Should I quit reading comics?

[Weetomuncher]

I'm thinking about giving up on comics.

I started buying US comics in a serious way almost three years ago (when Gail started on Birds Of Prey) and it was only because I liked the TV show I got into buying the comic.

I ended up hooked on comics and was buying far more than I could afford.

My health is pretty poor and I haven't been able to work for a couple of years so I've haven't got a lot of money to play with. I get less than a hundred dollars a week to live on in benefits.

After leaving college through ill health I continued to buy less comics than normal and was finding it difficult to follow what was happening in the DCU.

I returned to buying a lot of books (30-40 per month) when OYL started and while I've enjoyed what I've been getting I find it difficult to make ends meet.

My parents are really helpful with me and don't take that much from me in living expenses (they helped me get cable in my room and broadband for instance) and they're really good with me when I need something.

I feel that I need to buy a large selection of comics at the moment to fully follow the DCU and cutting down wouldn't help so I'm not sure if I should quit comics.

What do you guys think?

[Monkey Boy]

i ran into the same problem about a year ago. I realized i was spending more money on comics than i had. i was also buying 30-40 comics a month and too was finding hard to make ends meet. it came down to two things for me...

1. Quit buying comics because less was not an option
2. Continue to spend more money than i had until it caught up with me and have to stop living on my own and ended up in massive debt

I ended up giving up on comics all together. I now occasionally read a BoP or Y: The Last Man that my room mate has picked up but i really don't miss it much now. But those first few months were really tough.

I cant tell you what to do because in the end its your decision but i'd thought i'd shair a similar experience in hopes it would help.

[Yoda]

Pick the few titles you really like to read and get only those. I'm in the 35-45 titles a month range too, but if i was forced to i could drop it down to four or five titles.

Reading comics is something i really enjoy, hitting the shop on Wensdays after work and shooting the shit with the owner is one of the small pleasures in otherwise mundane and stressful work week. If you really enjoy comics then you shouldn't cut it completely out of your life unless you have to.

You don't have to follow every little detail to enjoy comics, especialy with internet access. If there's something you think you need to know you can always find out.

[Cam63]

I'm sorry to read that, Weeto.

Cut back to the stuff you really like is the only answer I can think of until you can afford more.

[Gail Simone]

Weeto, nothing is as important as your health. If you have to quit, quit.

But I definitely don't think you need to buy ALL the OYL stuff. Pick the top five or ten books you love, cut the rest, and get well!!

I've been really really poor in my life and there were many times I couldn't afford comics, so buying even one was sometimes a special treat. But that one comic might have been a comic that I really loved and made me happy in stressy times, you know?

Just thinking out loud. GET WELL, that's an ORDER.

Gail

[Cam63]

You heard her, Marine !

[Yoda]

Plus, think of how much fun it will be to go hunting for all the backissues that you missed once you get healthy and can afford it!

[OzBat!]

I can't imagine buying 30-40 books a month. With Australian/US exchange rates, thats... simply astronomical. I buy maybe 10 books a month, and a couple of those are for my kids. That still sets me back close to fifty bucks.

For your own situation, you could do what I had to do: draw up a list of everything you get. How many of these are you getting only because they tie in to something else, and you want the complete story? How many do you truly, regularly enjoy? How many of them could you let go for a month or two, come back to, and realise you didn't miss anything? Is there one particular character you really like above all others?

Start whittling down that pile. Being a completist goes right out the window. But instead of a sense of loss, I started to realise just which titles I really enjoyed, missed, or didn't need; and startingly these weren't always the ones I thought they were going to be when I first made up that list. That made it easier to cull the list further. At one point I was between jobs, major career change with some time as a studet, with a wife and two kids, and the only monthly comic I was getting was FLASH. Planetary and Astro City were extremely irregular. Anything else was one-shots, or random issues of favourite stuff when I had the spare cash.

It's not impossible to cut right back, without needing to go cold turkey.

