Recently I’ve been working through a backlog my weekly comic purchases. I’m a guy who picks up at least 12 books a week and I don’t always get to read them all before it’s time to pick up the next week’s books. As such I’ve usually got a stack of relatively new comics waiting for me to read.
But as I was working my way through those books, I found myself continually putting some books at the bottom of the pile or dreading reading others. It caused me to think; maybe it’s time to drop those books?
I know you’re thinking; Mathan, what’s the big deal about dropping books?
Obviously I’m a comic book fan, but I’m also very much a complete-ist. Like most comic book fans I enjoy having a complete run. For instance I’ve got a complete run of the last volume of Teen Titans, even though I really only enjoyed it when Geoff Johns was writing it. And I don’t even want to tell you about my experience with Titans.
My point is; I usually don’t drop books. I’ll stick with them until they’ve been canceled. However I’ve reached my breaking point with a few titles that I’m currently reading, but not enjoying.
One such book is The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men. First off that title it just way too long. I’ve always felt that the title was too long. It’s just arduous to type. But more than that I really don’t care what’s going on with the characters. I’m not invested in Jason. I’m not invested in Ronnie. I don’t’ care about any of them.
When I picked up the latest issue to read it, I literally groaned. I could not wait for that book to be over. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to drop that book this week.
Another book that I’m not really enjoying is Supergirl. It feels very bland. I enjoyed the opening arc, with an interesting villain. But then the book got boring quickly. It reads like any other Superman story, only with a language barrier.
I wish DC would allow creators to take some chances with Supergirl. She should be the character that daring creators go to when they can’t use Superman. Kara should be pushing boundaries while Kal is kept in amber. Kara should be out in space exploring the DCU instead of sitting on Earth moping. But whatever. The book pretty much dropped.
The Ravagers is next to be dropped. I know it’s only be four months, but I’m not enjoying the book in the least. It’s got characters that I’m not invested on a mission that I don’t care about. I think I just picked this book up on reflex.
I thought that I’d care about Changeling because I like the character of Gar Logan. But I realized that I liked the Gar Logan that was adopted by Rita Farr and Steve Dayton, had green skin and had a brotherly relationship with Vic Stone. The Changeling in The Ravagers has none of that. It just makes me sad.
The Dark Knight is easily my least favorite Gotham book. It reminds me of when Todd McFarlane launched Spider-Man; as a fan of writing, I was not a fan of the book. The Dark Knight is giving me frightening flashbacks.
I may stick with it, because it is a Gotham title, but on the other hand, I really dread reading it. It’s a horrendous book to read. It’s a jumbled mess. I can’t say enough bad things about it.
Let me take that back; the book just isn’t for me. I don’t find it enjoyable. Yet out of all of these books that I’ve mentioned it stands the best shot of not getting dropped.
Of course Voodoo, Resurrection Man and Captain Atom have already gotten the axe. I’ll genuinely miss Resurrection Man and Captain Atom. Voodoo, not so much.
And there are other books that are officially on notice. Superboy need to ramp up the entertainment factor. Red Lanterns and New Guardians could probably tighten up the storylines. Teen Titans is only sticking around because of my love of Bart Allen.
I’m really sorry to vent, but reading those books that I’m not enjoying just triggered something inside of me and I had to let it all out. I don’t really enjoy being so negative, but I think if I’m going to praise books, I should also provide the other side of the coin every once in awhile as well.
Well that’s it for me for this week. Since it’s Wednesday I suggest you head out to your local comic book shop and pick up some new comics.
