Before I begin this story, I have a confession to make. I am a geek. Not the kind that bites the heads off chickens in the sideshow, but the kind that does something almost as weird. I collect comic books and related memorabilia. Yes, I know that this isn't considered too strange anymore, but you're probably thinking about what is called the accidental collector. That's the guy who amassed a few boxes full in his childhood and can't stand to part with them for fear of parting with some of his youth as well. I'm referring to the hard core collector who has dozens of boxes, in climate controlled storage where each magazine is carefully encased in sealed plastic bags and the entire lot is inventoried and cross referenced by title and issue number on meticulously kept spreadsheets. I definitely fall into the second category and if that isn't enough, there's something else that sets me apart even from my peers... I'm a woman.
Oh, I'm not saying that I'm the only collector with two "X" chromosomes. I do see other women at conventions and the like though most of them are the wives or girlfriends of collectors. However, we are greatly outnumbered by the guys. Now this wouldn't be such a bad thing, except that most of the guys are geeks too, lacking in even the basic social skills. Gee, I guess that makes me even more different. I'm a female comic collector who can carry on an intelligent conversation about things that aren't related to my hobby (passion?) and I'm well versed in the social graces.
Please don't misunderstand me. It's not that I look down on my fellow comic enthusiasts. In their own way, they're a really fun group of people. And I'll admit that I've taken advantage of my gender at more than one event. During the last several conventions I've attended, I've had virtually all my meals and a few snacks bought for me by adoring fan-boys who are just itching to brag that they had a conversation with a woman who understands and appreciates their collection. Yes, it's shallow and inconsiderate of me to use them for a free meal but I assure you it's never something I initiate. It always starts as a straightforward invitation for me to join them and they just pick up the check. (Gee, maybe they do have a few social skills). I, of course, always protest and offer to at least pay for my own meal but invariably lose the argument.
This particular story that I want to tell you about took place at the Mid-West Toy Faire, a gathering of dealers, collectors and enthusiasts from several states. I'm not a toy collector, per se, but I often find these are good ways to make contacts among those who collect comic related memorabilia. Plus you usually get a sneak preview of the new stuff the toy companies have on the drawing board, just to whet your appetite. .
And that's where it all happened. I was looking at a table of items that were part of the silent auction. My primary fandoms are Spiderman and Batman. Unlike some of my fellow collectors, I didn't mind crossing over between publishers. DC and Marvel both have titles I like and ones I don't like as well. Spiderman has long been a favorite of mine because he's still so human despite his superpowers. As for Batman, well, there's something about that dark, brooding, vengeful demeanor that really appeals to me. And as luck would have it, there on the table was the newest Batgirl action figure, donated by the toy manufacturer.
I scanned the auction sheet, trying to determine how the bidding was going. It was nearing time for the auction to end, about an hour left before the bidding sheets would be collected and the winners tabulated. At this point the toy wasn't out of my price range but I saw that one bidder in particular seemed very interested in it also and I wasn't sure I'd be able to survive a bidding war. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, and I certainly wasn't going to get it if I didn't make a bid. I quickly wrote my badge number and bid amount on the sheet and then left to look at some other items.
When I came back around to the figure, I noticed that #69 had out bid me; not by much but enough to keep it interesting so I upped my bid and walked away. This time, I kept an eye on the table from across the room and saw someone over at that table; I made note of what he was wearing and waited until he left before I perused the bid sheet again. Yes, that was him, #69. Glancing once more at the bids, I could see that the amount was nearing my limit. I thought about pulling out of the running for the other things I wanted and just concentrating my resources here and then an idea hit me.
I looked around for #69 again, hoping I could make a deal with him. I'd done it at other cons. After all, every geek has his price and this one didn't look like he'd be too hard to negotiate with. So I scanned the room looking for the guy and not having much luck. In most circumstances spotting a man who is 6'2" tall, has stringy brown hair, horn rimmed glasses and wearing an Incredible Hulk T-shirt wouldn't be hard to spot. However, in this crowd, he might just as well be wearing camouflage out in the woods. Finally, I spotted him, put on my best fan girl smile and walked up to him.
"Hi, I'm Babs," I said.
"Ty," he sort of mumbled as he nervously looked past me.
"So Ty, what's it going to take to get you to pull out of the bidding on the Batgirl figure?" I pointed vaguely in the direction of the table where the toy waited for a winner.
"Pull out?" he repeated as if he didn't really understand what I was asking.
"Yeah, stop bidding so I can make the winning bid and take her home. I've got a pretty extensive collection of stuff in various fandoms and I'm willing to barter some of it if you agree to pull out."
