D2 Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 Am I the only one? I can’t be the only person that does this? I like to categorize this under: Mistakes I Did Again… I bought a (semi) expensive book that I hadn’t read before. I finally got around to reading it this morning, and it’s not all that good. I used to make this mistake all the time, buying comic books based on any number of reasons except for the one that mattered: loving it so much that I had to have it. So frustrating… even the reviews were good! And it’s not an entirely bad book, but it’s a standard ‘meh’, a forgettable tale that didn’t warrant me buying an expensive copy of the thing. I don’t know if it’s the speculator in me that won’t die or the neurotic collector that needs to own things, but I will tell you one thing… Book for sale 😂 Seriously. This is so frustrating. Owning a book I don’t care about is such a stupid problem to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post shadroch Posted December 1, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2023 Sell your mistakes. Having money tied up in lousy comics is even more frustrating. Raze, stormflora, AbsoluteCarnage and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Aldred Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) That's why when buying pricey slabs or raws I used to focus on books I'd read, loved the stories and art, and had a deep connection to. Reading digitally now I've found a lot of material, including many hot books, to be extremely mediocre, that do nothing for me, and I'm relieved I never bothered getting a physical copy of them. It's a consistent process that allows you to move on and keep distant from the hype and FOMO. I wish that resource had been available decades ago to constrain my youthful overeagerness. Edited December 1, 2023 by Ken Aldred D2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 Yeah, most stuff is available on line to read ahead of time. If you really like it then buy a copy for your collection. I too, have been sucked into buying a key or great cover and found it to be a less than satisfying experience once I open the cover. What I hate is to spend good money on a book I already have… But, then it isn’t much trouble to sell my under copy. Ken Aldred and D2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D2 Posted December 1, 2023 Author Share Posted December 1, 2023 I agree, selling off those books immediately is the only way to curb a habit. And the pain of selling it, is the reminder of the habit I need to break. Especially when I, inevitably sell the book for less than what I probably paid for. The Fomo is brutal, and with today's influences, I mean, I like to get in the dirt with comic enthusiasts. I find the line is blurred between enthusiasts and general vultures, posing as enthusiasts. But I think what you guys are saying is the best way, read online, as cheap as possible, and then invest up if I fall in love. Speaking of spending money on books I already have... buying a CGC 9.8 that isn't a good 9.8 is also frustrating Ken Aldred 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 I've set aside early runs of Spawn, Wildcats and Youngblood. I've never read any of the early Image so I'm going in with an open mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Noodle Boy Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) This topic strikes close to home for me. Now that I've gotten back into the hobby after 30 years away I've been focused on collecting stuff I never even noticed when I was a Teenage Marvel Zombie - bronze horror and sci-fi, romance books with great covers, and a lot of Betty and Veronica stuff. I always looked straight past these books and now that I'm in my 50's I find myself wanting to experience the parts of the hobby that my teenage superhero collecting and silly over-interest in Marvel and DC "continuity" blinded me to. But I'm sort of afraid to actually read any of these books I'm collecting now, because if I really, really don't like one of them, it would kind of ruin that book for me. If a book is run of the mill standard stuff for its era that wouldn't be a problem, as I'm collecting these partly based on their covers, but if one was just outright horrible it would be hard to keep it in my collection. Having said that, the good thing about the stuff I'm collecting now is that it all really does have a sort of standard level of quality that doesn't vary much, as they aren't at all beholden to "continuity" and the silly gimmicks publishers use to keep their superhero universes going. Betty and Veronica are forever Betty and Veronica and that's just fine by me. Edited December 1, 2023 by Happy Noodle Boy BlowUpTheMoon, D2 and steveinthecity 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sd2416 Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 8:09 AM, D2 said: Am I the only one? I can’t be the only person that does this? I like to categorize this under: Mistakes I Did Again… I bought a (semi) expensive book that I hadn’t read before. I finally got around to reading it this morning, and it’s not all that good. I used to make this mistake all the time, buying comic books based on any number of reasons except for the one that mattered: loving it so much that I had to have it. So frustrating… even the reviews were good! And it’s not an entirely bad book, but it’s a standard ‘meh’, a forgettable tale that didn’t warrant me buying an expensive copy of the thing. I don’t know if it’s the speculator in me that won’t die or the neurotic collector that needs to own things, but I will tell you one thing… Book for sale 😂 Seriously. This is so frustrating. Owning a book I don’t care about is such a stupid problem to have. Nope. Im about to cull down my 150 boxes (75 personal, 75 meant to sell) and refocus/reassess my "habit". Like mentioned above, the pain of selling for less than I bought it will be a stern reminder going forward. stormflora and D2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExNihilo Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 I've considered this, but a part of me still wants to collect to see the diversity of titles. As costs mount and space diminishes, I'm constantly thinking it might be time to downsize and keep only a handful of issues, but I can't get myself to do it. As others have mentioned, you can read the issues digitally and then buy the ones you like. I know it sucks that you might miss a book that pops off as a result, but you're likely saving yourself hundreds in the long run. Like why bother spending $75/month on books that will be forgotten in the hopes that maybe one or two a year will be worth keeping? Might as well just read the books digitally and then buy that one book inflated to $60 on the secondary market while saving money on everything else. BA773 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 (edited) On 12/2/2023 at 2:40 AM, shadroch said: I've set aside early runs of Spawn, Wildcats and Youngblood. I've never read any of the early Image so I'm going in with an open mind. Wildcats (I couldn't be bothered spelling it properly) is unreadable unfortunately (I got the Absolute and tried reading it, impossible). Youngblood the mid- later stuff is better, around the time of the Baptism Of Fire (I recently read a chunk of it, I was in a 90's