As I write this, I am listening to several hard drives spinning themselves in a tizzy as I begin the always fun (which means, of course, “never fun”) process of rebuilding my Mac after the hard drive succumbed to various catastrophic block failures. By the time I get back to normal, 24 hours (or more) will have passed and I will have probably lost a few files here and there and, along the way, I will choose not to replace files that were previously on the drive because I will realize I don’t want or need them there anymore. (For the technically inclined, I used the excellent DiskWarrior application from Alsoft to create a preview directory of the damaged drive (ten hours to build thanks to all the bad blocks on the drive) and copied what I could to an external drive. I am now putting those files back on a newly installed hard drive.)
Now, in this case, I was lucky–I had some fairly recent backups and I was able to copy the files I needed before nuking the damaged hard drive. But it got me thinking about other times when I was not so lucky, like when I lost all of my music, or when my drives failed before I really got around to thinking backups were really all that necessary (and, by the way, given the sorry quality of hard drives these days, you better back up your crap). Those were dark days, let me tell you, as I slowly rebuilt my directories while at the same time coming to grips with the fact that there were some files that I would never get back. Like, ever.
It go me thinking: if there was a fire or something equally catastrophic, what if this happened to my comics?
So, really, honestly–what would I do? What would you do? Would I grit my teeth and start scouring Amazon and eBay to try to rebuild my library? Would I go to conventions and hang out in the far corners of the halls, desperately trying to rebuild my collection of single issues?
Would I just take a breath, turn around, and walk away, happy to have great memories, sighing, “Well, don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore,” guilty at the sense of relief that was starting to come over me?
As I look at the various trades on my bookshelf, I realize that I there are quite a few that I would just need to buy again. And, of course, there are those that I don’t need, that I could give away right now, just throw out the window and never think about it again (I’m looking at you, Superman: Earth One). Trades, for the most part, are fairly easy to replace. Yes, there are some Marvel Omnibus titles that are apparently impossible to find (I’m looking for you, Alias Omnibus Edition). But what comics would I miss? Trades are obviously special and specific keepsakes, but often replaceable; what single comics would I truly be upset to have let go?
Now, I realize, my articles as of late may have seemed, well, a bit anti-single issue. Anti-paper. Anti-comics, to some (I’m looking at you, Ryan Haupt.) Yes, I have fully embraced digital, and yes, I often look for almost any reason to give away my comics, especially more recent issues. But you should know: I love comics. And I love single issues. The fact of the matter is, however, that not all single issues, in my mind, are worth keeping around. But I do keep the good ones around, and around they shall stay.
When I think about my two “elite” short boxes (helpfully labeled “Must Keep 1” and “Must Keep 2”), the first book that pops into my head is Paul Pope’s 100%. I can’t even really tell you why–I know that not everyone thinks that Paul Pope is super great (I do) and I don’t even know if 100% is really all that ground breaking, comics-history wise. I think for me it represented my first real interest in (mildly) alternative books and definitely the first black and white series that I thought, “Wow, this is something unique.” 100% is my Barton Fink of comics. I love it, I think it’s great, and I realize that many, many people don’t share the same opinion.
And yes, I could get 100% in a trade, but I honestly think that I would go for the issues again. Each issue was it’s own…neighborhood, really, of story telling, with all kinds of crazy stuff on the inside covers and just…the story just feels right split up into separate issues, separate covers, the whole bit. Closing one book and opening the next issue seems almost part of the story, this separation of time and space between the chapters helps ground each story block.
As great as trades are–and I have been really talking about trades a lot these days–there is something to be said for reading an entire story arc in single issue format. Astonishing X-Men is another series that feels kind of natural broken up, in this case, a somewhat surprising 26 issues (somehow I thought it was a shorter run). Part of this is because Cassaday’s covers are, for the most part, pretty fantastic, and it’s nice to see them introduce each section. Another part of this is my own personal history with the story–having collected it in “real” time and waiting a very long time for the story to be told, there’s a distinct satisfaction in re-reading it in issues, all at once. Yes, the collection is (very) nice, but if you were around when these issues came out, I bet you keep your single issues in a box somewhere, too.
Darwyn Cooke’s DC: The New Frontier and every issue of Criminal are required issues as well. DC: The New Frontier is available in a gorgeous Absolute Edition, true, but, again, being able to hold all six issues, to see that cover art (which was one of the best aspects of a series that had lots of “best aspects”) stand on its own…it’s special, it really is. And Criminal in issues is a no-brainer. Not only are most of the covers two page spreads (and, really, Phillips should produce a wide-screen book of his covers some day), you get all the backmatter essays about noir books, TV shows and movies. I admit, I haven’t read all of them, but I really like knowing that I have them and appreciate that Brubaker decided not to include them in the awe-inspiring hardcover trade, as a way of rewarding single-issue readers. And don’t even get me started on the incredible Solo series, which showcased the work of the aforementioned Cooke, Pope, Tim Sale, Richard Corben and others – each one of those issues was like attending a master class in comic book art. Absolute treasures, and, in a better world, would be features in a Solo: Absolute Edition. I could (and should) write a piece just on that 12 issue series.
