I Have Too Many Issues
I went ot the comic shop Thursday. It was the first time I had been there in ten weeks, judging by the number of copies of 52 that were waiting for me. I didn’t touch the pile of comics until this afternoon, when I pulled out two issues of Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes, enjoyed the Barry Kitson art, and found myself mildly irritated that the storyline in question would continue for at least one more issue.
I think the lesson has finally cracked my thick skull. I’m just not enjoying comic magazines anymore. I think they’re too short a reading experience, I hate having to organize them in a bunch of boxes in my basement, and the hassle of the aforementioned boxes means I almost never reread them. For the amount of money I’ve been spending on these things I ought to be racing to read them, and I’m just not anymore.
This is part of a larger problem I’ve identified with myself, that I’ve started collecting media more than enjoying it – a backlog of books, DVDs, and stuff on my DVR. But the comics are really the worst example. So I’m culling just about all of the issues. If I care enough about the series to buy a shelf copy, I’ll buy the trade. If not, oh well.
I really hope this isn’t the beginning of the end for comics and me. They’ve given me a lot of happiness over the last eighteen years. (Good Lord.) But something’s gotta change.
About Dave Thomer
Born and raised in Philadelphia. Studied philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, where I made many great friends and met my wonderful wife. We moved back to Philadelphia, where I studied philosophy some more and became a teacher. Online and off, I'm looking for ways that we can be better citizens and build stronger communities.
Monday, January 15th 2007 at 5:56 pm |
I have a HUGE stack of comics that i haven’t been able to catch up on. I’m on WEEK ONE of 52, probably a year behind on New Avengers, and there are at least 3 or 4 books that I just stick in the pile and can’t even remember how far behind I am. I’m only caught up on Fables, Jack of Fables, and Eternals. I’m even 2 issues behind on Desolation Jones.
I’ve got the EXACT same worry as you – I’ve quit comics once before, and regretted it (since I wound up missing some great stories) but it’s getting close to happening again. I’ve started sending my husband to check my box at the store because I’m so far behind I can’t even remember what should be in there.
Monday, January 15th 2007 at 10:36 pm |
I quit comics toward the end of my undergrad years. Then I started working around the corner from a comics shop in Manhattan, and every Wednesday I spent my lunch break over there. It’s been downhill from there.
The next couple of months should be interesting while I wait for the trades to catch up with and pass the points I was at with single issues. Of course, there’s plenty of backlog material to dive into. And maybe I can read some of those trades on the bus and the train while I shuttle between adjunct jobs.