Nathan Fillion goes all Captain Reynolds

[annathepiper]

Word out of the Browncoat Brigade has it that Nathan Fillion, our very own Captain Mal, recently went into a comic book store in search of a copy of the first issue of the new Serenity comic--one with his character on it, which he wanted to purchase for his mom. It seems further that the store in question had only one copy of the issue left, which they were selling for $20, and the guy at the counter flat refused to sell the issue to Nathan for the U.S. cover price.

Nathan was apparently less than pleased, and has sounded off to the legions of Browncoats to express his displeasure. (Thanks to kent_s for the link!)

Man, oh man. I read that blog entry and the link it quotes in turn over on fireflyfans.net, and according to that thread, the reason that the store was charging $20 for the issue is because it's how much they paid for it. But I'm also seeing reports on that thread from locals in Edmonton that the store in question has a history of pulling stunts like this.

Even if you're not a fan of the show and haven't watched any of it, how non-observant do you have to be to not realize that the guy who's standing in front of you buying a comic book is in fact the guy whose face is on the cover? I've seen that cover art! It's a good likeness! And how not-sharp do you have to be to miss a golden opportunity to get some actual autographs on merchandise in your store?

Maaaaaaan. I would not want to be that comic book store guy right now. He's apparently getting reams of pissed off email and phone calls from the Browncoats as word is spreading of Nathan's ire.

EDIT 4:32pm--And oh yeah, here is an LJ post quoted by the aforementioned fireflyfans.net thread. Apparently this is the LJ of one of the store employees, and he's getting in reams of comments, too. Best quote so far out of the thread:

"So whether you were right or wrong, I suggest you find a way to make peace with the Browncoats. They were born angry and fightin'; and they never forget a grudge."

Comments

[kirbyk.livejournal.com]

Man, I'm glad I've got my copy!

Though, it's not the Mal cover, I got the Inara one. I dunno if this matters. (I order my comics from an online source, out of previews, and I didn't really have any info other than the artist names to make my choice. Which were made pretty arbitrarily. I dunno which cover I'm getting next!)

[annathepiper]

Meems, courtesy of lyricae, has acquired two copies of the Mal cover for herself and me, so I'll be getting mine soon. Yay!

We're holding out for Kaylee for issue #2, which should be out Wednesday!

[annathepiper]

Hah! Yeah, I was wondering if you had any data to share about the place since I knew you live up in that neck of the woods. This certainly syncs up with what I've seen locals in Edmonton posting about on the threads I've been reading.

I've been seeing various people post about various smoother replies that Nathan might have made to the guy, too, and I can't help but be more sympathetic to him just because he didn't do any of those smoother things. Makes him feel more like a regular guy. :) If it had been me, I'd have stomped out of the store in a huff, too!

[me-fein.livejournal.com]

Never piss off a Browncoat.

That was the bestest thing I've heard about all day! Squeeeee!!!

[annathepiper]

*grin* Ain't it just? Me, I'm just grateful I'm not in the line of fire.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

My local comic store (by which I mean the comic book store closest to my parents' house, which is not really local but in fact requires a half-hour of highway driving to get to) is reordering them, and is keeping one for me. Very nice of them. I wonder which cover I'll get?

[annathepiper]

I have a Mal cover on the way to me, and I'm hoping for Kaylee and River for issues #2 and #3! Yay!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I will be happy regardless of the covers, though I'm kinda hoping to get a Wash one. I love Wash. He's me, sort of. I have better taste in shirts, and he has better biceps, but aside from that?

There is a comic store closer to me, but it's staffed mostly by stereotypes who go "0_o boobies!" when I go in and try to steer me towards fluffy comics when I like the ones that have stuff blowing up and superheroes and things.

X-Men is being really well written at the moment. I love me some Gambit angst.

[annathepiper]

Now, I haven't been regularly following any comics for quite some time and never actually bought any but Elfquest--but hey, I like me some X-Men, yeah! Glad to hear it's in good hands right now. :)

Shame about that local store, though!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Very good hands - and Larroca's drawing. He's my favourite comic artist.

It is a shame, really, but I have to say I really like the one on Taschereau Blovd. The guy who works there is really funny and calls me "Stealth Girl" because for some reason I don't activate the 'door's open!' beeper.

Maybe that's my superpower. I cause electronics to go wonky; streetlamps extinguish when I walk under them far too often for it to be merely coincidence!

[annathepiper]

Stealth Girl. Hee! Dara kills watches, herself. And she's been known to kill streelights too.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

I surprise people a lot, non-electronically, too. I walk very quietly (odd for someone my size - I think it's that my toes go down before my heels, and my knees bend funny so there's not muc up-down), and shut doors soundlessly, thanks to years of being told to 'go out again and come in properly!' by my mother!

[annathepiper]

There is a certain trick to walking quietly, yeah--the toe thing is part of it. Do you do the thing where you sort of roll your foot along whatever you're walking on, rather than just tromp right down? I'm not sure I'm describing it right, but that's kind of how Dara always describes how to walk quietly to me. (I can't quite do it well with my current pair of shoes, which is vaguely vexing, but the shoes are otherwise quite cool and comfy, so I don't mind the clomping so much.)

