On one hand, if the newsletter were full of nothing but ringing praise you would feel alienated by the lack of sincerity. We’re all smart enough to know when we’re being sold something and when we’re been fed a sales pitch. If the newsletter were noting but an ad… an e-mail flyer, essentially… you would feel that you were pandered to and treated like a passive consumer, merely a target for a hucksterish sales pitch.

On the other hand, absolute conviction doesn’t work in any sales scenario, either. While it’s technically not lying to only highlight your favorite comics, it’s sort of dishonesty by omission. You’re purposely creating the false illusion that your product, by and large, is better than what it really is. However, this is an absolute necessity to good business. Yes, these comic book retailers are businessmen and yes, they should be held to that specific standard. But on the other hand, all businessmen are weasels by their very nature so what can you do?

If they go one way, they’re phonies, if you go the other way, they’re shit salesman whose passion overrides their desire to make money.

The only moral of this story is that capitalism and genuineness are polar opposites and mutually exclusive. If you want to be a good salesman, you have to slightly misrepresent your product (if not flat-out lie, then at least go out of your way to disproportionately emphasize the positive) and if you want to keep it real, you have to suck as a salesman.

There’s no way this guy could satisfy both requirements and I bet dollars to doorknobs everybody would be here bitching and moaning if their inbox were full of cheesy money-grab-style solicitations. It’s popular for internet snark mavens to sneer about having the industry we deserve, but if the comic book industry were truly popular, they’d be whining about the level of falseness the snake-oil peddlers were shilling. Comics pundits have a real love-hate thing going on with the almighty dollar. It’s always the guys who claim to be “art over commerce” that beg for money the hardest or complain the most about lack of profits.

I am ambivalent.

Of course, I’m always glad to hear an informed, honest assessment of a product, when I ask for it. Guy at the stereo store tells me that the pricier stereo isn’t any better than a cheaper model? That’s cool. Guy at the comic store gives his honest but diplomatic opinion, something like, “Based on what you get, I don’t think you’d enjoy New Avengers”? Also cool. Again, I’m very glad to be told that something I’m considering buying may not be all that great, if I ask about it.

An unsolicited condemnation of a product is not good business practice, no matter how many people try to twist it into being the equivalent of “the honest shopkeeper.”

That said, I like someone who’s honest about ehat they like and don’t like. It makes them feel less like shills and more like people aho are genuinely interested n the subject. That said, the problem with the review above is really only one thing; the phrase “not buy”. “Not for me” would be better, nicer and smarter.

That said, I’m still shocked by how many post-adolescent comics fans still buy stuff like X-Men, so maybe I can sympathize with the review just a tad too much.

I can’t think of anything dumber that a shop owner telling people that their taste sucks or that the books they CHOSE to spend their money on are lousy. I’ve had some clerks go through my stack and make comments: crap, crap, great, sucks, awesome, killer, junk, lame, etc. etc.. Suicidal.