Give me one good reason to carry on buying comics

I've been enjoying and collecting comics since I was seven years old and am now considerably older than that. So, having just moved house and offloaded a whole bunch of comics (about a thousand or so) that I decided were taking up too much room to local charity shops (yes some lucky dude is gonna have a geekgasm when he finds those!) I've seriously been thinking about giving up buying comics on a regular basis. Having, over the years limited myself to first DC comics and a few indies and the odd Marvel, then to specific writers (You know who they are), I now find myself thinking 'do I need to carry on?' I've got enough in my collection that I doubt there's enough time left to re-read them all in my lifetime so why do I need any more? If I want to keep up with the storylines I can still lurk around here and other comic related internet sites, I don't really need to buy the comics. If a stone cold classic emerges I'll buy it in trade paperback or even deluxe edition I don't need individual issues cluttering up my life.


So here's the challenge - Like it says in the title -

Give Me One Good Reason To Carry On Buying Comics


I'm looking forward to reading your responses.

You'll miss out on Grant Morrison's newest work?

I'll crash a busload of blind orphans into a bus of neglated puppies.

jaydee74 wrote:You'll miss out on Grant Morrison's newest work?

That's about all I could come up with except it looks very much like he's going into movies after the Batman run. Anyway like I said there's always trades.

JonSpangler wrote:I'll crash a busload of blind orphans into a bus of neglated puppies.

That'd do it. 'cept i don't like dogs that much. Or orphans when I think about it. If you'd said kittens we may have a deal.

The kittens are made to watch, which make them so distraught that they commit suicide by jumping off Cinderellas Castle in Disney World, which traumitizes the kids there and put them in years of therapy before they realize life is a cruel joke and stick a pistol in there mouths in high school and die.

of COURSE the parents are heartbroken and start kidnapping new babies from the hospital to help there grief. Which gets them arrested and fried in the electric chair.

I've always considered this myself. There'll always be titles that I follow, and I can see myself getting tired of the superhero books in general--again, excluding the a few--but that's just it. Superhero comics aren't the only thing out there, and now, more than ever, are there titles that are just good literature. So, I hardly find reason to quit comics/floppies. But it's understandable to wait for trades, if that's how you feel.

So, basically, my answer didn't answer. I stayed neutral.

Is it sick that I first thought this thread was that someone was going to kill themselves?

As for your comic issue....it seems like you've already made up your mind. If you are really not getting enjyment from them stop. Or maybe you need something new to spark your intrest. Try picking up stuff you normal would avoid.

If you have lost the passion for collecting comics then there is no good reason to keep collecting them. Maybe you need to take a break from them and revisit them at another time or just collect from only a certain author or character that you really like.

In your case I can't think of one. I agree with Spaced4SimonPegg. I also been a bit more selective with what comics I put my on pullist because eventually they do take up a lot of room, especially if you live in an apartment building like me.

I recently deiceded to only bag and board certain comics, I bought magazine bags and will save space by condensing as many comics as I could in a magazine bag with out a board.

If you no longer enjoy the collecting part, stop doing it. You shouldn't spend your hard eraned income on something that doesn't make you happy. I've considered the same thing myself. (since I'm about 1 1/2 yrs behind on my reading) But every time I decide to stop collecting, I pick up a run of comics, read them, and for some reason really enjoy them! Hence, I'm still collecting even though I'm so far behind.

I agree with the others, if you don't enjoy it anymore don't do it. I think trade waiting might be the best thing for you.

I personally find that I'm buying a LOT less comics these days. I used to spend at least $100 a week on comics, and now it's down to about $25 or $30. I just realized that I was buying stuff I didn't care about and it was stupid.

Batman25JM wrote:I agree with the others, if you don't enjoy it anymore don't do it. I think trade waiting might be the best thing for you.

I personally find that I'm buying a LOT less comics these days. I used to spend at least $100 a week on comics, and now it's down to about $25 or $30. I just realized that I was buying stuff I didn't care about and it was stupid.

Geez! If I wasn't married and well............straight, I'd be so hitting on you right now. $100 a week?

jaydee74 wrote:

Batman25JM wrote:I agree with the others, if you don't enjoy it anymore don't do it. I think trade waiting might be the best thing for you.

I personally find that I'm buying a LOT less comics these days. I used to spend at least $100 a week on comics, and now it's down to about $25 or $30. I just realized that I was buying stuff I didn't care about and it was stupid.

Geez! If I wasn't married and well............straight, I'd be so hitting on you right now. $100 a week?

Yep, I spent at least $100 a week.

100 a week? Damn. I think I spend about 60-80 in a month, depending on if I get more comics than just my pull list and I thought that was getting bad

I don't spend that much in a year. Although I am lucky enough where a friend of mine gets me a hookup on the comics I like for free. He knows someone who works for DC comics and gives his free copies away. Awesome deal.

