Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Am I over comic books?

I have a pile sitting in my reading area waiting to be read. I have LOTS of time on my hands.

Yet still they go unread. Including the last 2 Adventure issues before the current one.

Maybe it's time to drop everything except THE WALKING DEAD and LSH...

You need that one great story that inspires you and reminds you why you love them again.

I know how you feel Lash - the pile of books I'm interested in just keeps getting smaller and smaller. Occasionally, something like an Empowered volume will come out that I'll really enjoy, but the boost doesn't last, or spread...

It seems they only get read when WALKING DEAD or WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY come out... I read my favorites last, so when those come out that is when all the others get read.

MORNING GLORIES is still new and mysterious and has my attention, as does Young Avengers when it comes out. LSH is always a sentimental fave of course.

I honestly think I could drop all the others and not be worried about it.

Maybe I just need to have a good all-day sit-down read-athon in the sun room with a big glass of iced tea.

Lash, I know exactly what you mean. Over the past few years, the number of comics I buy has lessened a good deal. Most of that comes from this question: Do I really want to spend 3 or 4 dollars on something that lasts maybe 15 minutes?

The answer is, only if I really, really like it.

I was all excited about the revamping of the Legion, and also about Gail Simone returning to Birds of Prey. By the time those series came out, I found...I just didn't care. I have pretty much a complete run of Legion (except for a few very early issues) but I just can't bring myself to buy any of the new issues.

Right now, the only comic I am reading is Buffy, and it will end soon. I am wondering if I will even be visiting the CBS after issue #40. (Yes, I know they will do a Buffy - Season 9, but the resolution of the current series is so underwhelming I will finish the current series, but no more.)

I might be about done with comics, too...

Grant Morrison will save you, Lash, if you'd only let him.

Interesting. 'The Walking Dead' and anything LSH related are the only comics I am still reading... and the LSH stuff has come very close to being dropped several times in recent years. So, is it us that have changed or the comics? Or both?

There's still plenty of really outstanding titles out there. More and more, however, I'm finding that these are creator-owned series published either by Vertigo or by any number of indie publishers (Image, in particular, has had an outstanding batting average lately). There are a good number of terrific titles published by the Big Two, as well, but it's the indies, more and more, that are really firing on all cylinders.

Read the various review threads and see some of the great books we're talking about. Off the top of my head, some of the indies/Vertigos getting well-deserved pub (other than the already-mentioned Morning Glories and Walking Dead) are Chew, Turf, The Boys, The Secret History, Mystery Society, Scalped, Irredeemable, Atomic Robo, Invincible and Time Bomb. The list goes on and on.

Honestly, if you're not looking hard enough, you probably are just looking for an excuse to get out anyway. But the fact is that there's plenty of diverse and phenomenally awesome comics out there!

I go through phases - sometimes I think there is nothing worth reading in comics and I'm just throwing my money and time away continuing with the hobby. And then others, I'm really into it and can't wait to find out what's happening next in a particular story/character's 'life'.

One system I have developed which has made my comics-buying hobby a lot more bearable is to develop a zero-tolerance approach to crap comics (except for the Legion which my continued purchasing of Adventure Comics is testament to). This means if a series has two or at most three bad issues in a row - it's dropped!

Continuing to buy an awful book in the hopes that it will get better is like a comic-book cancer IMO since the resentment you have toward the writers/editors/publisher of that book(s) can spread to the hobby as a whole.

Keeping your pull-list relatively small but varied helps too IMO. I make sure to always buy a few non-DCU/non-super hero books (mainly in TPB - Walking Dead, Scalped, Unwritten), a good Vertigo book (Madame Xanadu), one or at most two books each from the Batman and Superman families (currently the JMS and Morrison ones - the latter being really very good at the moment), one or two team books (currently just The Legion for me - the Titans, JLA and JSA franchises would need some big shake-ups to get me interested in them again), one or two solo books that I feel good work is being done on (eg. Green Lantern), one 'event' type book (only if it is well-written) to stay up to date with the 'happenings' of the DCU (Brightest Day at the moment) and then one or two quirky/out-of-left-field series' or one-shots that I feel will give me something different to latch onto (the upcoming Ragman one-shot for example).

