How did that happen?
"How did Final Crisis turn out?"
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been getting sideswiped by the calendar a lot lately. People around me are talking about the college graduations they’re going to over the weekend when it feels like those kids were just home for Thanksgiving a week ago. I keep realizing while watching television that I am somehow seeing the season finale of a show that I would swear just premiered a couple of episodes back. The Avengers movie that’s been on my countdown app for a year or more actually happened several days ago (did you hear about this?) and the windows in my living room still have festive snowflake decals on them.
The numbers on the covers of comic books are especially bad at sobering me with the concrete passage of time. How could the red Hulk book possibly be in the fifties by now? How could that FF thing have conceivably happened seventeen issues ago? Could Wolverine and the X-Men or Miles Morales really be up to #10 already? Where have I been?
Readers of comics often complain… just in general, really; that clause is a complete thought about those periods of fatigue, those seasons when it seems like everyone is telling the same story over and over with a fresh coat of paint on it. Everything old is old again. At this unique moment, however, it seems to me that a lot has changed in the last six months or so.
But has it, really? How we doin’, 2012?
Fortunately, we have an easy way to gauge these sorts of things, thanks to iFanboy’s handy Pull List feature and its de facto function as a historical record of the shrewd, shrewd ways we’ve spent our money. I can’t see what I was thinking about books six months ago– I stopped rating my comics around then, when I realized I share my opinions plenty already and had no interest in further inviting people’s opinions about my opinions– but at least I can see what I was buying then compared to now. If you ever find yourself bored online (imagine such a thing!) this can be a useful exercise to try.
This week six months ago, I bought eighteen titles. Today, I am still reading eight of them. That’s not as dire as it sounds: two were canceled, and several were miniseries that never became anything more. One was that fairly decent Point One which Ron excoriated like it killed his childhood dog. Make no mistake, though: some books have gotten the axe since then.
I’m quite a bit more loosey-goosey with the axe, in fact, thanks to another development that was ramping up roughly six months back, namely Marvel’s foray into digital comics. This week six months ago brought us the first issue of Avenging Spider-Man, the not-technically-Marvel Team-Up relaunch that solicitations sold as “The return of legendary artist Joe Madureira!” without adding, “for, like, a couple of weeks!” In addition to Joe Mad’s coy fan dance, Avenging Spider-Man brought buyers a digital code they could use if they wanted to keep the book and recycle it at the same time, or whatever we’re supposed to be doing with those codes. Since then, gloriously, digital availability has become more or less ubiquitous, giving me the cherished ability to look at the books I’m less excited about and think, “Eh, if people say it’s great on Thursday I can always grab it” without having to think about the logistics of actually going and doing that.
If you had told me six months ago what the point of this series was going to be, I would never have stopped laughing.
It works the other way, too. I picked up some books just this weekend based on rave reviews I hadn’t expected to see. In the last few months alone, digital has improved the quality of life around here even more than I imagined when I was begging for it years ago. This may be the happiest I’ve ever been as a consumer, and six months ago it was nothing like this. Think about the magnitude of that for a second.
Of course, DC had been doing the day-and-date digital thing for quite a while already as part of their “New 52” initiative. Historically, I had never been a big DC sampler, so at the time I was one of the many people who used the New 52 as a golden opportunity to taste a few new flavors. I even wrote about it a bit at the time. How’s that all going all these months later?
Of the seventeen DC books I sampled at the time, I am still reading eight. Again, this is not as dire as it might sound. That’s six more DC books than I was reading before, so it’s still a win for them. The eight I’m still reading, I look forward to like Christmas day, and some of them are books I’d have never imagined I’d take to, like Supergirl and Swamp Thing. Of the ones I’m not reading, one of them got canceled; a couple of them were futile attempts to give another chance to writers I was never fond of to begin with; and one of them was Wonder Woman, which is at least runner-up for my most vehemently disliked purchase of the last five years. That book got recycled before the rushing air could close the back cover. Nothing is for everyone. Except maybe Batman.