There are other books that flash into my mind…but nothing else really sticks. Yes, I really enjoyed that book about the comic guy…the magic guy? Made their own comics…drawn by Phillip Bond…but I obviously cannot even remember the name of the title, despite the fact that we were all raving about it in 2007. Or 2008. And while I did my best to keep my collections of Daredevil, Detective, Superman and Amazing Spider-Man all nice categorized, I think the only sadness I would feel if they all burned up would be from my not having donated them in time.
Perhaps it is the clear and distinct arcs that make the most impact on me, and make feel like I need those single issues around. When I show friends these 4, 6, and even 20+ issue collections, they represent far than “just” the story. They represent the passage of time, the represent my being focused and driven enough over months and years to make sure I “stayed tuned” to a particular story. New Frontier was not always easy to get at my shop — it sold out a lot — and when I show someone my collection of all those stories, it’s an invitation to relive that hunt, without the actual driving. Local was the same way. Those issues came from shops in San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and having that stack of 12 issues means a lot more to me than the (admittedly wonderful) Local hardcover. Megan and I traveled the country together, we spent a lot of time waiting for each other, in a way, you know? And how often have the guys talked about a series that while would be nice in trade, shouldn’t be read all at once (Daytripper is much like that) – sometimes, waiting is good.
And maybe that’s why so many of us keep specific single issues around. The collections are time capsules, windows into years gone by, proof of our devotion to supporting the story and its creators. These short stacks are highlights, proof that, to quote that LCD Soundsystem song, “I was there.”
Mike Romo is in LA, here, now, writing, and then, later, acting. Despite having renter’s insurance (it’s not that expensive), he really hopes his stuff doesn’t burn down. Seriously, in a week, his iPad died, DVR drive died, iPhone got worse, and, as he types this, is still rebuilding his computer. So, yeah. Email/Twitter/Facebook.
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Is there not something unsurprisingly apropos about catastrophe happening to ASMs/Peter Parkers?
Anyway this statement: “They represent the passage of time, the represent my being focused and driven enough over months and years to make sure I “stayed tuned” to a particular story.” …… articulates the crux of the matter and the insightful introspection that those who seem to truly love comics all possess.
I’m currently going through this very same thing now.
Thankfully, it was not a fire that claimed my wares but some home invaders that robbed me blind while I was at work — making off with all my Golden, Silver Age comics (admittedly few and far between), a good portion of my Bronze Age, the new 52 #1s, and about the last two years worth of X-Men comics dating back Second Coming. Now, I’m looking at the rest with some weary eyes as to what I can keep and what can go.
It’s a sad state of affairs.
-J.
Comic-specific burglars??
Oh that sucks. Im probably going to move soon.. but im not going to let the movers touch my stuff for a cross country move for fear of theft. So ill be uhauling the comics myself.
Dont try to track me down and steal them cause i have cat like speed and reflexes.
Heh. No, Connor. They took a lot more than the comics, mainly electronic media of all stripes, but the comics stung the most. They focused on those books that were not in my main comic room. (Yes, I’m one of those people.) So all the stuff my fiancee and I were reading through in our living room, sitting room area, the short boxes I have in my office, etc.
Now I’m doing the transition to trades on most of my books.
-J.
As per the issue at hand… GOTHAM CENTRAL and SOLO are both big keepers for me. I came back to reading comics with GC and even the worst issue of SOLO, if there is such a thing, is just damn fine comic booking.
-J.
I kind of lived through that nightmare scenario.. but it wasnt fire. During my parents divorce (which took a few years to get finalized) my father hid 5 to 10 thousand of my comics (whatever i had when i was 17). I suppose he probably put them in a storage locker. Seeing as how it was more of a running away from a dangerous person than it was a divorce initially… i hadnt taken anything but my cloths from our house. When we snuck back in to get our stuff.. everything was there but my comics and the only picture my mom had of her dad (hows that for being a prick). For all i knew they had been destroyed. My moms attorney told me to “just forget about them”.. HA HA. Anyway long story short and a couple of years into the divorce.. the comics were ransomed back to me a few hundred at a time in exchange for hanging out with my father and his new girlfriend. I was glad he found someone so he would chill out and leave us alone.. but i didnt want to hang out with her or him to say the least. Although i would have if he apologized to me.. instead he chose to ransom the comics. I got everything back but the oversized stuff. Tick number 1 is out there somewhere.
Im now at just over 23000 comics almost all cataloged on my computer. Fire is a concern for me. I once had reptiles in a room next my comics and I started getting paranoid about hot lamp fires.. so i had to move them much further apart.
I have so many full runs including an amazing spiderman full run up to 2006 that i couldnt pick and choose what the most precious stuff us. To me if you remove any one run your almost destroying the collection because the collection belongs together in my mind.
