What keeps you reading comics?

[Mercury Man]

Story and art.

 

I have a few slabbed comics for preservation but I also have either raw, TPB or digital (sometimes all of the above) to actually read.

 

It's fun to see the tone difference too in comics, obviously a reflection of the changing times and social mores.

Being relatively on the younger side, writing on comics older than the 80s actually make me cringe sometimes. Granted, there are plenty of moderns that make me cringe, too, due to bad writing and/or art. However, we're getting hundreds of new comics a month and there are gems among the drek if you look.

 

There is definitely a level of cheese in the older stuff, but you gotta remember the times, and the target audience was typically younger.

[aerischan]

It's fun to see the tone difference too in comics, obviously a reflection of the changing times and social mores.

Being relatively on the younger side, writing on comics older than the 80s actually make me cringe sometimes. Granted, there are plenty of moderns that make me cringe, too, due to bad writing and/or art. However, we're getting hundreds of new comics a month and there are gems among the drek if you look.

 

There is definitely a level of cheese in the older stuff, but you gotta remember the times, and the target audience was typically younger.

I actually do keep the time period in mind. I've found some older stuff I've read via Marvel Unlimited enjoyable enough despite the cheese and reading older comics has been an interesting glimpse into pop-culture history.

 

For me, it all boils down to limited entertainment dollars and time. At $10/mo or less, reading golden, silver and bronze age comics via Marvel Unlimited is a no-brainer. However, when I have to choose between something like silver age MMW Daredevil versus a modern such as Fatale or Velvet Omnibus which are more suited to my tastes, I'm gonna choose Fatale and Velvet.

[Artboy99]

I am definitely in some form of transitional phase regarding comics.

 

Part of me wants to support the LCS by buying some new comics and trades to read and sometimes back issues but this is rare as most the LCS here are bad graders and over price the back issue inventory.Why I am going to the LCS every week is it makes me feel I have a "pulse" on what is going on in the comic industry to be at the LCS every week.

 

The other part of me wonders why I am spending money on books that I can acquire by buying someone's collection and not pay full retail for them.

 

As to reading, I prefer trades to actual comics. I currently am reading some Red Sonja trades, after that I have 3 Roche Limit trades to read followed by a couple of others. The only comic I am reading is Walking Dead which I buy and read the day I get it, the rest of my comic purchases go into a box and I find I am caring less and less about them. They are not organized at all. They are at least bagged and boarded which I do at the LCS so I don't have to do it after because I likely won't.

 

I keep cutting titles from my list, and I think I will be cutting more at my next visit.

 

 

[aerischan]

As to reading, I prefer trades to actual comics.

Format-wise, I prefer floppies to TPB/HC because I dislike gutters. That said, I appreciate how trades include complete story arcs. Certainly makes reading easier.

 

The Marvel Zombies Omnibus (layflat HC) was really nice though. Wish all HC releases had the same binding although that's bound to increase prices.

[kav]

What keeps me reading comics is I mostly only read silver age comics.

[Readcomix]

What keeps me reading comics is I mostly only read silver age comics.

 

That helps....I prefer to wince occasionally at cheesy than to cringe at drek.

 

Bought a lot of tpb's from a fellow collector the other day, mostly for resale. Figured I would read some first. Flipped through Avengers vs X-Men The Crossing and found a scene where Cap gets chewed out by the president. Iron Man says to Cap afterward something like "You're walking funny. Should've established a safe word." This is modernizing a character? This is what dad finds when he buys Johnny his first Marvel comic? The Tarantino Schtick loses its impact when it's everywhere. It's the writing equivalent of a tattooed soccer mom. Overdone for a decade now.

 

Also, I hate glossy pages. Too much glare. So yeah I read old stuff.

 

In fairness, much of the DC stuff lacks this faux edge and actually tells stories. Could use a few less reboots though. Build on something.

[fastballspecial]

Because I love them. They taught me to read at a level that most in high school and college students would envy.

 

I grew up on them. I love the art. I love the story. I am sure many feel the same way.

 

30+ years of reading the essence of comics hasnt changed and thats why they are still around. Its a few minutes of escapism that only another comic book reader understands.

 

We are a unique hobby. Something I will defend, support, and encourage until my end.