Keep your hobby diverse and manageable like that so that it's maintaining your interest and you're not spending too much money on it will probably go some way toward keeping the hobby alive for you.

I can't suffer from a comics-based-ennui as I haven't been able to really regularly read any titles in years due to no comic shop up here.

I think Lardy has it exactly right. There are a ton of EXCELLENT comic books out there right now, but you have to look for them in places you normally would not. Honestly, anyone depending on DC and Marvel them interested in comics is going to be dissapointed; I like to follow characters I loved my whole life too but the Big 2 have proven that they can never have more than 25% of their output be anything better than mediocre. There are good comics from the Big 2, but they're hard to find and often the best ones get canceled. I mean, sure, I like team superhero comics like everyone else, but I can't remember the last time a superhero team comics was so fantastic it made me excited like a 10 year old.

I think the independent publishers and Vertigo are where you need to go to find real quality, moving, exciting comic books right now. Lardy mentions a whole plethora of really great ones above and he only scratched the surface. For instance, if you're not reading Fables, you're doing yourself a real disservice and there is always time to catch up in trades, just like the Walking Dead. The quality of story & art being produced right now by these guys (and like Lardy says, Image in particular seems to be the real leader right now) is really impressive.

I'm someone who likes diversity of genre in my comics and I know everyone says that. I also know that there are people who read comic books for superheroes, and I can't blame them--I need a strong dosage of superheroes as well each month, it's why I started reading comics in the first place. But I can tell you, there are some pretty EXCELLENT superhero comic books out there, so do not despair! The superhero may not be one you have a nostalgic tie to, but I think if you gave it a chance you wouldn't be dissapointed. Green Hornet: Year One by Dynamite is probably the best street-level superhero comic I've seen in a long time. DC has some good comics that might not be everyone's cup of tea but I think you'll find something you like: Green Lantern, Flash, Booster Gold. And at Marvel, I'm really enjoying Fantastic Four, SHIELD and the Hulk comic books (anotther hint: if you see the names Jeff Parker or Fred Van Lente, it's probably excellent). So I think superheroes shouldn't be written off yet either.

But like Lardy says, expand your appetite to more independents and Vertigo and you'll be pleased. There is so much good right now in comics that I'm more excited now than I have been in over a decade.

I personally would not buy a comic that I didn't think was good. ZATANNA and WARLORD and SECRET 6 and BIRDS OF PREY and <insert title> are not bad comic books. They are good comic books.

So its not that I am buying comics I don't already like.

I get everyone's point about diversity. Unfortunately, my personal history with the VERTIGO line is spotty at best. I am currently reading (and enjoying) I ZOMBIE. And I never thought the day would come again when there were 2 IMAGE titles on my pull, like at present.

I am sure my vague dissatisfaction with most comics will pass.

But right now, if it weren't for WALKING DEAD and TRANQUILITY... I dunno.

FWIW, LASH, all I'm reading at the moment besides Legion comics is The Stuff of Legend, and whatever I can snatch up at the library. (I did pick up one Marvel mini-series recently, too.) When money's tight and books aren't all that affordable, I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

Also, the library's great for looking into stuff that has a lot of hype behind it, but that you're not sure you'll really like in long form. I now have a "reserve list" of stuff I'll want to own at some point, if my fortunes ever turn around-- thanks to the library.

I have SOOO wasted my time off by NOT going to the library. I really could kick myself. It's almost stupid not to go.

Do it!

That was a big solace to me when I was out of work. I'd grab a super-cheap lunch downtown with mr_cleome at a food cart, and then wile away the day at the main branch, which is a glorious place-- and just across the street from where he works.

Sadly, I had no luck getting my hands on most of the early Legion collections. Apparently they went out but never came back. [grumble] Lots of other goodies, though.

Pov reminded me on Facebook about my love of the current Doom Patrol. There's an issue in my stack and I got a little excited.

Yay!

I know what you mean LAsh. But I do like some of the stuff I am getting from DC at this point.