That’s…that’s like the craziest thing I’ve ever heard–I am so sorry you had to go through all that! I can only imagine the logistics of managing a collection of that size. Wow.
Ya thanks for the kind comment Mike. I really thought they were gone for good… and it was making me contemplate quitting the hobby because it was just so depressing starting over from scratch… and then a box appeared in my fathers hands. And then it was just a few months of weirdness. I havent spoken to him since i got the last batch of comics back.
Im currently using the software you guys advertise on your site for comic cataloging .. its great.. although it took me an entire week of vacation at like 18 hours a day for 8 or 9 days to enter everything. Now that I have this list of all my comics on my computer i have a new paranoia about computer viruses (i too once lost all my downloaded music) … so ive made back ups of my back ups.. and even duplicated everything on multiple computers. Wish is lucky cause a lightening bolt struck my neighbors house and blew out my mother board..(luckily not the hard drive).. would have been more nerve wracking without all the redundancies.
Its true what they say. What you own.. owns you.
Typos ahhhhhhh.. wish =which .. us = is and so on and so on. One of these days ill get this typing thing down.
I sort of know your pain. When I was 15, my dad decided I’d spent too much time reading comics and not enough on schoolwork. So, apart from banning TV in our house for a year, he burned my entire collection. Hundreds of comics and stuff that would be worth a mint now like debuts of Wolverine, Punisher, FF Reed & Sue wedding, early Spidey. To top it off, years later he revealed that he’d saved some of my comics in the shed. You guessed it. All the stuff that was worthless and so poorly stored it was covered in mould.
I restarted my collection in ’86 and bought a lot of the stuff that was lost along the way. Anyway, I now catalogue everything using Filemaker (including plot summaries) and the Mac backs up to a 1TB HDD every 8 hours. If I lost it again would I start again? With more than 6,000 issues and no kids to pass the collection on to as yet, it’s doubtful. Probably only the stand out issues.
Wow thats horrible. I kind of thought that was what happened to mine.. but im glad it didnt. If it did I dont know that I would even be posting on this site now. I was lucky i got mine back i guess.
Ya ive got mine backing up to an external now as well.
Man! He burned Hulk 180! and Amazing 129! .. what a waste.
Great article, Mike.
Thanks so much for reading it!
When i moved i realized that i had SO much hidden “treasure” Ephemara, things…stuff that when i saw it gave me fond memories, but then in a moment of clarity thought…”i have not thought about this thing in almost 10 years…why do i need it?” and for the most part i was able to throw out a lot of this stuff. I look at my long boxes and have the same conundrum now, except i’m not sure what to do with them. I don’t need or want them, i can’t sell most of them, but i’m not ready to chuck em.
I think there would be some titles that i would have to get again, if i ever lost my shelf. I collect art books as well, and i know that if i ever wanted to replace most of them, it would be financially impossible, as many are out of print and sell for 500% or more than the original price.
Wolfman and Perez run on New Teen Titans and of course Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew.
I would be heartbroken, but I would survive. If I lost my 150GB of music, I might have to kill myself
I plugged my printer plug into my external HD by accident one time. It’s a pain.
“And maybe that’s why so many of us keep specific single issues around. The collections are time capsules, windows into years gone by, proof of our devotion to supporting the story and its creators. These short stacks are highlights, proof that, to quote that LCD Soundsystem song, “I was there.”
This is the crux of why my collection is important to me. I’ve given or sold chunks of stuff, but kept the truly important books: my single-issue run of Amazing since #100, Batman since #200 and some more oldies but goodies. Many of them have special memories of how and when I bought them. To lose them in a fire or whatever would be absolutely catastrophic, but I’ve since come to realize that if it happens, there’s nothing I can do about it. Just gotta start reading again. I can’t quit. It’s in my blood. I’m addicted. I couldn’t if I wanted to.
But things would change. There’s an issue with the whole “I’ll go back and get ___” you mentioned above. I think that’s a little far-fetched. If you’ve just survived a fire that took away every single possession (or a nasty divorce or related situation as mentioned above), it will take you a LONG time to recover your life financially – for comic collectors, let alone go back and rebuy certain books or collections. Food, clothes and a roof over your head is a hell of a lot more important. I understand why you’d want to “go back.” But if I wanted to go back and rebuy my 12 Amazing Spiderman Marvel Masterworks, that’s more than $50 a pop, some are even more expensive! The money any trades and hardcovers cost? Oh, you can do it, but it would take a lot, A LOT, of time and sacrifice. Like I said, a disaster will cripple your bank account. And today’s economy doesn’t help. I’d want to get those Marvel Masterworks again, but I think I could only do it as an occasional perk, or for a birthday or Christmas. As it is, I’m currently trying to get a trade versions of this or that as a nice collected keeper, rather than single issues I have to pull out. But why buy the trade if I have the singles already?! Only the top rereads are my goal.
