Virginia Is For Prudes

I enjoy reading the letters pages and editorials of comic books and magazines. While a letter page does not have the immediate feedback of the internet forum of today it does allow insight into what the publishers are focusing on. The limitations of space forces them to discard the snark and cherry pick for good or ill the items they don't want to acknowledge or keep the ones that would fit their goals. One exception to the letter pages would be those accompanying anything written by Kirkman. I'd like more story and less chat in his books.

On occasion you come across a gem or two among the dross like the the insights of a young fan who would become a force in comics years later or the ignorant bleats of the racist. Those are always interesting. For example, from way back in 1977 here is the letter that was sent in by one reader complaining about the illustrations that accompanied the classic Fredric Browne SF story Arena.

A few words of caution, don't stare too long at the art below because you might catch the "sexual problems" the reader warned about.
Painting by Boris Vallejo, ink drawing by Rene from Starlog #4 (March 1977).

Letter published in Starlog #6 (June 1977).

Thick-Ass Thieves

The other night a group of young men entered the store. Of three of them, two entered with shopping carts. We had all noticed what was going on while they filled their baskets and were waiting at the door when the one young man who previously entered without a cart made an attempt to leave with one full of items.

"Hi. Can I help you with anything?"

"Er..."

"Where are you taking that shopping cart?"

"I forgot my wallet and I was going to go outside to my car to get it."

"With the cart?"

"I didn't want anyone to take my stuff while I was getting my wallet."

"You betcha. Say, why don't you let me watch your cart so no one will steal your stuff and I'll put it over here by the service desk. Just get in any line when you come back in with your wallet and we'll bring the cart over so we can ring it up."

"Okay..."

"Do you want us to page your friends so you can meet up with them?"

"I didn't come with any friends."

"Okay. You betcha."

That's basically how it went. The visitor departed and didn't return with his wallet. Not that anyone expected him to. A few minutes later his partners also left the store, leaving behind another set-up cart full of goods down an aisle with a straight run to the door. The items in the carts were itemized and had they managed to get away the store would have lost over $1200 in products. The contents of the carts contained items that represented every department of the store. Some items had little value while others were pricey products like alcohol, DVD's and over-the-counter, yet expensive medicines. This time we recovered the items but it is unknown how many times that day someone else managed to get outside with a loaded cart, something under their coat or just in their hands. Organized Retail Crime is big business and sadly, this scene is probably being successfully repeated multiple times daily at nearly every retail store in America.