mood), the Team Youngblood series. Spawn is going to come down to personal opinion, whether you thought it was ever that strong to begin with. Enjoy it though! Edited December 1, 2023 by Cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Balls Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 7:12 AM, shadroch said: Sell your mistakes. Having money tied up in lousy comics is even more frustrating. What he said. And if you have to sell at a loss, don't beat yourself up over it. Everyone does it, no one ever talks about it. Stefan_W and D2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal soldier Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 11:40 AM, shadroch said: I've set aside early runs of Spawn, Wildcats and Youngblood. I've never read any of the early Image so I'm going in with an open mind. Much of the 90's image stuff made me want to throw myself off a cliff but early Spawn was decent. I found it really got bad after issue 100 or so and I gave up around the 150's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Balls Posted December 1, 2023 Share Posted December 1, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 3:26 PM, universal soldier said: Much of the 90's image stuff made me want to throw myself off a cliff but early Spawn was decent. I found it really got bad after issue 100 or so and I gave up around the 150's. Wildcats was really a letdown. Such fantastic art, but man - I tried several times to give it a read (back then) and it was just hard to get into. The one character who had some great backstory (at least to me) was Grifter. His association with Team 7 really gave him a sense of inter-connectivity to the rest of the Image Universe. I must have not been the only one, because they worked Grifter in all over the place. He was like a cooler version of Gambit. universal soldier and ADAMANTIUM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADAMANTIUM Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 (edited) On 12/1/2023 at 5:57 PM, Dr. Balls said: On 12/1/2023 at 4:26 PM, universal soldier said: Much of the 90's image stuff made me want to throw myself off a cliff but early Spawn was decent. I found it really got bad after issue 100 or so and I gave up around the 150's. Wildcats was really a letdown. Such fantastic art, but man - I tried several times to give it a read (back then) and it was just hard to get into. The one character who had some great backstory (at least to me) was Grifter. His association with Team 7 really gave him a sense of inter-connectivity to the rest of the Image Universe. I must have not been the only one, because they worked Grifter in all over the place. He was like a cooler version of Gambit. Cgc is currently having a signing and interviewed some wildcat artists on social media. Idk if it was common, but the art at the time seemed "innovative" or different enough to be liked, by me anyway. Anyway, the artists mentioned the computer coloring process of spread pages at the time, and that it took the computer 45 minutes to apply a choice when chosen and even to only one aspect of a cover while depending on how large a change. He mentioned that God forbid you not like the results, and with several computers up and running at the same time to work on variants and etc. It wasn't a long interview or remark, but I could feel his frustration of reliving it I'm not sure if that would be considered a "digitized coloring" 1st of its kind process, but it did have unique qualities at the time when I first saw them. Edited December 2, 2023 by ADAMANTIUM universal soldier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormflora Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 (edited) As someone who is far younger than most here (I'm only 30), modern technology has helped a lot when it comes to literature. You can read most stuff online, typically at a discounted rate or free, and then buy it to collect if you really resonate with it. And one highly underrated resource is the local library. You can take out a ton of TPBs and compilations for free. Some libraries subscribe to online eBook systems as well, which also provides you with a massive catalogue of free comics at your own leisure. Edited December 2, 2023 by stormflora ADAMANTIUM, Point Five and D2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADAMANTIUM Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 6:06 PM, ADAMANTIUM said: Cgc is currently having a signing and interviewed some wildcat artists on social media. Idk if it was common, but the art at the time seemed "innovative" or different enough to be liked, by me anyway. Anyway, the artists mentioned the computer coloring process of spread pages at the time, and that it took the computer 45 minutes to apply a choice when chosen and even to only one aspect of a cover while depending on how large a change. He mentioned that God forbid you not like the results, and with several computers up and running at the same time to work on variants and etc. It wasn't a long interview or remark, but I could feel his frustration of reliving it I'm not sure if that would be considered a "digitized coloring" 1st of its kind process, but it did have unique qualities at the time when I first saw them. I'm not sure how to embed a Facebook video, or even how to make it where you don't have to be logged in. But linkage. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/urZ2mSsYN8jVjBfn/?mibextid=qi2Omg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal soldier Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 (edited) Some of the mistakes I mainly make are with moderns. I might collect about 15 titles a month and most recently they relaunched She-hulk. The series prior was kinda but I stuck through it. The latest series took me all of one issue to tap out. My LCS automatically signs you up when a series reboots and I never opted out during the relaunch. Certainly a lot less expensive than what @D2 was referencing but I keep doing it over and over. It's the completionist in me that keeps me buying ... Edited December 2, 2023 by universal soldier speling ishard D2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul © ® ⚽️💙™ Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 8:19 PM, Dr. Balls said: Everyone does it, no one ever talks about it. Dr. Balls 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
universal soldier Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 On 12/1/2023 at 7:43 PM, ADAMANTIUM said: I'm not sure how to embed a Facebook video, or even how to make it where you don't have to be logged in. But linkage. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/urZ2mSsYN8jVjBfn/?mibextid=qi2Omg I can relate to the early PC days. Dial up modems and 2 GN maximum hard drives! ADAMANTIUM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADAMANTIUM Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 (edited) On 12/1/2023 at 7:33 PM, universal soldier said: I can relate to the early PC days. Dial up modems and 2 GN maximum hard drives! I had random experiences in the 90's with computers, luckily it was mostly gaming, with a few sprinkles of typing, math, and other classes. Everyone got quiet and or attentive on computer day 😂😆 Edited December 2, 2023 by ADAMANTIUM universal soldier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
