There’s a new Tumblr worth checking out called “Safe Spaces for Comics Fans.” The Tumblr is an effort to document shops that are committed to being a positive and inclusive environment for every type of comics fan.
Comic shops are notoriously hit and miss when it comes to being inclusive of women, lgbt, PoC, and other minority comics fans. This tumblr is for you to share your positive or negative comic shop experiences, so that fellow comics fans can find friendly local comic shops, and be warned of which shops to avoid.
So far there’s only one Bay Area shop on the list (Dr. Comics and Mr. Games), but I can’t think of any shops in the coverage area of this website that aren’t inclusive (FWIW, I haven’t visited all of them yet).
Amusingly, there are very few shops on the master list with a strike-through which indicates an “unsafe space.” One of those few shops happens to be Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. I can’t say this is a surprise. I’ve watched two episodes of Comic Book Men and had to stop, because the employees are poor ambassadors of our fandom perpetuating and reinforcing an increasingly outdated stereotype.
