I think my time as a comic book reader is coming to an end
 

I'm just not excited by comics anymore. :sad:

There's only about 12 days left in the month and I still haven't placed my DCBS order, typically it's done the day the new stuff is put up. I have a pile about 6 weeks old of unread monthlies. I've tried new titles, I've dropped others. Nothing brings the thrill like it used to. I see long box after long box filling up what space I have left in my house and I see prices going up---when you add that into the boredom with the stories, there just doesn't seem to be any point in spending the cash on them.

My first comic, bought on a newstand, was Uncanny X-Men #171, over 24 years ago. Maybe that's long enough.

Is your boredom reading or collecting? Ive recently changed how i collect. I still enjoy reading. But I only get a few singles each month, let a friend read them, re sell them cheap then get a trade if I liked the story.

No floppies sitting around doing nothing. I got rid of all my long boxes, and just bought trades and Hc's of my favorite stories. I was just sick of long boxes, and after getting rid of so many singles, it kinda felt good, to have a smaller but specific collection.

I just collect key Silver Age now.

I never considered myself a "collector", certainly not in the last decade. I don't spend money on back issues to complete runs. I just read....and that's where the boredom lies.

I kind of went through the same thing around 7 years ago. Literally every single book I was reading was either cancelled, suffered from so many delays from issue to issue that they might as well have been cancelled, or the creative team I knew-'n-loved left the book in the hands of folks not remotely as capable.

After graduating from college, I think Joss Whedon's "Fray" was the only book I picked up for several years straight. After that, I turned to a friend of mine who runs an animation/comic fansite and asked him for some recommendations, just to get a taste of what I'd missed over the years, and I got hooked on trade paperbacks and hardcovers. There are a few monthlies I pick up -- I'm at the store every week or two, even if I only grab one or two comics while I'm there -- but I find reading comics much more satisfying in large chunks.

So, that'd be my recommendation -- step away for a while, let some of the good stuff build up, and then slowly pick up some trades if you need to scratch that itch again.

I took a year-long break about 7 years ago when I moved into my house and when I started up again my interest was renewed. But, that break was finance related and this certainly isn't.

I think you have something with that suggestion though: step away for a while and come back to trades instead of monthlies.

I pre-ordered Absolute Sandman V3 from Amazon this morning, I have every intention of getting all of those.

I post that everytime I see one of these threads. Some of you long time readers in this forum are burned out and need a break.

You see these kinds of posts on blogs and message boards all the time. I understand it, especially if you're forcing yourself to read something because you've always liked it or it's your character. But I think the guys are right in that you just need to take a step back.

I do stand by the idea that a person doesn't get sick of comics, just like they don't get sick of TV or movies or music or books, they're just consuming the wrong media. You hear people talk about how TV is so terrible these days because of reality TV, when at the very same time excellent shows like The Shield, Deadwood, or The Wire are on. You hear the same argument from long time Hip Hop fans that hip hop is dead, when in reality there is great music being put out, you just have to work a little harder to find it. The same for books, and movies, and every other medium.

I truly don't believe a person ever truly tires of a medium, unless they grow tired of hearing, watching, or reading stories -- which I don't think anyone does. You just have to find the right books. Now whether you want to do that, is a different story.

Comics are unique in that we consume them (mainstream books anyway) because we want to know what's happening in the universes their set in as much as we want to read good stories. In a way it becomes compulsory. I bet soap opera fans go through the same exact thing from time to time. Again, I'm assuming we're talking about mainstream books here, and if we are burnout only seems to make sense.

If you don't want to take a step back, I would suggest maybe shifting your focus to reading some miniseries or OGNs that you missed out on or looked over. Stories that are already done, that you can buy in a completed trade (trades) of, and don't need to follow.

I think sometimes we (as comic book readers) get an (unhealthy?) obsession with following the characters we know and love, even though the writing/artwork/editorial direction is not to our liking. When I took a step back in my college days (not by choice, but because there were no decent comic book stores in walking distance), it helped me to just focus on stuff I liked, as I was burned out by the whole foil cover/collectible market craze. It also helps you see that you can miss entire years of storylines and really not miss a thing. I imagine it's similar to people who watch soap operas: they get addicted to watching it every day, but if they took a break for a year or so, they'd find that they didn't really miss all that much.

Plus, catching up after a long break means that you can get the cream of the crop, especially in the age of everything-gets-collected.

