First off let me apologize for having taken some time off. It was really a combination of a ton of things, most notably the holidays. I spent them with family, which meant my time was pretty much occupied. Also I got sick, which meant that the time I did have to myself was spent recuperating. So basically the holidays happened to me.
Of course now that I’m back I’m literally working through three weeks worth of comic books. I was actually dreading going to pick up my books when I got back because I knew a) the stack was going to be imposingly large and b) I knew it was going to cost a pretty large sum of money. But that’s the hobby that I’ve chosen.
Since it’s the New Year, I figured that I’d jot down some quick comic related resolutions. I’m in a reflective mode and I want to reflect it in my comic collecting
My first resolution is to drop titles that I’m not enjoying. It might seem like common sense, but it’s really not to a comic fan. By our nature we are completists, we want to get everything. We also tend to be optimists; we’ve suffered through a bad issue or two, but then read a classic story. Also, thanks to the internet, we’ve got a pretty good look at how things are going to be in a couple months, can often offer hope.
Despite that, I’m still looking to drop books. In 2013 I dropped Birds of Prey, Batwing, Red Hood & the Outlaws, Teen Titans, Justice League Dark, Constantine, Pandora and that’s just off the top of my head. There will always be books that I don’t look forward to reading, books on the bottom of my stack and books that I buy out of habit. This year, I’m working to stop that. Not only will it save me money, but I’ll help out with my next resolution.
In 2014 I want to follow more creators, and not just on Twitter. There are characters and concepts that I’ll always follow. I’m an avowed fan of The Flash and Green Lantern. I’ll probably always try out anything related to the Legion of Super-Heroes. I want to have that same commitment to more creators.
For instance, I’m going to make a serious effort to get into James Robinson’s Fantastic Four. Charles Soule’s really been impressing me, so I’m going to try out his She-Hulk. And since I plan on dropping books I’m not enjoying this will give me a chance to support creators whose work I do enjoy.
Another resolution is to get deeper into back issues. There are a ton of books that, for whatever reason, I missed out on when they were released. While a ton of books have gotten the trade treatment, there are still titles that haven’t. I’m talking about books like Guy Gardner, Action Comics Weekly and Superboy and the Ravers. Sure these might not be books that everyone’s clamoring for, but they books that I’m interested in.
There are even books that have been traded that I’d still like to collect, like Promethea. Yes, I have all the Promethea trades and I’m probably going to be picking up the Absolute collections, but I’d still like to see how the original run looked.
Speaking of trades, my final resolution for the New Year is to finish Preacher and Sandman. Right now I’m on the fourth trade for Preacher and the sixth trades for Sandman. Despite how loaded my comic reading schedule is, I’m thinking that it’s entirely feasible that I wrap up those two series before the year is out.
So there you have it, those are my resolutions. Feel free to share your thoughts or resolutions in the comments section.
Well, it’s Wednesday; go out and buy some fresh new comics from your local comic shop.
