The Four Color Media Monitor

The Muncie Journal reports about a specialty store in Indiana whose owners are doing curbside deliveries, and whose proprietor makes use of social media for promoting some of their sale items:

Hundreds of comic junkies join Christina Blanch on Facebook Live a few times each week as the store owner walks through Muncie’s Aw Yeah Comics — juggling her phone as she calls out titles and various toys for sale. She pauses to write down names when followers “claim” the items during the show, and they settle up online or in person at the shop located at 119 E. Charles Street in the heart of downtown Muncie. The shop is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 pm. Christina and her son, Robb, work tirelessly at the shop and will help customers to meet their comic needs even when the shop is closed.

“During the shutdown, we did 10 live shows a week and now even though we are open, we are doing four live sales shows,” said Blanch, who has owned Muncie’s Aw Yeah Comics since 2015. “We have the best customers in the world. People have bought lots of graphic novels and comics just to support us and make sure we would make it through the shutdown.”

Well that's great if their customers are coming, and the store is doing well now. However, there is something here that's eyebrow raising:

Blanch has used comics to connect with fans through the classroom as well. She has used comics to teach interdisciplinary social science through correctional education, face-to-face, and online classes. She has led several Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) about gender and social issues in comics, with more than 7,000 participants. Blanch also plans and moderates a number of panels at comic conventions around the country.

I hope she's not conducting these classes from a politicized, leftist viewpoint, because there's been too much of this indoctrination lately, and if she's pushing LGBT issues, something that's become far too prevalent of recent, she's not doing the medium a favor. What should be emphasized in an online course, or even a class-based course, is the meaning of meritocracies. Why can't these store owners understand that?

Labels: sales, science, technology