(I should add: I recently dropped Action Comics after indulging it far too long, but I would read the hell out of that crazy bananas President Superman story Grant Morrison set up in the last issue. I can always be won back with the promise of something interesting and new-ish.)
Although it reads like my reading has plummeted, nothing could be further from the truth. I pulled twenty-three blessed books last week, several of which weren’t around a few short months ago. The old makes way for the new, and there is always something great around the next corner if you keep your eyes open.
How’s 2012 been treating you, reader? Have the books you were jumping onto last fall held up their end of the bargain? Have you lost many to cancellation or creative shifts? Here’s hoping your stack is strong. If not, don’t worry; in six months, it’ll all be different again.
Jim Mroczkowski had a completely different day job, diet, and demeanor six months ago. The weather was about the same.
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You not only dislike Wonder Woman, you actively Hate it?! And you drop Action Comics, yet say the President Superman (arguably Morrison’s most strange and high concept issue of the series to date) story will bring you back?
You have invited some opinions on your opinions good sir!
Apparently August is going to be quite the month. And you can partially blame me.
Last week I finally decided to try out getting trades. My first two purchases? The hardcover Batman New 52 and the TP Justice League International New 52.
This morning, DC has been releasing info about their August books. And guess what? Issue 12 of JLI is…”the LAST issue.” Then the JLI annual comes out a few weeks later. So at least I know what the contents are of JLI TP Volume 2.
Pardon me if I performed some sort of jinx by getting the TP. Batman’s safe at least. I hope.
My stack is as healthy as ever, about 22 monthly books, plus regular trade purchases (usually of books I enjoyed during my dark days of pirating new comics). My list has shifted since November, but not in any big ways — still a mix of Marvel (mostly X-books) and DC (mostly Bat-books) and some indies by bigger creators (Hickman, Brubaker, etc).
I’ve been very conscious about voting with my wallet and limiting the number of regular sized $3.99 books — I can afford it, so I make some exceptions (Uncanny, WATXM, AVX), but I have to have some seriously strong ties to a book to keep it around at that price (Ultimate Spider-man recently got relegated to trade-waiting for this reason).
I’m really looking forward to the next half of 2012 for more of the same! I’m excited to learn more about the Marvel Universe after AVX, what’s in store for New 52 Year 2, and creator owned books like The Massive and Punk Rock Jesus. And movies like Dark Knight and Spider-man look like a ton of fun. Not to mention Morrisoncon in September.
I don’t think I’ve ever loved comics as much as I do now!
Yes – looking for to The Massive as well. Just the first cover and the premise put it on my order list. Haven’t seen any previews. Don’t want to.
If you haven’t seen it, the three “prologue” preview stories that were in Dark Horse Presents were collected as a free digital release a few weeks ago on the Dark Horse app. It might not be free anymore, but they really got me pumped for the series, so I recommend checking it out even if it does cost a couple bucks.
Hmm… still catching up on about 3 months of 2012 for some books – been sitting in a stack. I get monthly deliveries from DCBS and I tell you what, pulling out a stack of 20-25 books – WHAM – it sucks out my desire to read anything! So they’ve sat for a while. I think I have like 6 Vampirellas and 8 ASM’s to catch up on… way behind.
Anyway – no digital for me.
This year has truly shown me that I am addicted to my comic book habit! Where I used to only read suepr heroes and only the classics that I have known; now I have comics I read of all kinds of genras. Time lately seems to becoming faster and faster in the real world not just in the numbering of comics. Has anyone else noticed the amount of time in the day has repidly decreased?? HELLO EVERYONE WAKE THE FUCK UP IT’S MAY 2012 ALREADY!! Does anyone find this strange and the fact that we have had some insane weather like 80 degree days in Chicago in March?? I am not talking about global warming and I do not mean to sound like a crazy consperacy nut however; there seems to be something going on with Earth itself. maybe turning on its axis or a slight speed up of our rotation around the sun due to our gravitational pull because of solar flares or some wacky ass shit?? Anyway; time has spend up a lot over the last five years and I do not know if this is what happens with age or this is really something strange for everyone????
