Guy at the comic shop told me to skip the milestone issues and start with fill-in stories

I was standing there looking at Amazing Spider-Man #300 and this old timer behind the counter said 'put that back, grab the issue right before it instead.' He said the big number issues get overhyped and the real magic is in the quiet stories. I took his advice on a whim and picked up #299 for like $8. It ended up being this killer J.M. DeMatteis issue that set up the Venom reveal way better than I expected. Has anyone else had a shop employee steer you toward something weird that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_schmidt531d ago

Wait, did the guy actually explain why that issue was better or did you just stumble into it? Honestly I read somewhere that DeMatteis had this whole run where he was doing character work that most people overlook because they're chasing the key issues. Ngl that's a solid lesson for a lot of collectors. Big number issues are cool for the shelf but the stories that build up to them are where the real soul is at. I've had shop dudes point me toward random issues before and sometimes it's garbage but other times you find a hidden gem that makes you see a character totally different.

zarapalmer1d ago

Yeah exactly, none of that was planned. I just asked what he'd recommend for someone wanting to understand the character better and he pulled this random issue. He was just really into it, you know? Told me the whole backstory of the writer and why that specific arc mattered. That DeMatteis run you mentioned, I think that's exactly what he was talking about. Stuff like Kraven's Last Hunt or the Death of Jean DeWolff. Those aren't the flashy first appearances or the big event tie-ins but they're what make the character feel real. Shops that have those guys who actually read the books instead of just flipping price guides are worth driving across town for.