But again, in a fire or whatever, and everything is destroyed, you have to ask yourself: Can I manage my comic-spending money to recollect my favorite stuff AND go to the shop on Wednesdays? I know I would keep on reading my regular pulls. At least I have my memories and be happy I got out of that tragedy alive. Off my pulpit.
The comic I would most need to replace is Savage Dragon. I’ve reread the whole series several times, and shared it with others, but the backup shorts and letters columns, and everything else at the end makes it feel like each issue an event. “Josh Eichorn – ____________________” is a part of the month I look forward to each time.
Although I’m getting close to having each issue of Uncanny X-Men, and that would cost so much more to replace than Savage Dragon, I know what I’d really miss if it were gone.
Ya Erik Larsen has created a unique book with Savage D… and Hes also a laugh riot in person too (at panels). I thought i was at a stand comedy show the few times i was at his panels. Im looking forward to him doing Supreme.
I got rid of all my single issues except for both volumes of DEMO, Power girl and A short box full of 70’s marvel books.
I’ve already sat down and figured this out a little while ago after deciding (I just wrote deciding twenty times cause it just doesn’t look right…my brain just shut down apparently) that I really needed to clear out my boxes of comics and just keep what I care about. I gutted all the books that I read because I was supposed to and not because I wanted to, i.e. All Marvel Events and Bendis’ Avengers books and really…a lot of Marvel.
There was a lot of stuff that I will always want but I could trade out for TPBs (Morrison’s Batman, Secret Six, Morning Glories, New X-Men, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Phonograms, New Frontier, Swamp Thing, All-Star Superman) but the titles I will always want in single issues:
Casanova
Fraction issues of Invincible Iron Man
Criminal (for the essays)
My Wonder Woman collection is pretty big, so I’d hate to lose that ,but if the JMS stuff was burned I could pretend it never happened and I’d be just as happy
Geoff Johns’ Flash…safe to say you can throw in the current Flash into that same pot.
Spectacular Spider-Ham #2 and First Alan Davis Wolvie Sabertooth fight. Starman #0 chuck the rest. Rest I can live without.
no watchmen? Darknight?
Man… If I lost it all i’d have to replace Criminal, Casanova (pretty easy on that one, there’s a LCS near me that has most of it, all the way back to Image #1 release still on its new release rack) as those two are the series that i’ve stuck with as much as I could, through bad shops, health problems and dropping almost everything.
Now the real gems of my collection, my near complete Legion run from about 1980 on would be difficult. As much as I’d want to find it all again I don’t know if I’d be up to the task…
The rest can burn.
The way you feel about 100%, I feel about most of my singles. Having only been collecting singles for about a year now (collected trades for many years prior to that), they are still something very precious to me. I totally get that “journey” that’s embedded into each book–where did I get this? Was it hard to find, or just something lucky I came across? There are some of my trades that I feel that way about, and I would probably replace at least 75% of them in the case of a fire, but my singles…I would be devastated!
I never cease to be amazed at the thoughtful comments and stories you all continue to share on this site. It’s really kind of humbling, honestly, to be a part of it.
It’s really great to read about how you consider your collection, how you feel about it…how you DEAL with it. It’s crazy, right? No matter how easy digital comics makes things, no matter how cheap the trades get on Amazon…there’s just nothing that replicates being able to get those single issues out and think to yourself, “I’m so glad I kept this around.”
Great comments, thanks all!
mike
Mike, I really liked this column. Makes one think about your collection, and what that giant stack of boxes means to you. People surround themselves with what makes them happy, and there’s always the underlying (and very human) fear, “what if I lost it all? What would I do?” It takes a column or a newspaper story about someone else’s life ruined to make us actually spend a moment to ponder about themselves. But I feel better about doing a “little” replacing, because think about it: would a golfer replace his clubs if they were destroyed or stolen? A bike rider who lost a bike? Of course they would. Cheaper too. Stupid golf clubs.
I know I shouldn’t be glued to my collection, and would sacrifice the majority of it if I had to. Why? Because, and here’s my final thought, there’s a “For Better or Worse” comic strip in my wallet that keeps me down-to-earth when it comes to spending on comics and the like (most of the time). I never read that strip, but it popped out at me that day. It’s an old lady packing to go from her apartment to an assisted living place. As she’s looking around, she tells her nephew that she doesn’t need much when she gets there aside from a favorite chair and a reading lamp, plus all her family pictures. She also says she won’t miss the ornaments of her past like displays of old china, glasses, some little statues and such. The nephew asks her about them, saying she has some real treasures there, and the old lady says, “People are my treasures now. These are just ‘things.'” Man, that puts so much into perspective. Does this mean we should not keep buying stuff like comics? No, but we should also never be so wrapped up in any hobby that it takes away from the real treasures in life.
