Yeah, we’re in chrysalis mode here at Snap Judgments, big changes coming soon to layout and whatnot. Change is good!
But not some change. At the store, we try to be careful on what kids can and cannot get their grubby little hands on when it comes to common perceptions of ‘inappropriate material’. When we get the more mature graphic novels (loosely defined as a store policy regarding extreme graphic violence or boobies), we slip them in a bag and put a label that says customers must be over 16 or 18 to view and/or purchase. Yeah, not everyone does this and it’s a little awkward for people wanting to browse through certain Vertigo titles or art books or manga. but it’s better to be safe than sorry with parents.
So when I see Y the Last Man, a book we bag up due to mature themes and nudity and sex and a bunch of things that mothers can get riled up about, right next to the young adult section, I feel weird. I mean, Minx, yes! Perfect! But… Y the Last Man? Really?
Ah, not like Borders doesn’t have worse in just as close a reach to kids or that there’s a chance anyone’s going to go sue them over content. Just weird to have that sudden moment of self-doubt and work-induced censorship at a store that doesn’t have to follow the same rules we do.
3 Comments
I dunno, I used to read highly graphic Clive Barker TPBs in the bookstore when I was a wee lass and it never did me any harm! In fact, reading highly inappropriate books in the bookstore was, like, what I did when I was a kid; Barker, King, Ludlum, Geiger… you name it, I was all over it. I think reading would become much more popular with kids if more realised just what fun stuff you can get into; none of this rubbish ‘ratings system’ on books! Buy whatever you want! And adults will approve because you’re showing interest in literature. Hur hur hur…
Then again, I think I have an in-principle objection to being inconvenienced just because some hysterical moral minority can’t adequately supervise their children. Though I have the luxury of my ideological outrage since I don’t own a shop; it would probably be different if I actually had to deal with it directly. :\
Oh, don’t get me wrong; I was once the same way, reading all the dirty books the library couldn’t catch me with and I’d like to think it broadened my horizons as a young’un as to make judgments as to what was and was not appropriate for me.
But sadly, with great power comes great responsibility and as part of a business, I need to respect the customers, no matter how hysterical they are. Hey, takes all kinds.
(I recommend working in a comic store to get this kinda bullshit zen, by the way. It’s either this or turning into the Comic Guy from the Simpsons.)
Y the Last Man has made a couple of American Library Association lists, including the 2006 Popular Young Adults books…
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/popularpaperback/06ppya.cfm
…But libraries are infamous for carrying DH Lawrence and Mark Twain atrocities in the same section as Pilgrim’s Progress, so that’s a problematic defense.
I’ve had the same unnerving reaction to the mix of kid friendly books and extremely graphic ones at big chain stores. You’re quite right–their deep pockets and broad branding mean they don’t have to follow the same rules as a specialty store. They could deal with any complaint quite easily, by getting rid of the objectionable material, or all the comics, without much changing their bottom line. They could even reprimand or fire some minimum wage stockboy as a patsy without much repercussion, if they needed to.
Still the worst I’ve seen has been at a couple of independent bookstores, where a couple of knee level bookshelves had used copies of everything from Garfield to Watchmen to Bondage Fairies just waiting for the eager reader.