Last week, Thursday night, I got some access to some dough of the higher denomination thanks to a little birdie who gave me a sideline project. What joy, what joy! Must reward myself, I thought, so I skip-hopped into Bibliarch with a smile in my heart and laughter in my malnourished wallet. I perused the graphic novel section’s indie shelf for a prize. It’s been soooo long since I had one of those babies in my hands.

The purchase turned out to be a bad one. It wasn’t a graphic novel, but something written by a comics writer. No pictures, just words. I blame the publishers of that book for their back-cover deception, and I also blame the shrink-wrapped packaging for preventing me from checking the contents. Anyway, that’s not the point of this post.

I called up Bibliarch on Saturday as the receipt mentioned an exchange policy. “Three days from the day of purchase,” it said. That meant Sunday, right? But as it turned out, quite logically if you’re from planet Hello, “three days from purchase” included the day of purchase. At least, that’s what the guy on the other end of the phone said. The need to dissect the beauty behind it all was moot, and I had until midnight to get the book changed.

So I got to Bibliarch with a mental list of what I might exchange the ersatz graphic novel with. Guy behind the counter, who was the same guy over the phone, informed me that I could exchange the book with something that had a price equal to or more expensive than that of what I had purchased. If I got the more expensive one, I’d have to pay the balance for sure.

I felt I was in a portion of Extra Challenge. Most of the other graphic novels that I found interesting were less expensive. The rest were less interesting, and yet demanded at least two, three hundred pesos more. One gem I found in the indie section was a scant two pesos cheaper than my original purchase, but guy behind the counter wouldn’t let it through. Two pesos cheaper was still cheaper by policy. I swayed back to the shelves like a hollow reed.

Finally, I headed home with Gaiman and McKean’s Mr. Punch, spending one hundred pesos more. Happy, happy I was indeed. My first real comics purchase after a year. But I should try Sketchbooks next time. Cousin since they’re cheaper.

Comments

Nikki said…
Actually, I don't think Sketchbook is cheaper, since the comics are supplied by Fully Booked, which is owned by the same guy as Bibliarch.
So what was that book you returned? :) If you haven't checked it out yet, I wholeheartedly recommend the Gemma Bovery HC by Posy Simmonds.
Anonymous said…
"Gerry, I didn't realize that Ellis' 'Come in Alone" was just a collection of articles that I used to read in Comic Book Resources. Pero okey na sa akin si Mr. Punch. Magkano yung Gemma Bovery? Mahanap nga. Thanks! :)
I think Gemma Bovery HC is around 900+.

:)

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