As for our beloved comic books I am reading about four times as much as I was over a year ago. I know I should’nt be since I really can’t afford it however; I just can’t stop myself!!
K
My stack is a strong, over-fed wildabeast that threatens to devour me every Wednesday. It only ever seems to grow, never shrink – like THE BLOB, the movie, not the X-Men villian. It seems a lot of longtime readers get fatigued – I guess humans, as much as we can be creatures of habit, also hate to fall in ruts. And I think picking up a bunch of stuff every week that no one else seems to care about can demoralize a person. But man, not me. FLEX MENTALLO, and a lot of Morrison’s work, that speaks to me so much because it’s like, that IS what the world is to somebody who reads that many comics.
52 wise, I’ve only dropped two books – BATWOMAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE, though I started picking up GREEN ARROW starting with Nocenti’s run and have been loving it. That book has an unstoppable pace and energy and I reccomend it to everyone. My other DC books, SWAMP THING, WONDER WOMAN and THE FLASH, especially THE FLASH, just keep killing me with their creativity, the characters, the world….I can’t go on enough. And the heavy hitters like Synder’s BATMAN and ACTION COMICS have been great, too. Vertigo’s new series have really suprised me as well…I love THE NEW DEADWARDIANS way more than I ever thought I would, and SPACEMAN and SAUCER COUNTRY continue to bowl me over every month.
Marvel still kills me every day I think about it. When CIVIL WAR was going on, I thought I’d just about had to give up hope. There was some stuff I was into here and there, but man, that just wasn’t the place for me. I feel like, now it’s the AGE OF MARVEL. They even have an event going on that only takes up a handful of their books, of which I’m only reading one! And I pick up a TON of Marvel, so I really think that was the right choice. But yeah, THE DEFENDERS, DAREDEVIL, THE PUNISHER, WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, UNCANNY X-FORCE, THUNDERBOLTS, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, there’s just way too many to list… it blows me away how good all of their comics are right now.
Dark Horse is still the king for gothic horror. I love BPRD, I love ALABASTER WOLVES, I love RAGEMOOR, I absolutely loved the newest LOBSTER JOHNSON mini.
And Image? I can’t say it better than a lot of people on this site have been saying. SAGA, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS, MUD MAN…they are putting out some of the best in comics right now.
And, oh man, my cherished all ages books! The new Spidey series with Templeton, the new GL book, SONIC, MEGAMAN, not to mention Image’s REED GUNTHER…there are so many killer all ages book that are telling a great story with great characters and never talk down to their audience. These are the comics I love the best, at the end of the day.
I just feel like, I guess I get how frustrating picking up comics can be…I guess? But I just can’t fathom how people aren’t throwing up their hands in joy when we’ve got a new Azzarrello/Risso joint, Waid/Samnee/Rivera DAREDEVIL, a new Brian K. Vaughn creator owned book, Morrison writing Superman and Batman…I mean, if that doesn’t get people excited, what does?
Oh, and CASANOVA. Any year with new CASANOVA is the greatest year to be alive. So yeah, 2012. I think years down the line, when I’m no longer a gangly awkward twenty year old, I’ll look back and think of it as one of the pinnacle years in modern comics.
Your enthusiasm is infectious sir! As it seems you are an all ages nut like myself, might I recommend Snarked by Roger Langridge. If you arent reading it already, I really think you’d enjoy it.
On the “all ages” subject.. i find adventure time to be quite charming.
Nothing about the indy resurgence, Jim? How many none DC/Marvel books you reading these days and which ones are you really loving?