Personally, I do miss picking up a bunch of monthly comics... but I just can't justify following a lot of titles on a monthly basis given the price, the varying quality, the rotating creative teams, and the availability of tpbs.

You can always step away for months or years but eventually you'll run across something that is interesting and you'll delve into it again.

I stopped buying singles once they got ridiculously expensive. About once a year, I go into my LCS, buy about $100-$200 in trades, and that's enough to last me for a year (or more).

Only problem is I want to get into Lucifer again but can't find the first volume.

The first volume of Lucifer is available, new and used, on Amazon. Or did you just mean at a shop?

Hate to say it, but I agree with everything boredsilly wrote. :D

I recently went five months without reading a comic, then WHAM! This weekend I read four trades/OGNs. It was refreshing to dive into some comics after a brief hiatus. I also read these books downstairs instead of in my office like I normally do. It sounds a little weird, but just that simple (almost silly) change helped me enjoy the story more. I can't explain it, but it's true.

So yeah, taking a step back and enjoying other things for awhile is a solid idea. But so is trying something new. There are so many good comics out there that people aren't reading. I'm not going to propose that I or anyone else tell you what those are, but I'm willing to be there's a well written book out there with art you'd like that you have never tried because it's not your normal cup of tea.

There's no wrong decision here. It's not like you have to read comics. And if you leave for awhile, they'll be here when you get back, and so will the friends you talk about 'em with.

I am still reading crazy amounts of the big Marvel Essential and DC Showcase Presents books, but my crop of new titles bought each month is at an all time low. Even if I reached the point where I wasn't buying any new releases, there is just SO much great older material out there I want to read, I doubt I am ever going to stop at this point.

There is always something out there to keep you in the game.

The thing is: even if I stop buying monthlies, it's not like I'm out of the game entirely. I must have 2 years worth of trades sitting unread because my first priority is always the monthly titles.

I've only read the first issue in V2 of Absolute Sandman. My V1 of Cooke's Spirit hasn't even been unwrapped. I have an entire shelf devoted to Essentials. Half a shelf for Showcases. Plenty of other trades beyond that.

On second thought, maybe the title should've been "I think my time as a 'monthlies' comic book reader is coming to an end". ;)

See, that I can understand and relate to.

On the other hand, I'm contemplating ratcheting even my tpb collecting way way back, because my bookshelves are clogged with hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and manga. If there were some kind of reliable way to rent comics or tpbs, or if they were readily available at the local library, I think I'd cut back even more... most of these are good reads, but very few do I feel the NEED to own and go back through regularly. Anyone else dealing with this?

I have Essential Dazzler Vol. 1 sitting on my shelf, so what do you think?

Oh yeah, having a stack of unread books is definitely a key for you, m'man. After awhile, it feels like a chore. Reading should be fun, but when you look at all the books you have to read, it's like a daunting task instead of something fun and relaxing.

Stop buying and read.

No, I bought the first eight volumes blind, and I read the first volume, then got busy and couldn't continue. Now I need to re-start and I can't find Vol. 1. It's somewhere around my house, I think. I don't know where though.

Ah, now I see what you meant. :)

Sounds familiar.

Though I'm still enjoying the shit out of the Omnibus/Absolute collections, along with a few other hardcovers (Escapist, Black Dossier), so I've really just grown tired of the floppies, and not comics as a medium.

Ok, not only have I apparently been "bored with comics" for 3 months now, my memory is going bad because I don't even remember posting there. :lol:

I can understand your boredom, but I don't ever go through it anymore. I don't collect many monthlies outside of creator-owned series, so there are few titles that I will really hang onto. My best recommendation for getting yourself out of this rut is to talk to your LCS and find out what books are hot. Typically you'll find most of them as creator-owned small imprints or under Image and Wildstorm. Or you could even ask on these boards. There's so much that flies under even my radar that I always find something new to pick up and read.

Your like this because you spend money, and not reading them all.

You should cut down, and read the ones you REALLY like, and burn the rest of them in fire.

LOL!

I actually cancelled my pull list the first of the month. First time in over 15 years when I won't have one.

Yup, didn't place a DCBS order in December.

What's the detox period and procedures for nearly a quarter century of comics reading? :lol:

This is why I don't have a pull list at my LCS, I want to be able to walk away and not worry about 2 extra months of comics coming my way if I decide to quit buying them (I would honor my pull list after I put in my cancellation request, so I'd be on the hook for 2 months of comics if I did have a pull list).