she was so turned on when she saw the size of my... comic collection

[thehefner]

Some boyfriends make their girls mix tapes. I'm making Henchgirl a couple boxes of comics to borrow while she's back in Tuscaloosa for the next month and a half. A longbox and a half, to be exact, both packed fit to burst with tons of Batman, Morrison's ANIMAL MAN, the cult classic MAJOR BUMMER, Dini's entire DETECTIVE COMICS run, a near-complete run of THE QUESTION, and more, plus whatever else she wants to take.

She's been helping me to reorganize my entire comic collection. I have fifteen long boxes, which amounts to roughly 5,200 comics, plus many graphic novels (which she also helped organize; my bookshelves have never looked so hot). We've been tearing into them, sorting the comics first by company (DC, Marvel, etc), then by character/team (Batman, GL, JLA/E/I/U), then by title (BATMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS, LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT), then in numerical order.

People keep assuming I've forced her to do this. They look at her with winking sympathy and say, "You're a very supportive girlfriend." It drives her nuts, even though she does painfully understand that she is one of, like, five straight DC Comics fangirls in existence. I'm talking superheroes here. Not Neil Gaiman. Not RUNAWAYS. Not BUFFY. Not even X-MEN. Capes and tights all the way, with an emphasis on Batman and particularly his rogues gallery.

Have I mentioned how ridiculously frelling lucky I am?

No, y'see, this collection reorganization was her idea, partially because it gave her an excuse to delve into everything that I have. We were about three hours into the process, having successfully sorted them into company and character, when she had to stand. Not just to stretch--because comic sorting is seriously not comfortable after long periods--but because she had to jump me.

"You have SO. MANY. COMICS," she said, seizing me with newsprint-smudged fingers. "You have two longboxes of BATMAN!" *KISS!* "You have one and a half for GREEN LANTERN!" *KISS!* "You have THE QUESTION!" *KISS!* "You have THE SPIRIT!" *KISS!* "You." *KISS!* "Have." *KISS!* "THE SHADOW!!!" *KISSKISSKISSKISSKISSTONGUEKISS!*

I don't know if anyone, in the history of the world, ever literally shared a geekgasm before. We're pioneers, we are. Sexy, geeky pioneers.

There was so much more said and done afterward that I wish we'd have thought to write it all down for posterity. Maybe we're just blinded by our own passion, but I gotta say, I think we're kind of totally awesome together. We need to be recording this somehow. We need to have cameras following us at all times, or at least have the iPhone always turned onto dictation mode so we can transcribe our amazing geekery for later. I honestly think we have it in us to become the first geek power couple.

Here's hoping the next month and a half apart doesn't suck too badly. And that she takes good care of my comics. They're almost as important to me as she is.

Comments

[jellied.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy for you. I can only imagine being just as happy/lucky as you two.

Btw, only five DC fangirls? Hrmm.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Well, okay, probably more than that, but you're all so rare and spread out! And so many of them aren't into the comics, but rather the movies, which just isn't the same thing at all!

Then again, it's hard to find anybody, male or female, who I could geek out with the same way as I can with Henchgirl. If more customers at the comic store were like her, I'd definitely still be working there!

[jellied.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I get that. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope sometimes at FP. It's enough to make forget why I like working in comics so much.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I can only imagine, based on the kind of asshats Henchgirl encounters in comic shops and at cons. I've been plying her with stuff like Brubaker's CATWOMAN and the Giffen/DeMatteis JUSTICE LEAGUE run just to keep her from giving up on comics altogether!

[jellied.livejournal.com]

Well it's that a lot of management issues right now. I think I understand why you were so frustrated at your old store while I was happily/blissfully puttering around my mom and pop shop.

Though on the upside, I have met Neal Adams, Dan Slott, and Chris Claremont. And Eli Roth smiled at me once.

[sharrainchains.livejournal.com]

That sounds so sweet - not the disgusting/schmoopy variety of sweet, but the real thing. Very lucky! I hope the time apart is bearable.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

We snark enough (she's teaching me how) to cut any moments of saccharine sappiness, so that helps! Very lucky indeed, and here's hoping as well!

[tamburlaine.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. I want to see pics.


(I swear that's not as creepy as it reads.)

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

What, of the newly reorganized comic collection, or of us? Damn it, we totally do need photos! We've had a couple of ideas for photos, mainly centered around dressin' up in costumes for Halloween, but they never panned out. We'll get something soon, I reckon. Stay tuned, true believer!

This...

[american-arcane.livejournal.com]

...makes me smile a lot.

Frellin' awesome, indeed. :)

Shared passion is an amazing thing--especially when it's for something other than just one another.

[shadowlongknife.livejournal.com]

This is freaking awesome, Hef. Seriously. Highfives to both you and Henchgirl.

[kagome654.livejournal.com]

D'awwww. That is just too cute.

[darkestnova.livejournal.com]

You have Morrison's Animal Man? I would have jumped you myself over that. I'm allowed to read these too, right?

[treyhawk.livejournal.com]

You have the makings of an entertaining reality show right there. I hear TLC is look for a replacement series. Perhaps Henchgirl and you should talk to them.

And I'm *very* jealous that you have a series run of THE QUESTION. I had forgotten much about him until I started Netflixing JLU and seeing what they have done with him. Now I am working through his back story via DC comic reference books.

[viizou.livejournal.com]

*grin* Very cool! I'm really happy for you!

For the longest time, I assumed I wouldn't like dating a manga geek like myself, because then we would just talk of nothing else, and since manga is my PhD topic (i.e., work), I would end up wanting to shoot myself. Buuut... for a while now, the boyfriend has been getting into mangs (without any pushing on my part whatsoever), and I have to say, it's not as bad as I thought. It's actually really nice that he now knows what I'm doing. Now, if only he would stop pilfering my collection and start one of his own, buying all the series I don't have yet... then I think I'd just have to marry him.
:-)

[rosered2318.livejournal.com]

this is happiness =)

[superfan1.livejournal.com]

That very sweet and adorable.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

So very happy for you. And glad you're appreciating the degree to which you're lucky.