[Bin Beat] Romper Room

I have heard that people who attend church every week get annoyed when the see the turn-out on Christmas Eve and Easter.  It’s difficult to get a seat or a parking spot… they’re cramped and uncomfortable… and they’re stuck dealing with people that only show up once or twice a year.  This is just how I feel during coupon weekends at Half-Price Books.

All year long nobody cares about reading… toss’em a coupon?  It’s Midnight Mass.  Suddenly everyone in town discovers the joy of shopping for books.  Nothing wrong with that… certainly makes good business sense… but, for me?  It’s pretty annoying.

Now, I don’t go into Public Service Announcement mode much.  Like, honestly… who am I to proclaim anything?  I’m just a jerk on the Internet… but… I think I’ve got something here.

The comic book section of Half-Price Books is NOT the store’s daycare section.  Please do not leave your (under 5 year old) children climbing all over the shelves and bins, throwing product all over the floor, tearing covers off books… and just causing chaos.

First of all, if I’m the only adult present… I don’t want to be the sole witness of your kid hurting themselves.

Secondly, I don’t want the store to think these are my kids… and I’m letting them destroy their product.

Third, I don’t want to feel responsible if one of your kids wanders off.  I’ve actually had parents ask ME where their kids went.  I have no idea lady… where did YOU go?

Very young children running around a store unattended, mixed in with a massive influx of new looky-loo couponers is a dangerous combination.  One I’d rather not have to deal with.  This is a freakishly common occurrence in HPB… at least the ones I frequent.

Parents patting their kids on the head, saying “Oh, go stand over by the cah-mecks.  Mommy will be over here.” as they meander across the store toward the DVD section.  Jeez.

So, here’s my weaksauce PSA: Do not leave your children unattended… and, not just because they’re in my way… well maybe, partly because they’re in my way.  I just don’t want to be around if anything goes down.

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This big coupon weekend was a bit of a letdown.  I had a few books on my peripheral radar, however they were either no longer available… or available and in cruddy condition… another unfortunate result of looky-loo butterfingers.  These books… torn covers, missing pages, and all will haunt (and irritate) me each time I return to the store.

The quarter-bin deities didn’t so much smile upon me… though, they did smirk.

Decent, if not a tad underwhelming finds.  I was surprised to find “Superman Takes a Wife”, which features the Golden-Age Superman’s wedding to Lois Lane… a charming little tale, I’m super happy to have it.  Found the one issue of Grant Morrison’s Happy! that has alluded me… can finally (eventually) give that a proper read.

Ran into some decent stretches of both early Azrael and Books of Magic.  Not sure I’ll get around to them any time soon… still nice to have in the library.

The wacky find of the week was easily the King James Powerade promotional comic.  This kinda thing is why I’ll always dig through the cheap-o bins.  You never know what offbeat oddity you’re gonna come across.

In trades, the only thing that caught my eye was a import copy of Seth’s George Sprott 1984-1975 from Random House.  I took an American Literature class some time ago, which focused on American comic books.  One of the books I had to read (and write a great deal about) was George Sprott.  I initially read a digital version provided by the University… I’m glad to now have a physical copy.  Used my coupon on this one, so I only paid about four-and-change for it.

In the manga clearance section, I came across the final five volumes of Video Girl Ai.  A few summers ago I read through Masakazu Katsura’s I”s, and found myself enjoying it far more than I thought I would.  I’ve been grabbing Video Girl Ai volumes as I come across them in clearance, at a buck a’piece, I couldn’t resist.  Ai’s story comes across so charmingly 1980’s, looking forward to completing my set.

So, all told… This coupon-weekend did not go as well as I would have hoped… though, I can’t say I’m completely disappointed.  Hope all my fellow hunters had a fun time, and made some great finds!

Thanks for reading.

Just received last week’s Discount Comic Books Service order, so for completionist’s sake…