I’d have to hold on to my copy of Giant Size X-Men #1. I got it at my first con in 1990, spent my birthday money. It was the first time I ever negotiated with someone over a price. My father spent a few minutes before I walked up to the guy talking to me about talking him down in price. The guy was charging $80 and my dad said, “Just tell him you only have $60.” I said that I had $80 and couldn’t lie. He told me to let him hold $20 and when I gave it to him he said, “now you only have $60, go tell him you only have $60 and if he won’t come down in price tell him you need to ask your dad for money and come back for the twenty.” (I’m still not a hardline negotiator, but I did get it for $60).
As a side question, does anyone have a series that they started reading in trade but loved so much they’d go back and buy the single issues? I sometimes think about getting all the issues of Y the Last Man and Preacher and I did buy the floppies of the Watchmen a couple of years back.
HA.. I think Giant Size XMen number 1 was one of the first major back issues i bought too.. I guess it may have been similar in price to yours. Mines awful though.. Its got brown tape on it.. HA. Still. The condition didnt matter to me as much as owning a piece of XMen history.
Ive done that a lot. If i get a trade and really like it.. ill get the single issues and give the trade to friends.
If I were your dad, after buying GS X-men for $60 , I would have KEPT your $20!!
Got Astonishing X-men (cassady&Wheddon) in trades and got a couple of issues.Might want to track those down if the price is right!
In response to your question, I have several series that I purchased completely in trade, then decided to get them in issues. Specifically, Gotham Central and Powers spring to mind. I typically don’t “double dip” either direction, but my comic store opened up a side store that is entirely $1 back issues, so I’ve bought a lot of stuff on a whim. This weekend they had a sale of 1 pound of comics for $5, which allowed to me to get the ENTIRE John Byrne run on FF for less than $20.
I’ve actually found the first issues of Preacher and Y for cheap and picked them up, even though I own those series in trade, but that was really just because I found a deal and took it. When it comes to old comics or “completing runs” I tend to remind myself that I am 27 and can assume that I can have a lifelong treasure hunt, but if I ever get tired of this whole thing, then I will be glad for every comic I DON’T have.
Is it possible to lose (purchased) digital comics due to hard drive failure? Or is it all streamed/redownloadable from the web?
For Windows folk, I reccommend GetDataBack to retrieve files from failing drives. It saved my MP3 music collection a time or two as well as other people’s photos, etc. from their failing drives. I’ve GOT to get better about backups.
I lost at least one longbox full due to water damage a few years ago. I made a paper list and was able to find a lot of them as used back issues. Now I have most of my comics cataloged on my computer (and exportable to my smartphone!), so I have a pretty solid, recent idea of what I have (gotta do some updates though). That said, if I wanted to replace things, I would be selective and go used first. I would also probably get trades as opposed to single issues where possible, unless the price differece was significant.
Even though I place a high value on them as individual issues, I would probably still get trades of things like The Dark Knight Returns, Rocketeer (the reprint is SO much better than the old original issues)… anything redone in an Absolute/Master edition would probably not be picked up in single issues unless they were dirt cheap. I love that I found Starslayer #2, with the Rocketeer backup, all those years ago, and I wouldn’t just throw it away, but if it were destroyed, I think the hardcover reprint would be fine.
I’d be WAY more upset about my guitars though!
Apps like Comixology DO download comics to your device, so you could lose the digital comics you’ve downloaded, but your purchases should still be accounted for in their systems so you can re-download for free. I had to redownload (but NOT re-purchase) some issues I’d already bought a few months ago when Comixology overhauled their app.
So unless their customer account data completely blows up, you shouldn’t have to re-purchase any digital comics.
And even if Comixology went out of business, another company would likely buy their customer data.
So you’re good.
That’s good – I don’t think iTunes is as generous, is it?
I think itunes did allow for some type of redownloading…and now with an iCloud account, I believe you can store music you DIDN’T buy from Apple in the cloud.
@KenOchalek. I had hardware issues with my Ipod and I LOVE that I can use my desktop, my wifes Ipod, or any other device, log into my Comixology account and read/download my previous purchases.
Nothing is ever DELETED as you can always log in and redownload your prior purchases. ONE reason why I might be 100% digital soon.
One box of comics disappeared during my move – about 70 books including my Giant Size X-Men #1 and X-Men #94-96. I’ve since replaced most of them but man that burned. And speaking of burning I know that renters insurance will cover your loss in case of fire, theft, flood, but only if you have an itemized list which I believe also has to be appraised by an outside appraiser type. I am hoping to find one in Boston shortly as I fear a repeat.
As for keepers I am constantly selling/donating books I don’t want but after many years of doing this almost all the fat has been trimmed and I’m left with a slowly but steadily growing amount of muscle. So many good runs but some highlights are the complete Claremont run on X-Men 94-279 (plus Giant Size #1 even if he didn’t write it), my Starlin cosmic collection – Captain Marvel all the way through Infinity Crusade, all the Frank Miller Daredevils, all of Kirby’s Fourth World, and most every Vertigo/Vertigo-esque title ever including Sandman which I love because seriously who reads Sandman in issues?