I, like I think you do, miss when comics were fun. Fun to read, and not a matter of dreading who was going to be killed or maimed this month. The Walking Dead being the exception...as you cannot wait to see what happens to them next.

I just read 3 comics.

Marvel Zombies 5 # 5 was really REALLY good.

I'm not over comics I guess.

I was kinda underwhelmed by the last 2 issues of WARLORD (which I finally read last night) although I did enjoy Grell's art.

So underwhelmed I almost set the rest of my stack aside-- instead, I chose to read the last 2 issues of the second RAWHIDE KID mini, but after doing a search for "Rawhide Kid" and seeing Cobie's decidedly negative review elsewhere in this forum, I'm a little a-scared to report that I enjoyed them.

It was silly goofy fun with NICE Chaykin art. All in all, though, I wondered what I else I could have done with the $16 I spent on it.

So I'm slOOOOwly moving through my stack. I came into some extra cash today and do plan on hitting the CBS this weekend. So that's good.

I picked up the Legion stuff today. Will read it and comment later, when I'm less tired.

I was floored (in a good way) to see that James Sturm has a new graphic novel out. Unfortunately it's way too rich for my blood right now, but I want iiiiit11!!! Sturm has been a fave of mine forever.

[sulk]

Eh. Maybe next month I can have it.

Not to rain on anybody's parade, but I had to share this:

I cancelled everything on my pull list.

I believe the final straw was when the DCU Legacies mini that I had initially championed so enthusiastically devoted an issue to Doomsday/Azbats.

I just can't take it anymore.

I'll still get Steve Bissette's comeback book and the next installments of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen whenever they all come out, but otherwise I've embarked on my second hiatus from the month-in/month-out thing. The first one lasted from late '97 to early '05. Who can say how long this one will?

Rise of Arsenal #4 was so bad it made me drop just about everything I picked up from DC. For about a couple of months.

Sorry, I love them too much and owe them too much to drop them now. If I really stopped caring about the characters I wouldn't be protesting so hard.

I was wondering what happened to you in that thread. You got me into that book and then ditched me!

I agree that the Bane/Doomsday issue wasn't the best but I've been enjoying that book enough to keep going the few issues it has left.

I certainly don't begrudge you for dropping it (or your other titles) though. My patience with comics these days is so thin that I give most books only one or two bad issues before I drop them. I do not have the time, money or inclination to continue buying things that don't bring me pleasure anymore.

Hope you stick around Legion World though.

Comic books have certainly gone through better times. I'm not buying much anymore, but a lot of that has to do with money, time and other priorities. I've been doing a lot of re-reading of books in my collection in recent years. That is keeping the hobby fresh for me since it's been years since I read some of these books.

Blacula, I'm definitely sticking around, I'm just more likely to be found at MMB than Gymll's these days. But that was very sweet of you. Thanks.

Jerry, I'm also re-reading old favorites as well as catching up on the good stuff that I missed during my first hiatus.

I recently got my entire pull-bag bought for me as a surprise early Christmas gift (I usually pick out about $20-$30 worth of the titles therein, my favorite stuff only, when I go). I haven't read the first book out of it yet but I will get around to it.

I kind-of wish he hadn't done that... there was some stuff in there I wasn't sure I wanted anymore like JLA and the last 3 issues of Adventure (the flashback stories have not been good IMO). There were several books in there I had intended to put back on the shelf.

The only super-faves of mine in the stack are the latest I ZOMBIE and DOOM PATROL issues.

But that was very sweet, and I will get around to reading them maybe today and tomorrow.

The best news about all this is, my pull is now emptied except for what came in Wednesday, and now I should work to keep it under control and buy ONLY what I know I really like the best.

Lash, I've noticed that lately a lot of my old favs are falling to the bottom of the list, like JSA and Flash.

Its disheartening, but then I remember that I get books like the above mentioned BoP, Secret Six and DP, and I see hope.

I'd say I'm closer to be over TV than I am comics.