Has there been a resurgence? You may have just written next week’s thesis statement. It doesn’t feel all that different to me. To the data!
Also: I love everything I read. I am a human sunbeam.
Definitely a resurgence! Image has dominated the trade/GN charts for a while, and they just picked up two more percentage points of market share last week, on the backs of Walking Dead, Saga, Fatale, Chew and (oddly) America’s Got Powers, not to mention all of the great books that (heinously) don’t get nearly enough sales, like Manhattan Projects, Prophet, Thief of Thieves, etc.
Dark Horse has also been putting out some of my favorite books, like Baltimore, Conan, Dark Horse Presents, Lobster Johnson, Resident Alien, Usagi Yojimbo, and of course B.P.R.D. and Hellboy. I’m really looking forward to The Massive and the return of Geof Darrow’s Shaolin Cowboy.
Other good indie books include Mouse Guard, Adventure Time, Smoke & Mirrors, the return of Valiant, Atomic Robo…
perhaps a resurgence in enthusiasm and excitement, but if its just by the numbers you’d never know. As with everything else regarding comics, the things everyone spazzes about sell like poop, and things everyone says is complete garbage sell like hotcakes. *shrug*
It’s definitely not just a numbers thing. I see a lot of people ranting and raving about how good everything being put out by the indies are, I just think most people are stuck on the same old characters they’ve been following since they first started to pick up a book. And yet, it’s not the superhero stuff that brings in new readers. Newsarama had a great article on why the Avengers movie isn’t doing much to bring new fans into comic shops, but the Walking Dead show is bringing fans in to stores in droves to catch up on the trade paperbacks. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/retailers-on-walking-dead-vs-avengers-sales.html
I transitiioned to digital with the DC New 52 and finally dropped my print copies of my Marvel and independent books. My budget is tight, and interest was getting worn by excessive books, so I’ve dropped quite a bit. I really like that the DC and indie books are discounted after one month, so I can save money that way.
Reading:
Avengers vs X-Men mini-series, Animal Man, Smallville Season 11, Swamp Thing, Fantastic Four, FF, Uncanny X-Force, Winter Soldier, Wolverine and the X-Men, Manhattan Projects, Saga, Saucer County
Read one month later for discount:
Batman, Batman Incorporated, Earth 2, Frankenstein Agent of SHADE, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, World’s Finest, Hellraiser, Morning Glories
Dropped:
Action Comics, Aquaman, Batwoman, Demon Knights, Flash, Justice League, Justice League Dark, Stormwatch, Superboy, Supergirl, Generation Hope (cancelled), Uncanny X-Men, X-Club mini-series, X-Factor, X-Men: Legacy, Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I’ve changed my pile but only a tad. To be honest I’m buying more Image at this point then I did in the beginning of the year. Obviously it’s not like everyone else, it’s only like 1-2 more then normal. But I think it’s a big set up considering I normally just buy DC/Marvel it is a step up.
The biggest change of them all is how my Marvel stack has been. It has gone down considerably and it will not go up anytime soon. I’m now down to Fantastic Four (2 of them), JIM, and Thunderbolts. BUT with Thunderbolts changing for no good reason, Hickman leaving Fantastic Four, and JIM going way too deep into crossovers….I might be out of Marvel completely in October. That’s just sad…..hopefully something good comes along to make me not want to leave this company. I know people think I’m just a hater but I’m honestly not. I only hate because I am depressed on how terribly this company has managed itself this year.
Good news! I forgot it isn’t all doom and gloom for Marvel. Daredevil will more then likely go strong once we hit the Fall….Unless Marvel somehow completely fucks it up….which they might. So cautiously optimistic with that book.
I’m impressed and surprised you’re still reading 8 DC books!
My main development in the past six months is not having any idea what is going on with the Avengers. Also I have forgotten the existence of every single book Ed Brubaker was writing and accidentally stopped buying them. This is not a slam on either the Avengers titles or Ed Brubaker’s books so much as my ability to keep track of title changes. (I am still pulling ‘Captain America & Hawkeye’ for some reason? Does it have to do with taking over the numbering for the old Cap title? Perhaps!)