Me reads Sandman in issues. Me does.
What do think happened to that XMen box?
Ive been contemplating some kind of insurance but it always seemed too expensive. I have an itemized list but do you need it to be appraised before you loose the stuff? I guess you would. Any info on the appraiser thing would be appreciated cause you never know.. ..
Oh I love all Starlin stuff… hmmm except breed III.. what happened there? and of course all things Vertigo .. yes those have been a pleasure.
You are exactly the second person I know who reads Sandman in issues the other being me.
I have no idea. I took a few of the X-books and about 50-60 other randoms out and put them in a separate box thinking they would be safer. Naturally they were the only ones that disappeared. They weren’t Near Mint but they were in pretty good shape. Still peeved on that one.
As to insurance I do believe the order goes appraisal then itemized list but you may want to check with your renter/homeowner insurance broker.
I forget Generation X! That title means the world to me and I die if I lost the single issues! It was the first comic I bought every issue every month instead of just jumping around random single issues of whatever or Devil Dinosaur back issues….I wish I had those Devil Dinosaurs now…. 🙁
That was the generation X with the multicolored chromium cover issue 1 wasnt it?
OH YEAH!
See what would annoy me is I built two freestanding shelves to hold my short boxes. They’re made so that they could be put together w/o screws, just notched and fitting together. They each hold twenty-one short boxes. If my comics burnt up all that effort would have been for nothing. The other thing is I’ve put together some long runs of superman, action comics, adventures of superman, batman, detective, green lantern, JLA, wonder woman, flash, many of the x-men titles, captain America, iron man, spiderman titles, avengers and Thor all going back to the sixties and in the case of a few Dc titles the fifties. Not so much the individual issues although I’m sure if I looked I would make a list. Plus complete or nearly complete runs of walking dead, y: thelast man, 100 bullets, and other various vertigo titles. I debate going digital and am buying.g stuff for my kindlefire, but the loss would still be devastating especially considering the effort
Interesting article. Not to sound morbid, but it’s not like you can take your comics with you when you die. Yet, I still have X-Force issues from the early 90’s which I will never read again, taking up space for some reason. It’s hard to say for me what recent comics I still will treasure in the future. Personally, I do get enjoyment occasionally from leafing through my McFarline Spider-man 300 I had to hunt down as a kid. Or my original issues of Batman Year One that I also spent years searching for in local shops. Comics are just “stuff,” but for me certain musty old single issues bring back memories.
While I no longer collect single issues in print, I do have a good sized collection in long boxes. I’m not sure I would ever replace them were they lost, but I do like having them there and knowing that I can open up the box and take a little trip back in time. It’s like that with a lot of things. I may be moving away from physical items, but the ones I have will stay where they are. When I open the long box and see Superman #75, I can recall the day I got it and what that felt like. When I open the Comixology app and look at my list, I may remember the books themselves, but there’s little nostalgia surrounding their purchase.
The woman and I are planning on moving somewhere along the Florida gulf in the next few years, so this is something I have worried about. What am I going to do after a hurricane hits? Even with advance notice, packing up all those longboxes isn’t feasible, when we have three reptiles to go with us too. I don’t have many comics that are valuable, but some of them would be hard to replace, and have a lot of sentimental value. That near-complete run of the original Mirage Ninja Turtles seriously is one of my favorite things I own. My TV, computer, clothes, everything else can be replaced, and I have no emotional attachment to them. I have very few CD’s that would be considered “collectible”, and I’d only be upset about losing one of those. But man, my comics… I’ve culled as much as I can bear over the years too. Ugh.
One thing I want to mention, is having your collection appraised. I asked my insurance rep about his when I bought renters insurance. She said that to give me anything over cover price, they would need an official appraisal. I worry about this, because like iRoberts007 above, two of my kiddos are in the same room as my comics, and the womans damned cat thinks the top of my iguanas cage is a good place to sit, and has already knocked lights over. The most valuable things I own are probably first prints of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2-4, but it would damn suck to only get $1.50 each for them. (As an aside, I just looked those up, holy crap they’ve gone up since I got them.) My Miracleman books? Fuck me. I’d be crushed. My Infinity Gauntlet? Sure, it would be cheap to replace, but I’ve had them for soooooooo long and it’s my favorite comics story ever. Blrrglglglglglglg I think I’d just curl up and die.
TMNT mirage books were quite good.. and it was the Infinity Gauntlet that eventually led me to track down lots of Jim Starlin stuff.
Careful with those hot lamps.. i melted some plastic pretty good with those a coupla years back. I know its expensive but I started to go with the laps that are made to attach to the terrariums as opposed to the free standing ones.. cause as you know all it takes is a bump from a cat to move the lamp onto something flammable.
I guess if your moving to the gulf.. you could try to store your comics on the highest floor possible. At least then flooding probably wont get em. Mine are in rubbermaid containers so im hoping that will be some protection from water if i ever get flooded. I had a basement flood years ago and all my comics in rubbermaid were untouched and of course the doubles i had in longboxes were destroyed… i was planning on giving them away anyway though.