I've also noticed that I am enjoying more independents, like the late lamented Strangers in Paradise, the latest Buck Rodgers, and Gail's Tranquility. (I know, but I consider it an independent, lol)

I've about given up on Marvel and now only collect the excellent Hawkeye mini's and when I see a regular book, Herc.

I'm going through one of those phases again...

Now that the excitement of the New 52 has worn down, I find it hard to bring myself to read any comics.

I recently read Young Avengers # 7, which was good... and then green Arrow and Legion Lost # 3, both of which were very boring. I still have several # 3s in there to read, and haven't checked on my pull bag at the CBS in WEEKS.

Feh.

I've bought next to nothing the last month or two, and it is going to severely impact my pull list. I will buy what is in my bin, and probably finish off some stories, but my full pull list is going to be very short from here on out.

Between other things that need money (car, house, kids) I find that I am enjoying buying movies that I want, amongst looking for back issues that I am going to start hunting down.

The New 52 broke me of DC ... almost ... I'm only getting OMAC for how long it lasts and Batwoman. Oh and Stormwatch still twists my arm ... but I'm trying to drop it.

The rest are just 19 pages. and some of that is Splash pages. I can't deal.

So, I'm back to getting the same amount of DC comics as I was before the reboot. except now I'm jaded.

Also, the frenetic pace with which Marvel has been churning out the events has really worn me out. I am excited about Wolverine's XMen and their return to the school but, the Avengers have me fatigued from the melodrama.

I'm gravitating more and more towards just indies .... which is odd for me since I've always loved super hero books.

I've actually been so fatigued i've given up getting everything i usually get ... i have to make a point of getting only things i love. which is about a third of what i previously got ... but it's sad i was previously getting so much stuff i just wasn't into.

At least thanks to legion World I can find out about old runs of good things i've missed over the years.

That's why we're here, Peebs.

I returned tentatively from my short-lived hiatus a while ago. I still read a few current mainstream comics (mostly the Avengers titles, which are possibly on the verge of turning around now that Bendis will be leaving within the year and Rick Remender is taking over Secret Avengers) but I generally wait for trades to arrive at the library.

I will definitely buy Ann Nocenti's first Green Arrow issue and see where I go from there. Batwoman has been getting universal acclaim, but I've decided to wait for the trade.

And the Steve Bissette comeback comic never materialized.

I recommend you look through the back issue bins for a $1.00 copy of X-Force #1. Then come online and write a review for it that only talks about how awesome it is.

You'll be smiling. Trust.

... I think I have it somewhere but it's probably easier to just go to the comic store and shell out a buck.

When I get home I'm all about doing this.

Better yet, invest in cheap back issues of X-Force #14-25, the tragically short-lived Fabian Nicieza/Greg Capullo era, one of the shining highlights of 90s superhero comics.

... <GASP> could this result in me ... becoming .... an


X-FORCE FAN ?!?!?!?!!? That would be ridiculous ...


I'm SURE X-Force #1 1989 was actually a big factor in my comic book break up that lasted until 1999 !

omg I'm so gonna do it, these boards will be alight with my X-Force reviews!! (we may lose some members)

See, now you got me wanting to go grab those issues as well...Gotta finish the Avengers first though.

I wanna reread The New Warriors as well.

... I am half way through my Avengers reviews and real life has gotten in the way !

Yeah, I wonder about New Warriors ... it was one of the last comics I was getting before I quit getting comics in the 90s but ... I wonder if it's because it was good or what ? I remember it had action and a traditional heros go on adventures and do stuff format, instead of the insular world embellishment stories the X books had going on at the time. I'm still a fan of most of the New Warriors. Justice Firestar Namorita ...

I always enjoyed the New Warriors quite a bit. It felt more real to me than a lot of comics out there.

I think the first 25 issues of New Warriors were pure gold, but then Fabian Nicieza spent the next 25 issues "smashing his toys." I love the guy, but I hate the way he built up Namorita only to tear her down.

I recently reread X-Force #1-11. If you do the same--bring Gatorade and wear Levis.

I'm actually more than a little embarrassed to go to the comic store and purchase them LOL!

Maybe I can wear a disguise or buy them online, how do you buy stuff online with cash ... from an internet cafe ... .

