic shop we’d never been to. We liked doing that because we often found things we didn’t expect.
Well, when I went into the store, what was displayed prominently buy the very Batman statue I wanted! I asked when it had come out, and they told me it was released two months earlier. I bought it and took it both to my family’s home, then back to where I lived.
The next time I went into the local comics shop, I asked about the statue. “Oh,” the guy behind the counter told me, “we never order statues. Too many people want them until they have to pay for them, and then they pass on them, so we no longer do that.” I told him I wished the person who told me “okay” previously had told me that. He just shrugged and asked what I wanted to buy.
In a few weeks, I had found a different LCS that would order whatever I wanted. Yes, there were times things I wanted would come in and it was tough on my wallet, but the guy in charge worked with me. I often made payments ahead of time so I could take the statue home when it came in. But I got what I wanted!
That era of maquette buying for me is long over now, but it was fun while it lasted! I remember buying two of things I really loved so I could open one, then keep the other. My brother and I stopped at another comics shop, and they had, displayed very nicely, all the Justice League maquettes I really loved, but out of the boxes and on display. I didn’t have a cell phone that could take pictures at that time, so I could only stand there and look at them for as long as possible. I still remember how great they looked! Sigh.
As much as I love the holiday season, I’m also not so big on the gift-giving. I’d rather listen to holiday music and visit with friends, honestly.
I OFTEN SHOP AAT MORE THAN ONE LCS!
The reason I point this out is that I often have a back-up store I like to go to if the first one doesn’t get what I want. They often tell me what didn’t come in will be here in a week or two, but that can stretch out into months if I lose track. I want to get what I want when I want it.
And that’s not a criticism of any one shop. I just have missed out on some books I really wanted to read, then had to resort to digital version to keep up. We’re all human, and we make mistakes—I don’t get my weekly lists 100% right every time, either, so I appreciate it when a store bails me out of a problem.
This is another good reason to give out a generic VISA gift card. I can use it any place I want to buy a comic, not just the main one I go to. I appreciate that!
Now, the bad news is that I have a collection of VISA gift cards I’ve received over the years that have just a few cents left on them. If I ever figure out how to transfer what’s left on those cards to another one, I’ll be happy!
I say all this to point out that giving a gift has to do with making the person you are giving it to happy. It’s not about making you look good by giving bigger boxes and such! And considerate friends give gift cards—really!
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