Anyone have opinions about binding single issues? It seems like the middle ground between single issues and trades. I’ve been thinking about doing it for some of my singles (i.e. Last volume of the Flash, completed story arcs). What do you guys think?
I’ve heard about people binding the singles, but that just isn’t something that appeals to me. It does make sense from a space standpoint (put it on the bookshelf, no more bags and boards) and if you’re dealing with a story you like that isn’t collected in trade, but I can’t see myself jumping on that bandwagon.
This was a though provoking article and is exactly why I buy 3 copies of everything and keep one at my house, one at my parent’s across town and one in a storage unit. But what if they all burn down?? I need to ask my in-laws if they’d like to store my 4th back up copies.
Bur really, I am 90% sure that I’d say “Well, it was fun while it lasted!” and move on to restoring the series I REALLY loved, like Criminal, Gotham Central, Scalped, and all the other great stuff iFanboy has forced me to love at gun point over the years. Even if I lost some of my really old “valuable” silver age stuff, I think I would optimistically operate under the impression that I will become a millionaire in my old age and can always replace stuff later.
Wait. I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not. Because that sounds expensive.
Ultimately, I think I would do the same thing (I’m referring to the second paragraph, of course. I already have 7 separate storage places). I have a ridiculous amount of X-Men/Marvel Mutant titles and I think that the prospect of replacing them at this point would be fun (the thrill of the hunt is one of the reasons I love collecting comics) but the cost and time needed would be prohibitive with adult responsibilities. How could I possibly afford to replace my entire run of Mutant X!
My original Savage Swords- I don’t have more than 40 or so, but I love them more than the boy who looks like Keanu Reeves who lives across the street.
Savage Swords would take time to replace .. ya .. they arent so easy to find.
Neither are chain smoking, cello playing boys who look like Ka-noo-noo, though, so there’s that, too.
I dont see the attraction.. i prefer my crushes to have bigger hips and bigger lips and bigger n…. ooh i could go on and on..
Different strokes, babe!
Question:
Do the online retailers (like graphicly) allow you to re-download titles? I tunes does w/ music, audible does w/ audio books…
Having your collection in the cloud would be a pretty dang good reason to go digital!
Yep. At least Graphicly and Comixology do, I reflashed my phone recently, and was able to download everything I had ordered before,
I like these kinds of ‘what if…’ scenarios, they make you think.
For me, I don’t have a lot of issue-only stories or runs that I love. Most of the stuff I would replace originally came out at a time when I either wasn’t reading comics (pre-10 years old), or I wasn’t picking up any books regularly (when you’re a kid without a steady allowance, you pretty much get what books you can, when you can). I discovered all the greats through trades, and, being as damn pragmatic as I am, I have no desire to pick up single issues of stories I already own. I understand having a love for something like a stack of single issues in your hand, for sure. It gives you that warm, “look what I’ve got” feeling that probably only we as a comic geeks would understand. For me, as long as I’ve got the full story or run, trades would be a fine way to replace my (hypothetically) destroyed books.
And what stories or runs would those be? How about a list? I like those as much as ‘what if’ scenarios…
Dark Knight Returns
Preacher
Batman Year One
Sin City (the first series, and yeah, when I got to the right age, I was a big Miller fan)
And no, Watchmen is not on my list. Was it good? Yes. I read it from cover to cover in one sitting when I was sixteen. It took 11 hours. I’ve never gone back. Once was enough.
But really, most of the books I’d want to replace are from my childhood. Books that, when I look at them now, I’d laugh at the thought of purchasing and taking home, but when I was a kid, were some of my favorites. These books are like time travel for me, filling my head with sweet but ultimately useless nostalgia. These, to me, in a completely non-ironic way, are irreplacable:
Double Dragon #1-6. Marvel put it out in the early ’90s. It was futuristic kung-fu action with brothers Billy and Jimmy Lee (and their dad Stan!).
Deathlok #1-4. Also early ’90s. It was the first full mini (or, in those days, “Limited”) series I ever owned.
A random issue of Neal Adam’s Armor, from Continuity Comics. I think it’s #8, but I’m too lazy to get up and check.
A TPB reprinting the issues of Amazing Spider-Man where he comes back to earth after the Secret Wars with his new, black symbiotic costume. It was my first trade, and I’d tell you what it’s called, but the covers have fallen off, pages have fallen out and duct tape is holding the spine together. I loved that book.
Ennis’ full runs on Marvel Knights Punisher and Punisher Max, including one-shots. The “Welcome Back, Frank” trade welcomed ME back into comics after a few years of inactivity (life kind of got in the way. I know, I won’t let it happen again.)
All of the issues from my various Groo the Wanderer series.
