I’ve been collecting comics for decades. I’m an avid reader and DC Comics makes up the majority of my collections. I’ve been reading comics for almost as long as I can remember.
But I’ve never been closer to giving up on comics.
There are a few factors that seem to be lining up and pointing me in that direction. First is the timing of Convergence. The second is climate of comics. And then there’s a third reason.
I’ve written about Convergence before and how I was considering skipping it. Well, I pulled the trigger on that idea and I’ve yet to pick up anything beyond the zero issue. I’m guessing that I’ll be able to find those two-shots at a con somewhere down the line or worst case I’ll grab the trades.
But having basically taken a month off from comics (apart from a handful of books) I’ve seen just how habitual my comic reading was. Every Wednesday I’d hit the comic shop and go home and read books. It was like clockwork and was basically just a routine.
Thanks to Convergence, I haven’t felt the need to visit my shop weekly. Lately I’ve gone every two weeks and the world hasn’t ended. Nothing catastrophic has happened because I failed to hit up my local comic shop bright and early on Wednesday.
And the lack of the weekly trip has sort of robbed my comic reading of it’s urgency. Part of my comic reading was about trying to stay ahead. There were some books that got read as soon as I picked them up, but others might wait up to three weeks before getting read. I had an entire system.
Again, thanks to Convergence I’ve got zero urgency when it comes to my reading. There are even some books from March that I still haven’t read, partially because I know that I’ve got until June before the next issue comes out.
I also find the current climate of comics kind of troubling. DC and Marvel seem to be locked into a cycle of events that just aren’t that enjoyable. I’m a passive Marvel reader, but many of the Marvel titles I read recently ended. She-Hulk, X-Factor are done and Hawkeye and Fantastic Four are nearly there.
I’m not interested in what Marvel’s doing, but I do hope that there are some books that survive that are worth reading.
As far as DC is concerned, I’ve got very little interest in what’s going on with the icons. Personally I feel Scott and Greg have overstayed their welcome on Batman. Superman reads like an aimless mess grasping at relevance. I dropped Wonder Woman as soon as the Finch foundation hopped on. What Robert Venditti has done with The Flash and Green Lantern is just downright depressing, and I love The Flash and Green Lantern.
I don’t quite understand what Marvel and DC are trying to do, other than double down on huge events. It’s really quite a turn off. And if I’m not enjoying something, should I keep on doing it?
The final reason why I could walk away from comics is that I might actually have enough comics. I’ve probably got double-digit long boxes in three different states. I’ve also got a ton of comics that I still haven’t read. I could probably go a year without buying anything new and I’d still be pretty good.
Maybe I’m just in a comic lull. Maybe the new direction that DC promises will get me out of my funk. Or maybe I’ll drop 80% of what I’m reading. Who knows?
Well, it’s Wednesday which means fresh new comics from your local comic shop, so rush on in and pick them up.