I could drive across town to a comic shop where nobody knows me! I hope they don't have surveillance cameras.

Just tell anyone who asks you're buying them for your son/daughter/niece/nephew/to give away for Christmas, etc.

Due to circumstances, I'll be in all weekend... so current plans call for me to visit the CBS later this morning and get a bulk of books from my pull... I hope to spend the weekend reading them and get back into the comics spirit...

pick up some X-Force while you're at it.

No.

Well I spent an obscene amount of money at the CBS... and still didn't clear my pull. *sigh*

Anyhoo, I have mulitple issues of OMAC and a couple other new DCs I was really liking, plus a new The Walking Dead issue and a crapload more stuff, so I hope to get back in the swing.

I think Cobie should hold quarterly "review months" to keep me and others psyched about comics!!

That's a great idea. I'll second that.

Cobie...Make it so!

Most of my DCnU stuff is still holding my interest... I sort my monthly pile alphabetically by company, and I easily read from Batgirl to Resurrection Man in a sitting-- that's 12-13 books from DC alone!

Perhaps Jan 2012 shall be Revenge of Comic Book Review Month!

^^Bride of Comic Review Month?

Ah yes, the traditional route. Bride next and then Son of Comic Book Review Month in April.

I'm already getting excited about comics again! But I still haven't read any...

Don't forget Princess Crujectra Day meets Comic Review Month, which will set off a string of Mash threads!

We have just enough prep time to get our slogans, grading systems and lines in the sand ready for review time!

"I'm not saying the Nazi's burning books was okay, but I really wish they could round up all the copies of the recent issues of _____"

Hm. Better refine some of those.

Bring it on!!!!

This one will be even more no holds bared than the last one !!

Starting with ... X-'Force'.

If you want to maintain your level of excitement . . . don't.

...

Ya'll soundin way too jaded here.

I am sorely tempted to post my grocery list to the "So, What'd You Get This Week?" thread.

Oh, Cleome...

STILL haven't read ANYTHING, and have been housebound ALL weekend with a big stack waiting...

I blame the internet, and the DVR. And to a lesser extent, Cobalt Kid.

Hang in there another two weeks Lash and we'll have a CBRM! Hopefully by then you havent dropped your entire pull list!

I've come to an important realization: I'll never be completely over comic books.

That said, I've sampled the more acclaimed of both the independents and the Big Two, and found them all somehow lacking.

I think it's a case of being out of step with the current aesthetic, which makes sense when you consider that comics' current main movers-and-shakers are from my own generation, and I've always felt out of step with my own generation. And as for the writers who were on the cutting edge twenty or thirty years ago, I'm no longer fooling myself that, nowadays, the majority of them are either going through the motions or being treated like dirt by their editors.

Maybe the next generation of creators will do work more to my liking, maybe not. At this point I'm not worried about it anymore. Also, my local library system seems to have cut back severely on acquiring new trades, which robs me of another avenue with which to peruse the new stuff. Finally, money is tight, and what I little I can spend I prefer to spend on DVDs of cartoons that I loved in grade school and junior high.

So here's to the future. The present can't change soon enough.

I'm letting things pile up again, so I am about to shut down the laptop and do a little reading. I'm only sort-of excited to read Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest, but I have heard decent reports so I am going to read them first!

Haven't read anything in about two months. I've been picking my books up regularly, but they've just been piling up at home. Between work, the election and family stuff, I've just been too busy or too tired to bother. It may be time to make the break to trades.

I've migrated ... away from the big two ... more or less.

but Earth 2 and World's Finest doubled the comics I get from DC!

I definitely recommend sampling the various Image,
Dark Horse, Dynamite and other independents reviewed on LW to reinvigorate your fire for comics. It's what has kept me so enthusiastic for the medium.

Marvel and DC have a few good comics each but the vast majority of their stuff is crap (and even if it starts good, they eventually let a series turn to crap). Its difficult to cut through their mediocre stuff to find the gems, and that can leave you exhausted.

I don't know if I'm "over" comic books, but today I cut my pull list back to two books -- LSH and Legion Lost.