Damn, that's awesome man! It must be great enjoying comics without worrying about the crazy prices that will add up in a few weeks. Thankfully I pay 60 cents than 3.99 and about 40 cents less for 2.99 books (I save anywhere from 3 to 6 bucks a week which is great) so if it wasn't my discount in Forbidden Planet I'd get a lot less books. Which is one of the reasons I stuck with them for about 2 years now.

prescribeddrone wrote:Damn, that's awesome man! It must be great enjoying comics without worrying about the crazy prices that will add up in a few weeks. Thankfully I pay 60 cents than 3.99 and about 40 cents less for 2.99 books (I save anywhere from 3 to 6 bucks a week which is great) so if it wasn't my discount in Forbidden Planet I'd get a lot less books. Which is one of the reasons I stuck with them for about 2 years now.

Wait. You get a discount at Forbidden Planet? Do you work there?

I don't really know why you're looking for people to talk you out of it. If you don't enjoy the hobby anymore, whatever the reason, then there's no need to continue. I switched from comic books to TPBs nearly a year ago and it's one of the best decisions I ever made, for a variety of reasons.

Yeah, honestly... if I wasn't reviewing them for the site, I'd probably have given up on individual comics by now.

The only reason I could think of to read monthlies is if it was a title you weren't sure would be collected. That said, if you felt the desire after the fact, you could STILL track down single issues.

Buying monthlies has become a dangerous game. No shame in getting out of it.

jaydee74 wrote:

prescribeddrone wrote:Damn, that's awesome man! It must be great enjoying comics without worrying about the crazy prices that will add up in a few weeks. Thankfully I pay 60 cents than 3.99 and about 40 cents less for 2.99 books (I save anywhere from 3 to 6 bucks a week which is great) so if it wasn't my discount in Forbidden Planet I'd get a lot less books. Which is one of the reasons I stuck with them for about 2 years now.

Wait. You get a discount at Forbidden Planet? Do you work there?

Nope, I just have a "box number" (pullist) and the discount came with it. One day they noticed that I go there every week and they recommended that I get one and I'll get a discount. Before I pay, I just mention my box number and they punch it in the computer and it deducts the price from each item they scan. I get about 15% off any item I buy there except Hot Toys. But all other toys/collectibles/shirts count for it.

Wow. Discounted comics. That actually sounds pretty cool. I had gone to Midtown and they have a thing where you get I think $20 off when you spend $100.

prescribeddrone wrote:

jaydee74 wrote:

prescribeddrone wrote:Damn, that's awesome man! It must be great enjoying comics without worrying about the crazy prices that will add up in a few weeks. Thankfully I pay 60 cents than 3.99 and about 40 cents less for 2.99 books (I save anywhere from 3 to 6 bucks a week which is great) so if it wasn't my discount in Forbidden Planet I'd get a lot less books. Which is one of the reasons I stuck with them for about 2 years now.

Wait. You get a discount at Forbidden Planet? Do you work there?

Nope, I just have a "box number" (pullist) and the discount came with it. One day they noticed that I go there every week and they recommended that I get one and I'll get a discount. Before I pay, I just mention my box number and they punch it in the computer and it deducts the price from each item they scan. I get about 15% off any item I buy there except Hot Toys. But all other toys/collectibles/shirts count for it.

Yeah, I get a discount as well. I get 20% off new issues/trades (I can get the discount on the floppies up to about 6 to 7 months after they come out). So, I pay $3.21 for comics that are normally $3.99 and $2.39 for comics that are $2.99.

I should mention that when I was spending $100 a week that was after the discount.

I did quit comics for 15 years but back when I did Vertigo hadn't started. To me, Vertigo is an example of why you can keep collecting comics. They're not the only ones doing this but I just think when you consider the variety that's out there I'd be surprised that there isn't something for everyone to stay interested in.

I've only been back in the game for a few years now but I have started to develop a really low tolerance for unoriginal, regurgitated, recycled storylines amongst the superhero titles. There just isn't a huge amount of originality in the genre.

I have to say also that collecting comics in trades you do lose an element of the month to month wait to find out the next chapter in a story. That's actually part of the fun. There's not a lot like it in entertainment except a tv show with a week to week story. It's part of what makes comics special. I've been picking up The Walking Dead in trades and a part of me is jealous of those people who were able to pick it up on a monthly basis when the original issues were coming out - it would have been awesome and the wait between issues excrutiating. A good excrutiating.

I thought about giving up comics 2 or 3 years back, but then I cut down on the Marvel books I was buying, started reading indy and DC stuff, and now I'm reading way more than I ever used to. I found that discovering something new about them made me love comics again.