 

[comicquant]

I read comics more now than I did when I was collecting in the 80's and 90's. I have marvel unlimited and comixology unlimited subscriptions so I have many options. I will say this... I think Marvel has lost or is losing their way at a scary pace. The stories are marginal at best and they just feel "off". Now they're trying to sell the cover and it seems comics have become a test market for the MCU. I hope they don't turn a blind eye to the very thing that made them who they are today. I have enjoyed reading some of the DC Rebirth titles. I feel they are at least making an effort to sustain a readership. My favorite stories come from SA, BA and some CA...

[kav]

What keeps me reading comics is I mostly only read silver age comics.

 

That helps....I prefer to wince occasionally at cheesy than to cringe at drek.

 

Bought a lot of tpb's from a fellow collector the other day, mostly for resale. Figured I would read some first. Flipped through Avengers vs X-Men The Crossing and found a scene where Cap gets chewed out by the president. Iron Man says to Cap afterward something like "You're walking funny. Should've established a safe word." This is modernizing a character? This is what dad finds when he buys Johnny his first Marvel comic? The Tarantino Schtick loses its impact when it's everywhere. It's the writing equivalent of a tattooed soccer mom. Overdone for a decade now.

 

Also, I hate glossy pages. Too much glare. So yeah I read old stuff.

 

In fairness, much of the DC stuff lacks this faux edge and actually tells stories. Could use a few less reboots though. Build on something.

Yep-I cant even watch pulp fiction any more because its been copied so much now I hate the original.

[Ken Aldred]

I haven't been a regular, weekly customer at a comic shop for nearly 7 years now. I felt $2-99 was enough to pay for a single issue and decided that the rise to $3-99 was an acceptable cut-off point. Health issues also made it too demanding for me to make the weekly journey to the LCS, and the routine became too much of a tedious chore at much the same time as the price hikes started. A perfect storm.

 

I have a large trade paperback and archival hardcover collection and a lot of material to read, and additionally there's the digital option. Over the past couple of years I've become quite tired of the speculator bubble in the back issue market and instead have gravitated away towards actually enjoying reading comics again, more and more. My technique for still keeping involved after 40 years is to pick a certain Age, genre and publisher, and then go on to something that has to be very different. For example, recently I jumped from the complete Lee / Ditko Dr Strange run to reading Fables, then an Archive Edition of Spirit Sections, then Love and Rockets, Jodorowsky and Ladronn 's Final Incal, Tom King's Vision series, American Vampire, and so on - just mixing it up as much as possible.

[followtheleader]

The day I stop reading on a weekly basis is the day I stop with comics period (obviously barring a week off for vacation, etc). For me, there is no point if I can't enjoy reading.

 

Patrick

 

 

[SquareChaos]

What keeps me reading comics is I mostly only read silver age comics.

 

That helps....I prefer to wince occasionally at cheesy than to cringe at drek.

 

Bought a lot of tpb's from a fellow collector the other day, mostly for resale. Figured I would read some first. Flipped through Avengers vs X-Men The Crossing and found a scene where Cap gets chewed out by the president. Iron Man says to Cap afterward something like "You're walking funny. Should've established a safe word." This is modernizing a character? This is what dad finds when he buys Johnny his first Marvel comic? The Tarantino Schtick loses its impact when it's everywhere. It's the writing equivalent of a tattooed soccer mom. Overdone for a decade now.

 

Also, I hate glossy pages. Too much glare. So yeah I read old stuff.

 

In fairness, much of the DC stuff lacks this faux edge and actually tells stories. Could use a few less reboots though. Build on something.

Yep-I cant even watch pulp fiction any more because its been copied so much now I hate the original.

 

Odd, it seems like you'd hate the knockoffs.

[Ssantoss]

I seems to be the odd one out here. Being a swede, I don't have the luxury of a Local Comic Book Hangout and has to rely on a subscription service to get all my titles (Seriebubblan, one of few Swedish comic book stores, some 250 kilometres away), and I recently increased my "pull list" from "most marvel titles" to "all marvel titles + some other stuff". Once a month I get a delivery with around 70 floppies, which gives me great joy to read through multiple times before they are bagged and boarded.

 

I actually like the way Marvel is going, there are only so many times you can write about Tony Starks bout with alcoholism and pigheadedness, or Bruce Banners rage problems, and to introduce these legacy characters give us readers a whole new cast of personalities to get to know, each with their own set of strengths and flaws.