"Oh," he said, comprehension finally dawning on him. "Sorry, but I can't do that."
"Can't?"
"Yeah, I'm not really bidding for myself. My buddy's in a seminar on toy design and I'm keeping an eye on his auction items for him. You'd have to talk to him about pulling out."
Shit! I was dealing with a damn proxy holder. I looked at my watch and wracked my brain trying to remember what time the seminars ended for the day. It dawned on me that the auction would most likely end first or he wouldn't have sent this geek to take care of business for him. Only one way to approach this situation
"So, Ty, what's this guy's limit?"
"Limit?" Again he sounded like he had no clue what I was talking about.
"Yeah, I know he's got you watching several items. He must have told you that there was a certain dollar figure to not go above. Or is this person you're bidding for filthy rich?"
I was surprised that he actually laughed at that. "No, he's not filthy rich but he did mention a priority list and Batgirl is his number one priority."
Damn the luck! I could pull out of the bidding on the other items which would allow me to pour all my resources into this one item but without knowing how high he was prepared to go, that wasn't the best move. I could potentially end up with nothing. I needed to find a quiet corner and think through my options.
"Well, Ty," I said, unable to hide my disappointment and sarcasm, "thank you very little. You've been most unhelpful."
I turned and walked away without looking to see if my words had had any impact on him. Once I made one more scan of items I was interested in, I developed my strategy. It might not get me the action figure I so desperately wanted, but at least I wouldn't go home empty handed either.
The next 20 minutes were terribly frustrating. I'd make a bid and then good old Ty would come along right behind me and make one that was just slightly higher. There were 'auctioneers' strategically posted to make sure that no one simply camped out on an article and intimidated people from bidding on it. You placed your bid and you moved on or you were asked to leave by an auctioneer. After a while I felt like I was in a weird game of musical chairs and I kept wondering when the music would stop next. At one point I actually saw him grinning at me and my temper flared. How dare he mock me with that impudent smile? It made me wonder if his story about bidding for someone else was even true but I didn't want to get close enough to him to check out his badge number.
When the moderator announced that there was only 5 minutes left until the bidding closed, I knew that the crunch time was at hand. I was teetering on the edge of my spending limit and I had to hold fast to my strategy. No one else had bid on the Batgirl for quite a while and it was now down to the two of us. He'd made the most recent bid I decided to bide my time until the closing seconds and outbid him by even a few cents. Nervously, I glanced at my watch, hoping that the moderator was keeping track of time as closely as I was. At the final 30 seconds I walked over to the table and began to place my bid. I finished writing my badge number and was just beginning to write a dollar amount when the moderator called for the auction to close. Hurriedly, I scribbled in the amount I was willing to pay and hoped that it would go through.
The auctioneers began moving people out of the room so that the results could be tallied and posted. As I walked out of the room, I saw Ty in the hallway. He was talking in an animated fashion with another young man and I wondered if this was the mysterious Mr. 69 or if he was just bragging to one of his buddies about pulling one over on the fan girl.
"Hey, Babs!" I heard someone call from down the corridor.
I turned around and saw Mike, the moderator of a comic based email list that I belong to, waving his arms like he was trying to take flight. I waved back to signal that I'd seen him and began walking in that direction.
"A bunch of us are going out for pizza. Ya wanna join us?" he called out.
"Sure. When?"
"We're meeting in the lobby in 15 minutes."
"See you there."
It was nearly two hours later when I returned to the great hall of the convention to pick up my auction items. I stood in line for about five minutes, waiting my turn to get to an auctioneer and pay for my goodies. I gave her my badge number and she collected a bag with the bidding sheets attached to it. As she ran down the list of items I noticed one thing was missing. At the same time I heard another auctioneer rattling off the purchases of the man in the line next to me. More importantly I heard his badge number.
"Sixty-nine," I said, not too quietly.
"Yes?" he said as he turned to me.
"You're Mr. Sixty-nine?" He smiled broadly; a wicked twinkle gleamed in his eyes. "Well, you can call me Six."
I pulled my attention away long enough to hand over my money to the auctioneer and take my bag of goodies. Then I stepped aside but stayed next to him; assuming he'd somehow gotten the Batgirl and hoping I could still acquire it. When he was finished with his transaction he turned and saw that I was still there.
"Hi, I'm Babs," I said as I extended my right hand.
"Ooh, you're the lady Ty was telling me about."
Great, so I wasn't going to be able to blindside him with my charm and humor. "He did?" I asked, trying to figure out my strategy.
"Yeah, he said you were the only other serious bidder on the Batgirl action figure."
I chuckled at the understatement. "Yes, I was bidding on her."
