snap judgments

But I promise it was after hours on my own time.

You see, back a couple years ago, I was getting in trouble for reading too many comic blogs on work time. I’ll admit it, I was an idiot (but this did lead me to shout gleefully at the esteemed Graeme McMillan at my first WonderCon, “HEY YOUR BLOG ALMOST GOT ME FIRED!”, which explains why I don’t do any interviews), but at that time, I had a deep desire to know. What were people taking about? What was ‘good’? What was ‘bad’? Any scoops or special insider info that could make me a more competent comic clerk? And not just know, but be heard too; as a chick working at a comic shop, it was easy to get shut out of geekly discussions and have to fume at the counter by myself. My poor husband has heard many fueled rants and glowing praise for people he’d never even heard of, let alone care to. Reading the infamous Fanboy Rampage not only gave me a way to seeing venting clear on the screen and know that I was not alone, but … Goddamn, woman! Don’t take yourself so seriously! Look at these yahoos!

Fanboy Rampage, Dave’s Long Box, Beaucoup Kevin and Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin gave me the start, the foundation of what an online community could look like, the good and the bad.  So, after getting chewed out at the workplace, I got back to business, saved up a little cash, and stuck out on my own.

Because we are not alone. No one agrees on anything. We are all a beautiful multitude of fans each with our own little part to play in how comics are received in the modern age. Over time, my links grew, I laughed, I cried, I got Peter David angry at me.. but I can’t say I rampaged.

Well, until now.

It’s so silly, but I want to frame this article (despite my name being spelled wrong; Hewlett is a lovely name!). Instead, I pass quietly into my third year of comic blogging, not so often, not so loud, but apparently passionately.

Which is what this is all about for me. There’s not a day that goes by, no matter what the situation at the store, be it Pokémon tournament, break-in, boss on the warpath or slow sales that I do not turn that key in the door to open the store with some amount of pride. Just some little glee that, “HA HA I’M IN A COMIC SHOP ALL BY MYSELF I WANT TO RUN THROUGH THE AISLES!!” I really do love my job (I should considering how much I get paid) and I really do love my site.

Thanks.