Oh my god I don't even have all the issues!!! :( 1 1

[Coverdeath]

Oh my god I don't even have all the issues!!! 

Lol... just realized how it was stupid.

Completism caused me a lot of anxiety over time, I tought I needed all the issues, then I got all the issues but some are not in good condition so I consider that I didn't own them so I need to quickly find another copy to find my hole, and I'm hurry to finish the run so I m gonna overpaid for mess when they are thousand of nice deals on  beautiful books out there...

This morning I just won a book for 100$... why I decided to pull the trigger? Because the books was just so cool, as simple as that, I don't own any other issue from the run and I'm not planning to get other ones until I find some for cheap and if it never happen... it never happen.

BE FREE, you heard it 100 times but I have to repeat it: buy only what you like.

Hope this thread could help some people who have the same problem I had before. 

Just wanted to share my mindset on a collecting question.

Other experiences with it are welcome ;)

[Ken Aldred]

I’ll have to go back to the very start of my collecting to recall any completion frenzy.  I switched on to Conan, Savage Sword and the New X-Men quite a while after they’d started, and, being in the UK, there was the additional problem and ‘stress’ of finding gaps involving issues which had not been distributed over here at all. With limited knowledge about how to source these ‘rarer’ comics, it was additionally ‘anxiety-inducing’. I deliberately used a Kirby air quoting effect there because, looking back on all of that, much older and with such easy access to those books now, it seems like fretting over nothing. 
 

Other than that, I developed long runs simply by being interested in the comics as reading material, and some titles were consistent enough to buy for long periods. For choosing back issues, I took a more laid back approach too in focusing on whatever meant a lot to me; fond memories, favourite creators or stories. But, once out of the Bronze Age, completism ceased to be a motivation.

Edited July 30 by Ken Aldred

[Dave2739]

@Coverdeath  Your new board name is funny 

[Ken Aldred]

It’s quite metal, as well. Cover Annihilator would be another.

[buttock]

Oh, you've got issues. 

[MattrixAlien]

On 7/31/2024 at 4:25 AM, buttock said:

Oh, you've got issues. 

As comic collectors we've all got issues  It's nice to complete mini-series and runs of creators I like. But I have no interest in completing long runs. Titles have serious downs where the art & story goes bad. But some people enjoy collecting that way and I respect that. There are those where OCD is a genuine issue & compels them to get all of the books & everything in mint condition.

Edited August 1 by MattrixAlien

[Shadow]

I have the completionist curse. But not full blown in that I don't think I will ever own X-Men #1 or all the FF's. I have all the Justice Leagues (and three B&B's), Conan the Barbarian, Marvel Team Up, DC Comics Presents and other small runs. Part of the fun for me is finding the books. 

I do pick "segment runs" and expand at times. Example is FF where I have #170 to #300 and slowly chip away from the 120's to 160's. X-Men is #94 to #310 but I do have about 60+% of the SA issues. 

I need to purge some of the fodder from the last 20 years of newer books... 

[UncleAnwar]

I 100% have the curse that you speak of. Have been a completionist since I started collecting again 12 or 13 years ago.

Glad I got the bug when I did I guess, because my obsession left me with some awesome runs, X-Men 1-300, ASM 1-400, FF 1-300, Daredevil 1-300 and a bunch of other bronze titles/runs.

The journey was the fun of it for me, I could keep going with other titles (Iron Man, Avengers, Hulk, etc) but honestly I'm kinda burnt out on it now.

Plus with kids and a wife and all the bills and all that fun stuff, I can't really justify the cost anymore.

So for now I just hold them and continue reading here and there. I kinda had a plan to sell sometime this year but with the way the values have dropped, I'll just wait a few years and hope for somewhat of a market recovery.

All that to say, embrace the madness of that inner voice telling you that you must own every issue haha.