Quasar #1. The book that started it all. This wasn’t my first comic ( I got a Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew once when I was 3 and sick as a dog), but it WAS the first one I actively wanted and asked for. I was 10 years old, and to this day, it will always have a place in my heart (and long box) as the book that sent me down the long, long road of comic book reading and collecting.
I’d be interested in reading a thread of everyone’s first comic. Mine was Uncanny X-Men 243, now I take it to cons and have my favorite creators sign it. They always look confused when someone asks them to sign a comic they had nothing to do with…
@colossusofrhodeisland: Like this one?
https://ifanboy.com/podcasts/ifanboy-episode-100-ifanboys-first-comics/
@colossus: I’ve never been a big fan of autographs, but I like the concept of having my first comic signed by my favorite creators. If you did it long enough (and were willing to track down guys that were “former favorites fallen from grace”) I imagine you end up with a pretty special personal artifact.
I know I had some before this, but the first comic I really remember having and feeling like a comic book reader was Uncanny X-Men 279. I haven’t looked at it in years, but I can still recall some of Andy Kubert’s panels from it.
@Conor, I’d completely forgotten about that episode, it’s hard to believe it was over 200 episodes ago. It’s nice to back to the Secret Origins every once in a while. I’d be interested in hearing the same stuff from other members of the community as well.
@Ken-It’s amazing to me how many people list an X-men comic as their first book. I sometimes wonder if the book that caught my eye had been a Spiderman book or a Flash book, would I have collected them as obsessively as the X-Men stuff when I was younger. And I love that signed comic. Right now I’m trying to decide if there’s anyone at the Boston Con next year that I’ll have sign it, last year I got Art Adams and Howard Chaykin to sign it. The first two signatures I got on it were Stan Lee and Joe Simon,
I could replace just about everything in trades…but I would be desperate over my Larfleeze Christmas Special…has that even been collected?
Sorry to hear about the data loss.. knowing how you earn your living (and being in a similar industry), I had to chuckle. Been there.. recovered that.
I started to read this article and I couldn’t think much beyond how happy I am that my comics are now safely being collected digitally in the various places where I buy them. No more storage. No more trips to a store. No more potential for loss. I look at my long boxes and I can’t imagine ever going back to any of those single issues to read particularly. The treadmill of reading weekly comics makes long box diving an ordeal I never even consider.
while I’m thinking about it.. i should go clean up my stored single issues and donate 85% of them.
Pretty much just my Catwoman’s. I’m debating on trashing the rest. I already culled off a lot of books and gave um to a kid. I think I should box everything but my Catwoman’s and leave em on someone’s door step in a basket….
Wow, I turn my back for a few hours and we have almost 70 comments. I am running to a meeting, otherwise I would reply directly to quite a few of you.
I really liked that you all took the story and moved it to its next logical space–how digital comics may (or may not) be our backups. I actually don’t know how Apple treats in-app purchases. You’d think that given how they treat music, books and video, you’d always have access to those back issues, but I haven’t seen anything actually stated. I will have to dig into the matter.
I was really struck by those of you who talked about losing your comics to the environments that you are in/are moving to. Paper is usually pretty resilient…but a flood…yikes.
anyway, thanks for taking the time to read the piece!
-mike
None.
Woof. It’s funny — thinking about what comics I’d save has ended up reminding me of the books I’d like to re-read at some point!
That said, while there are some things I could easily let go off, I’d ideally like to save my early to mid 80’s Spider-Man comics because when I first read them, I didn’t appreciate them for how very, very good they were. Also my almost full run of Transformers (go ahead and laugh). Finally, even though the information in it is totally ancient and completely out of date, my copies of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. That series of books, printed before Jimmy Wales dreamed of Wikipedia, gave me my first glimpse of the larger Marvel Universe and the connections between all those characters.
I’d like to pose a seperate to you, Mike. You say you’ve started writing this as you “begin the always fun process of rebuilding your Mac;” seemingly meaning that this has happened a few times prior to this post. What in the world are you doing to that computer?! In my 15 years of using Macs (both new and old), I have never once had to rebuild one.
Hurricane Katrina. That storm took every book I collected since childhood. A closet full of long boxes, a room full of Marvel promotional posters, ninja turtle action figures, and old PC equipment. A second floor childhood room, a capsule of late 80’s & 90’s geek culture reduced to a roofless, waterlogged, black mold, nature reclaimed habitat. I don’t have the same sentimental connection to comics. I still love them but have no desire to cling to the monthly physical form because they can be taken away in instance. Older and wiser; art and curated issues are insured – talk to your insurance agent about riders for appraised art (prints and originals) and comics (rare, artist commissions and proofs). Have it updated annually. Prints, vinyl toys, Mike Mignols signed Hellboy statue you got a C2E2 or the 25-cents #50 Fantastic Four you found at a yard sale, while it would be painful if lost in a disaster at least you can restart your collection with a little coin in your pocket.
Once Burned.
sorry to hear that .. thanks for the advice…
Ya i figure you would never be able to feel the same about comics again after that.