What Comic Did you Wind Up Buying Years Later to Read the Conclusion to an Arc?

[Anthony7]

Mine was X-men 102 where Colussus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine were fighting Black Tom and the Juggernaut.

Another was a reprint of a 60s Hulk where he fought the Galaxy Master.

I think this was far more common in the 70s when we only had drug stores.

The old X-mens were very problematic as they were bi-monthly and many issues never made it the racks in my hometown.

[MDG]

Action #366--the end of the Virus X story.

http://www.comics.org/issue/22057/cover/4/?style=default

[Ben Akers]

Detective Comics #540.

It finished the story from Batman #373.

I waited 20 years to finish off that story. :biggrin:

[Scott Harris]

Avengers #177, the epic end of the Korvac Saga. These were all back issues for me, but the internet didn't exist yet so I had to go to shows and shops looking for it. It took me well over a year from getting the rest of the story to finally track down #177; nobody had this issue. At the time, a good friend of mine who was also an Avengers fanatic had the exact same problem a thousand miles away -- he easily put together #167-176, but it took him well over a year to find #177. When he'd visit, we'd drive all over the state looking for this issue knowing if we found it there would be a massive throwdown to decide which one of us got to actually buy it.

And this issue really was worth the wait, too.

[edhopper]

A DC scifi mini series and Chris Sprouse's first mainstream work.
I never got the lat issue, #9, because of bad distribution. Tracked it down about 8 years later.

http://c113302.cbrd.info/ff47908aafddd72d4e655016520d277e_l.jpg


http://image2.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/38489616752.9.GIF

[pakehafulla]

Mine was final few issues of Preacher. I had been collecting the comic for about 2-3 years in the mid 90's, buying trades and a whole buncha back issues to get up to date.

Then the damn comic shop closed, had just bought #63, and my only decent hope of finishing the series was gone.

Within months I had decided to stop buying altogether(pregnant wife, not because I was sulking) but always regretted not knowing how the story ended.

Fast forward to 6 months ago and a trip to a nearby city, and the first thing I see as I walk in the front door of their LCS is the full series of Preacher trades.

Thats an awesome feeling completing a story after all that time.

[Anthony7]

Another one was the Karb-Brak story in Superman.

An alien who had super-powers was fatally allergic to all other beings with super-powers. The doctors on his home world sent him to Earth under the amnesiac guise of Andrew Meda. Of course Superman caused his symptoms ot reappear.

It ended with Superman being sent back to 1776 and eventually escaping. I found the final issue about 4 years after I read the first few.

[Joey Deadcat]

For me it was it was the final issue of of the Andy helfer/Kyle baker run on the Shadow. Didn't find it 'til several years back. If anyone remembers that arc it was where the Shadow's two sons are carting his corpse through the mountains as they try to make their way to Shamballah. There was a subplot going on that had Shiwan Khan in a hospital gradually being made into a cyborg. The very last issue published had The Shadow's body getting decapitated and would lead to him also becoming a cyborg.

Now, if I can remember, Conde-Nast weren't happy about all that and had enough so DC were made to cease continuing the series. Don't know if that had anything to do with some shops not getting that final issue before it was cancelled.

Another one was Steve Gerber's Foolkiller series during the early 90s. Can't remember why it took me years to get the final two issues of that.

[gryhpon]

i bought the recent hardcover to read the end of the in search of galactus story arc of fantastic four

[McFarlane's Green Hulk]

It took me forever to finally pick up FF #243 and #244, because I didn't want to pay $3.50 for them. Mind you, this was back in the late `80's -- no Internet, parents didn't want to write a check to Mile High for comics...
I'd just gotten the "Trial of Galactus" tpb and figured I didn't need them as singles. (The collector in me ended up winning years later, but...)

[benday-dot]

The very last issue published had The Shadow's body getting decapitated and would lead to him also becoming a cyborg.

I can't knock it because I haven't read it. And in the wild world of comics sometimes the strangest things are the most entertaining and finest things. But... that cyborg Shadow thing sounds like a monstrously, dreadful idea.

[adam_warlock_2099]

A DC scifi mini series and Chris Sprouse's first mainstream work.
I never got the lat issue, #9, because of bad distribution. Tracked it down about 8 years later.

It was probably in the mid to late 90's that I discovered the Gray Hulk Saga. The last issue, #340, that I had to get in the series, I finally bought last year. Except it was the price tag, not distribution that prevented me from purchasing the issue. Especially in the 90's, it being a McFarlane issue, made it that much more outrageous. But I finally broke down and got a FN copy. After 10 plus years, it wasn't as exciting to get it as I thought it would be, outside of knowing I had that complete run.

[shaxper]

I'm embarrassed to say DC's Armageddon 2001 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon_2001). I was very impressed with the premise as a kid and bought many of the DC annuals that tied into the storyline, but (I guess because it ran for a full year) I somehow lost track and forgot about it. Years later, I was fondly recalling the storyline and suddenly realized that I had no idea what the answer to the big mystery hinted at throughout the entire series was. I finally picked up the missing annuals and final issue. Turns out that I would have been better off never reading the conclusion. DC changed the ending at the last minute when fans guessed it. The last minute change made absolutely no sense and was a total letdown.

[JKCarrier]

Boy, this used to happen to me all the time in the '70s. Marvel drove me crazy with their continued stories. The Avengers-Defenders War. Captain America vs. the Secret Empire. Howard the Duck running for President. Daredevil vs. Angar the Screamer.

Of course, DC wasn't wholly innocent either. I didn't get to read the ending of Batman vs. Ras Al Ghul until it was reprinted as a tabloid.