I really took The New 52 by DC quite firmly at first but now I only get a couple of titles & waiting for one more to come, but my Marvel lot has grown ever so slightly.
DC- Green Lantern, Batwoman (might be dropping) & waiting for Batman Inc.
Image- The Manhattan Projects, Secret & Saga
Marvel- Fantastic Four, FF, Uncanny X-Force, Wolverine & The X-Men, Age Of Apocalypse, Invincible Iron Man, Ultimate Comics: Ultimates & X-Men!
I’ve transitioned to digital, but have become bored with a lot of the big 2 stuff. Save for a few titles like Daredevil, Batman and a few others, i’ve cut most of the big superhero books out of my list. The thing for me was that there was nothing inherently wrong with any of those books i was pulling, i just realized i was buying the same story, art and presentation multiples times a month every month and that was creating a boredom that was pushing me away from comics in general.
I tried like half the New 52 titles, cut a lot of those within the first few months, and i’m still on with maybe 5.
I’m becoming more interested in indie stuff coming out of image and others right now…i’m getting excited by new ideas and fresh things instead of continuing with the soap operas. I’m sure i’ll come back at some point, but for right now thats where i’m at.
But in general i’ve cut my list down by a bunch and i still need to see the Avengers.
I think it is funny how many times people use acronyms for titles and assume we all know what those are. Just go ahead and accept CTS *ahem* excuse me, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and write out the names of books, please.
I don’t mind telling you that calling Journey into Mystery “JIM” drives me friggin’ bonkers.
totally agree. Some of them acronym’s sound straight up dirty and/or kinda silly. haha
JIM was one of the acronyms I didn’t get right away, I couldn’t stop thinking about Earthworm Jim or something. What the hell is WATXM?
@TexasZombie: Wolverine and the X-Men
@Jimski: Seriously, do you not like the JIM acronym because it’s your name?
Seriously, come talk to me after the first twenty times people on your site say, “I don’t get what all you guys see in MICHAEL.” “I haven’t gotten into MICHAEL yet, but Jesus, it seems like everyone is talking about MICHAEL.”
Well that last line, I would think, is beneficial!
Makes ya think people are thinking good things about you…..Although now I’m going to think all night on how you name a book ‘MICHAEL’.
some titles up the ante and abbreviate and then acronym-ize. It took me a little while to figure out that “TEC” referred to Detective Comics….its all a bunch of shenanigans.
“TEC” is just an easy way to shorten it for order forms I think. “DC” obviously doesn’t work. “TOBB” for The Other Batman Book could be just as confusing…
I’ve been reading digital now, and only buying certain books in paper (Batman, Nightwing, Fatale).
This year has been more of a renaissance for me as a comics reader. Thanks to this here site, and the wonderful crew behind it, I’ve discovered and opened myself up to books I’d never read or cared about before. The first five months of this year have seen my first experiences of Scalped, Y: the Last Man, Preacher, Transmetropolitan, and Powers. Hell, I pulled a “Ron” and read the first trade of Scalped on afternoon, then went to the LCS and bought Casino Boogie and Dead Mothers, then to Amazon for volumes 4-8. A lot of my reading has been that way the past 8 months, just rediscovering things after getting sucked back into comics by Scott Snyder’s work on Batman.
Between my digital purchases and LCS buys, I am reading Batman, Nightwing, Uncanny X-Force, Wolverine & the X-Men, Swamp Thing, American Vampire, Fatale, and Daredevil. I know it’s not as much as most of you guys, but I’m more and more getting into buying and building a good library of trades and graphic novels now, as there’s so much I’ve missed out on and gotta stretch my money as tight as I can. haha
The best books for me this year so far are easily Daredevil and Batman. Both are truly something special and will be talked about for years and years to come!