[Sharpandpointies]

Take care of yourself first, like Gail says.

[pennywisdom]

Just thinking out loud. GET WELL, that's an ORDER.
I agree. Make that your top priority, first of all.

Also, if you have to quit buying comics, at least don't let your passion die. If you care, then continue to care. Come back here and chat, if you like. Who knows? You may still be able to afford one or two single-sized issues a month. If you can scrape together three bucks a month, that single comic will mean a lot to you and it will keep your love for comics afloat. More importantly, it will help you stay positive in a bad time.

Good luck, best wishes, and stay healthy. Pick up a comic every now and then if you can.

:)

[Super Sonic]

....I really can't say anything the others already have, so I'll just say, hope ya get better. ^_^

[pennywisdom]

After leaving college through ill health I continued to buy less comics than normal and was finding it difficult to follow what was happening in the DCU.

I returned to buying a lot of books (30-40 per month) when OYL started and while I've enjoyed what I've been getting I find it difficult to make ends meet.
Personally, I don't read any DCU books anymore. I missed out on the whole "Countdown to IC" thing... then I missed out on IC. I told myself I'd read more DC in 2006 (I think I even talked about looking forward to OYL here at the boards) but now that it's here, I just can't get into it. I'm missing out on all of it, and I'm a pretty big DC fan.

It's just too much inter-connectivity. Screw it. I'll read trades and just be a year or two behind everybody else.

EDIT: The exception being Seven Soldiers. I did get those. :)

[Weetomuncher]

I had been hoping that I'd be back working in IT (probably self employed) before OYL had started and I set that as my date to begin buying a bigger pull list again (thinking my health would be back to normal) but I'm no better than I was last year.

The main thing that bothers me is anxiety and I find it difficult to do a lot of regular things at the moment.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm going to cut back my list to pre-OYL levels.

I keep trying to live my life as it was before I took ill and I often find that I spend way outwith my means (although I don't have any debt, except my student loans) and find it difficult to get by. If my parents weren't around I wouldn't be able to afford anything.

I was finding every time I cut my spending in general down, I just couldn't control it for long and I'd be spending what I would when I was working as I'd convinced myself I'd be able to go back to work soon and everything would be OK.

[pennywisdom]

Now you should ask us which books you should keep and which you should drop. Because we love giving advice/recommendations.

[Weetomuncher]

I've pretty much made my mind up already but suggestions are welcome.

BOP, JLA : Classified (until Gail's run is over), Y - The Last Man, Infinite Crisis (one more), Hard Time : Season Two (two more), Justice, She-Hulk, The Thing and Bite Club - Vampire Crime Unit are all definates.

Secret Six and The Atom will be added, of course as will any Hack/Slash or GLA books that appear.

I make a point of getting all Gail's books, the Dan Slott funnies and Y - The Last Man without question.

I was buying a load of stuff like Catwoman, Green Arrow and Outsiders (solid B-list books) but I'm cutting those off at the moment.

[Super Sonic]

The only suggestion I can make (only if you can definately afford it, if not stick with your picks) is Bats/TEC, cuz by the looks of the writers and artists, he's in for a good year, but I luvs me some Batman, so....I'm biased.

Also Robin is kicking all kinds of ass, but if you can't afford it, maybe you should wait for some trades.


(Doesn't know if he's doing more bad than good)

[Ogdred]

You might also want to keep in mind that, if reading comics gives you pleasure, it might help you with your convalescence. If you don't mind waiting for stories, you can cut back to trades...which you can often find pretty good deals on if you buy them used. You should also check out your library to see if they carry trades. I've been able to read Preacher, Y: the Last Man, 100 Bullets, and several others this way. For free!

On the other hand, if it's buying comics that gives you pleasure, then I suppose you'll just have to prioritize.

Good luck!

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Like they said, health has to come first. So yeah, cut back.

[Crowley]

my advice..


switch to maybe 2 titles and picking up one trade every 3-4 months.

that's what I used to do.