And I try to pull doors to quietly, too!

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do that. Doesn't everyone walk like that? It must be hard to just plonk your foot down all at once - I only do that when I'm stomping :p

[annathepiper]

*grin* I find it rather easy, actually--all it takes is not paying attention when I'm going downhill, and also, my current pair of thick-soled shoes.

(Which are quite clompy, but also quite comfortable and good for walking. So!)

[annathepiper]

I don't think it's fair to say all the comic stores--heck, just by reading the threads I've quoted, I've seen several people saying that they've easily found other places that have sold the Serenity comics at their cover prices, without the insane markup mentioned at this particular store. I'm not saying the stuff you mention doesn't happen, just that it's not fair to generically accuse all comic book stores of doing this kind of thing. The two we've always gone to in the University District over the years have been reasonable places.

Also, I haven't heard of any of the local Firefly fans having to pay exorbitant prices for their copies, for what it's worth. :) The only real reason that Meems and I had to get our copies via Cheryl online is because we were five days too late and all the rabid local Browncoats slurped 'em up fast, fast, fast!

[wiredwizard.livejournal.com]

Annie, Annie, Annie... Y'all are wasting your energy. W/ every email & phone call, Darryl the Pirate is laughing harder & harder. To him, all this fuss is nothing more than free advertising. The only thing that will have any affect on that moneygrubber is a hit on his *profit margin. You want him to feel the Browncoats' ire? Have them boycott his stores!
Warp 1, Warp 2, Mars & Venus, White Knight, Sanctuary - the lot of them. Then he might notice. Until then, he's just going to laugh.

[annathepiper]

*grin* Actually, I'm only posting about this because it amuses me; I haven't sent him a darned thing, and I'm not calling for anyone to do so either. I do not live in Edmonton, I am hardly in a position to put my money where my mouth is by refusing to patronize his establishments.

Besides, from what I've been seeing, the good folk of Edmonton are already covering that, anyway.

[wiredwizard.livejournal.com]

You have the ear of the Browncoats though. I don't. I'd love to see old One-Eye toppled from his seat of despotic rule over the majority of the comic business in town...

[annathepiper]

Er, I only have the ear of any fans of the show who actually read my journal. If you define a Browncoat as someone who's a member of the official fan club for Firefly, it doesn't apply to me. I only heard about all this in the first place from kent_s, who helpfully provided the links to the relevant threads. I'm not actually on the fireflyfans.net board, nor the official Browncoats board. So at best, I'm a Browncoat in spirit. ;)

[wiredwizard.livejournal.com]

That's more contact than I've got. ;)

[annathepiper]

Eh, well, I relayed the links of the relevant threads. Go jump in on them if you're interested in actually doing anything with 'em. Or not, whatever works for you. ^_^

[kissare.livejournal.com]

Well, they seem like scuzzballs with lousy business practices; all *I* know is that I'm inclined to believe they are slimeball liars based on the statement, which was repeated several times over the course of trying to slog through all those posts in that link, that the comic was priced that high at that store because that's how much THEY paid for it. Nowhere did it say, "We are charging $20 because we paid $15," or whatever. Each time, it was "It's $20 because that's how much we paid for it." No it's not. Do they seriously think anyone's going to believe that they paid their middleman $19.99 then turned around and sold it at NO PROFIT WHATSOEVER? It's a fairly minor detail in the grand scheme of things, but if they're going to be liars about that, I'm inclined to think they're likely liars about other things as well.

They have got to have the crummiest business practices I've heard of yet.

[annathepiper]

I asked a friend of mine who lives up there in Edmonton, and he corroborates that this store owner has a history of pulling stuff like this, indeed. Thomas also reports that he and his brother are actually rather amused by the entire kerfuffle, and Thomas is fighting off the urge to wander by the store, chuckle, and say, "So, pissed off the Browncoats, did you?"

I asked him how much of an impact he thinks it might have on the guy's business, if at all; I'm not particularly convinced it'll do much. It'll be a bit amusing to see what happens, anyway.

[kissare.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't count on a major impact. It sounds like his business practices are well known in his area, and still he has customers and makes sales. I just can't comprehend giving my patronage to a store where I was treated that way.

[annathepiper]

Yeah, pretty much. Thomas told me he'd already begun to start buying things from the local Chapters stores, anyway--he gets better prices there. Ah well!

Me, I'm happy to have my copy of the issue in question, now. ^_^

[technosage.livejournal.com]

Best quote so far out of the thread:

"So whether you were right or wrong, I suggest you find a way to make peace with the Browncoats. They were born angry and fightin'; and they never forget a grudge."

No lie, hon. That's almost worse than frakkin' with a bunch of riled up RWA-ers.

On second thought, it's worse. Much worse. *g*

Thanks for the report.

[annathepiper]

You're very welcome!