I looked at my CBS's "New This Week" rack just to test my resolve, and I still felt "meh" about everything there. It just seems there are more important ways to spend my time and money right now.

Bye-bye "Before Watchmen". So long "Saga". Farewell "Wolverine and the X-Men"...and all the rest.

Aw.

I thought we got you hooked on some good 'uns like....Chew, maybe? Sorry Saga didn't do it for ya, LT.

Lardy, as far as comics go, I was enjoying Saga and Chew and others, and I'm glad I found out about them here. I just need to make room for some other things for now.

I'll keep reading the reviews here, though!

dude. There is so much gore and blood all over the comic's covers these days ... I'm talking Batman holding a jaw ... It may take some effort to find a character on a cover NOT dripping in blood.

I'm not neccessarilly opposed to horror or it being on a cover ... I'm not talking about Saga or New Deadwardians (which is a horror story with very little gore and blood on the cover or within ... same with Fatale)

I'm talking about blood being all over the DC and Marvel covers ... I'm not even coming from a moral perspective, like Batman's partner is a ten year old ... maybe he shouldn't being ripping off people's faces.

(I wouldn't criticize Hit Girl, that seems appropriate for the story ... and if i don't like it I wont buy it)

but ... it just seems like the big two are throwing blood and guts at everyone irrespective of story and/or characters personalities.

its lazy, somewhat irresponsible, and sensationalist.

does the blood sell the story or does the story sell the story.

I think its pretty obvious blood and "i've never seen someone die that way before" may sell a few issues, while the story will sell the series.

With the final issue of Avengers Academy in my hot little hands, I'm left with X-Factor as my only Marvel purchase.

When Legion Lost ends, I'll be down to Legion of Super-Heroes as my sole regular DC purchase.

I feel like one of those disgruntled politicians who becomes an independent and says, 'I didn't leave my party. My party left me.'

I'm picking up random things lately, like Teen Titans and Journey into Mystery and Hypernaturals, just to see if anything leaps out and engages me, but so far nothing has tackled me to the ground and demanded my moneys yet.

I saw a recent preview of Avengers Arena #1 ...


which has X-23 skewering Hazmat as Hazmat fries the flesh off X-23's skeleton ... scrambling eye balls and all.

Kill or be Killed.


I'm not sure if I would notice so much except that the "murder murder murder guns ammo claws" ... is running the show rather than being part of the show.

I think I'll pass on that one. I've never liked Arcade, and I have zero desire to see any of those characters re-enacting the Hunger Games.

I'm enjoying the Legion Archives I've finally scored from the library.

So I'm not over comic books. I am over the idea that my finances will ever again be in a state where I can commit to buying the damn things, though.

I suppose I am pretty much over comic books. I haven't bought even one in almost 2 years. Neither the finances nor the interest is there. It isn't just comic books, though. Lately I have had trouble reading almost any work of fiction.

I do have a nephew who is in the Marines. He is one of the finest people I know, actually. A few weeks ago I told him he could have all of my old Avengers and X-Men if he wanted them. I think I could hear him salivating over the phone.

I keep dreaming that one day i'll have the money to buy all the archives. I KEEP DREAMING. I mean, seriously, if you bought all 13 of them for face value you'd be spending close to 500 bucks! YEEEEESH!

I used to get one every year for my birthday.

Ha! I used to do one every Christmas! I like your style, Peebs!

I think I bought about one a month when I was buying them. Managed to get some pretty good deals on them by shopping around online as I recall...

No, you're thinking of this all wrong. Basically, you find twelve other trustworthy lunatics. Each one commits to buying a different volume. Then we-- er, the other twelve obsessive fans besides you swap them back and forth in the mail.

Yes, it'll be sort of like that M*A*S*H* ep where everyone in camp waited their turn to read B.J.'s one copy of a mystery a few pages at a time-- but so what?

Do it for the collective!

Collective or no, cleome, you can bribe with sweet treats.

Sometimes I think I'm over comic books, but I never get over the Legion Archives. They have a staying power that other comics just don't achieve.