Fatale is the best book to buy on paper, that sweet sweet paper.
This has been a year where I’ve spread my wings in terms of books I’ve pulled, and have been more ruthless with dropping titles. Before I used to wait until the end of an arc, but now i’m out after two dud issues.
As for the changes – finally caught up on chew and have started on the monthlies, and have found myself loving The Amazing Spider-man after years of telling myself that I hated the character. Might have something to do with the fact that I was too tubby to fit into my suit one Christmas in the late 80s and chose to blame Spidey rather than myself…. Tormented childhood.
Can’t go wrong with Batman and still like Wonder Woman, but wonder how long Snyder can keep delivering the goods. He’s done it with 30+ issues if American Vampire (incl. Mini-series), so hope we are still talking about Batman next year, and the same applies to Darededevil.
Wonder Woman may be the only one of the DC 52 I’m reading when the dust finally settles. Obviously its not for everyone – no book is including Batman which I’m on the verge of dropping – but the sales figures seem to indicate a lot more people like Azzarello’s WW than what came before.
I wasn’t sure about this book at first, but it’s so different that now I love it. I’ve barely ever read any Wonder Woman books in the past.
But it seems like it’s a real love it or hate it affair with it.
I was never really into the DCU until about two yrs before the New52 and my entry point was reading the 52 stories in 4 volumes, dug it, as it focused on the obscure characters of the DCU and not the big 3 which is what I wanted to know more about and fell in love with the universe then fell in love with the JSA based on Geoff Johns run, LIberty Files (Elseworlds), JSA Returns and a few other arcs, love the multi-generational characters and ties to the whole DCU, them being the 1st superhero team with classic pulp and noir stories really drew me in but I think the young and old like the Watchmen and Minutemen thing in the modern JSA stories is what got me fixated on they’re history. Anyways, as for the changes, yes I think plenty of them are for the good and drop titles and pick up new ones left and right. I really like a handful of the New52, Batman, Batman and Robin, Batwoman…..Swamp Thing,Animal Man, Stormwatch, JLDark(hate the name) but love the characters and think Lemire is about to make that book even better, Demon Knights is underrated. I love Uncanny X-Force, Scarlet Spider and Secret Avengers since Remender took over. Then there are the books that really stand out to me, not that a few of the above don’t but Saga, Hell Yeah!, Danger Club, Mind The Gap, Infinite Horizon, The Unwritten….BPRD’s Hell on Earth series, Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand and even Star Wars Dawn of the Jedi Force Storm caught me by surprise. I like the main AvsX mini but only reading a tie in here and there and cant keep up with everything but have noticed plenty of fresh creativity and consider it a great time to be into comix!
Forgot to mention how much I like The Shade and Earth-2 by James Robinson, which should be at the top with my JSA obsession and they’re direct ties to em. The Shade is straight out of James Robinson’s 90’s Starman run which I would recommend to anyone. Glory and Peter Panzerfaust are two other indie titles I really like, dropped Peter but love Glory.
I love the Shade. It’s so good, and here I thought James Robinson had lost it.
I think Peter Panzerfaust is okay, but not much more than that. One Image book I think is really cool is No Place Like Home, and that seems to get ignored here while more mediocre books (PP, Mind the Gap) get props.
2012 is a great year so far for comics, and it’s only going to get better!
I’m not pulling so much DC or Marvel these days. I love Ultimate Spider-Man, Animal Man and Swamp Thing. Batman, Batwoman, Aquaman and Daredevil have all been pretty good, and I’m looking forward to getting Dial H and Batman, Inc every month. I get a bunch of Vertigo stuff: Spaceman, Fairest, Fables, New Deadwardians, Saucer Country, but sadly, no more Northlanders. The only thing I’m reading from Icon is Secret Service, we’ll see how that goes.