 

That being said, I'm also working my way backwards, collecting older titles. Reading about 50 cent bins and dollar bins with "drek" from the 80ies and 90ies fills me with a bit of envy, wish we had that here. Would make collecting older back issues so much cheaper.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Iv'e been collecting a long long time now, My pull list use to have over 40 titles on it! But in the past couple of years iv'e gotten more and more into the business side of comics, be it flipping or getting convention exclusives for people who can't attend or just plain attending more conventions.

 

I've found my love of actually reading books has dwindled significantly lately. I used to pick up my books on new comic wednesday every week and read them all that night, now I have a full long box of books I haven't read yet and my pull list is down to about 8 titles.

 

I find because of my job and other things I have less time to read but even when I have time now I don't.

 

I feel like spending 50$ a week on readers is kind of a waste now when I can invest that money on slabs and sigs. Doesn't help with all the relaunches and titles that don't even reach #20 before getting relaunched or cancelled.

 

So what keeps you reading? I love comics but kinda feel like my love is fading..

I am loving comics more than ever because I am reading them more than ever on Marvel Unlimited and ComiXology. The characters are just great.

I can`t think of another medium where there were two universes that were created a long time ago and continued to be updated like the Marvel Universe and the DC Universe.

I will take both of those universes over any others in any other media.

[batman_fan]

I stopped buying new comics over six years ago after almost 40 years of continuous purchasing. The reason is I stopped even looking through them. They just got bagged and stuck in a box. I still go to the local shop every 6 months or so but tend to pick up older stuff or trade paperbacks. I think it is a great way to see what is out but I guess I have lost the loving feeling for the new stuff and figure if anything is good, it will be in a trade paperback which can be bought pretty cheap.

[Badger]

I read comics more now than I did when I was collecting in the 80's and 90's. I have marvel unlimited and comixology unlimited subscriptions so I have many options. I will say this... I think Marvel has lost or is losing their way at a scary pace. The stories are marginal at best and they just feel "off". Now they're trying to sell the cover and it seems comics have become a test market for the MCU. I hope they don't turn a blind eye to the very thing that made them who they are today. I have enjoyed reading some of the DC Rebirth titles. I feel they are at least making an effort to sustain a readership. My favorite stories come from SA, BA and some CA...

Same here. I just signed up for Comixology Unlimited but I've had marvel Unlimited for over a year now. I'm reading more comics now per year than I have in the previous ten years, combined. The more you read, the cheaper each issue becomes overall. Love it! Read all of Planet Hulk and first Civil War last year along with Black Science and Manifest Destiny. Really fun to read when you are only paying less than 50 cents a book in some cases.

 

I still buy a few books at my LCS but that is mainly to keep complete runs, complete. If not for Marvel Unlimited I doubt I would be buying any Marvel comics. The stories are not all that for the price charged and this restarting with #1 for every story arc turns my stomach. Its a money grab by Marvel and I fear it will cause them to implode when the interest in the movies dies down.

[aerischan]

Same here. I just signed up for Comixology Unlimited but I've had marvel Unlimited for over a year now. I'm reading more comics now per year than I have in the previous ten years, combined. The more you read, the cheaper each issue becomes overall. Love it! Read all of Planet Hulk and first Civil War last year along with Black Science and Manifest Destiny. Really fun to read when you are only paying less than 50 cents a book in some cases.

+1. By last count, I read ~350-400 back issues via Marvel Unlimited within a 7-month span and ~100 Image Comics, etc back issues via Comixology Unlimited within a 3-month span. That's less than $0.20 per issue!

 

I've been buying comics from the LCS for titles I want to keep/collect and to sample new releases but now that Marvel's dropping digital codes, I plan to do all my sampling via Marvel Unlimited from now on. Way more cost effective.

[grayzr]

Other than the walking dead I have completely lost interest in current marvel/dc and independent titles, with all the reboots and new titles its just to much at this point. Now I am more into collecting older key books which are of course slabbed.

[Buzzetta]

They have rebooted Spider-man so much I just pick it up and bag and board it. After Eternal Warrior ended (which I actually enjoyed), ASM is the only title I pick up and that is simply to maintain the collection.

 

Everything else... I will read with Marvel Unlimited when the whim strikes me.