But this year is definitely the Year of Image for me: Saga, Prophet, Thief of Thieves, Walking Dead, Fatale, Manhattan Projects, Rebel Blood, Mind the Gap…. Not to mention looking forward to Jupiter’s Children, Planetoid, Phonogram, Crime & Terror, Chin Music, Mara, Happy, Enormous, Debris, Creator Owned Heroes… So many good books to enjoy from Image this year!
Dark Horse has been kicked out of my favorite indie publisher spot by Image, but I’m loving a lot of their books as well. Dark Horse Presents is my favorite anthology, and the reboot is better than ever! So many good stories every month. The Dark Horse books I’m enjoying now are Alabaster: Wolves, Baltimore, B.P.R.D., Conan, The Guild, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, Ragemoor, Reset, Resident Alien, Usagi Yojimbo. I’m really looking forward to The Massive and the return of Geof Darrow’s Shaolin Cowboy, as well as Mind MGMT, Colder and Groo vs. Conan. Maybe I’ll even get to read Fell #10 by Christmas?
The Valiant relaunch was great news too, I’ll be picking up all four titles announced so far: X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Bloodshot, and Archer & Armstrong.
Boom has me picking up Adventure time, but I’ll add Extermination, Higher Earth and Marceline and the Scream Queens soon. Adventure Time is easily the best all-ages book in existence right now. (Sorry, Mouse Guard, you still have a special place in my heart. I just have to wait too long to read you…)
IDW is low on my list right now, I only get Memorial and Smoke & Mirrors. I want to get TMNT, but I already get way too much, as you can see…
Archaia is my favorite as far as graphic novels are concerned. Tale of Sand in particular was spectacular, as is the forementioned Mouse Guard.
So yeah, definitely a great year.
Ton of good stuff this year so far! Saga, anyone?
However, DC really blew it w/ the new 52. With a few exceptions, I couldn’t give s***’s about the rest of them. Even some of the critically acclaimed titles feel really thin to me. Don’t get me started on Superman…
Been enjoying comics quite a bit this year so far.
But my preference for collected editions seems to be asserting itself.
I’m down to 17 books from close to 30 last year.
I think I will be down to 13 or so next month depending on if I’m not impressed with a few books I’m trying this month.
Image Comics.
Giraffes.
Diesel.
Popsicles.
Aluminum.
Carafs.
Weasel.
Hystericals.
Calcium!
I’ve pretty much culled my intake to twenty titles or less.
More than half of that is Marvel subscription titles.
The rest are the few Marvel over-the-counter books I can’t live without.
I get little or no DC now, just E2 and WF soon (finally dropping BoP and WW).
And occasionally Image, IDW, or Icon will publish something I just gotta have.
I’m way down from forty monthlies and constant trades.
My shelves and closets are full, and the public library buys it all with my tax dollars anyway.
re: Battle Scars – LOL, Marvel… how expected.
re: DC – Can’t afford two universes or I’d be buying Marvel Ultimate stuff. TGftPL.
re: Current state of Marvel – Looking good. Industry? Not bad I’d say. Movies, cartoons? Getting better.
All in all, a pretty happy time for me.
8)
Daredevil, Saga, Wolverine and the X-Men, Thief of Thieves, Batman, Batman and Robin, A vs. X, Nightwing, Venom, Manhattan Projects, Mind the Gap, Dial H, Earth 2, Worlds Finest, Fantastic Four, FF,Wonder Woman, Aquaman… etc. etc. what more do you want?? STOP BITCHING!!!!
*takes Ace Ventura breath* Adventure Time, Green Lantern tas, Flash, Supercrooks, Amazing Spiderman, and so many im forgetting. cry babies
Invincible Iron Man, Morning Glories, Kick Ass 2, Secret Service, GEEZ LOUISE!
I’m not sure what this tirade is about.
It’s a great time for comics.
@Jimski RE: Your opinion on Wonder Woman…in my best Redd Foxx voice, “You big dummy.”