All they print is junk. Comic books stink!

[Hoss]

My gosh - outside of Marvel's Essentials, Star Wars Clone Wars trades and Ultimates I just can't get into comic books right now. It's as if you woke up one day and all of your favorite foods all tasted like cold oatmeal. This is horrible.

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it. I've had the 2nd Age of Bronze Trade for over a month and I quit reading it half war through. I couldn't tell you what is going on in Ultimate Spidey or what Bru is doing for Cap.

I think I need some sort of Comic book reading Viagra.

[Bloopinator]

You are a liar.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Read INFINITE CRISIS. It will make you better appreciate most other comics.

That, or it'll inspire you to poke your eyes out with a fork.

[Hoss]

You are a liar.


Sadly, I have been known to lie. But when it comes to comic books everything I say is 100% true.

[Hoss]

Read INFINITE CRISIS. It will make you better appreciate most other comics.

That, or it'll inspire you to poke your eyes out with a fork.

Come one, it isn't like they did something lame and make Powergirl be the Supergirl from a Pre-crisis earth, did they? Next thing I know, you'll be telling me that Marvel neutered almost all of its mutants.

[Ray R.]

Cynics.

Sounds like Santa gave out some coal this X-mas.....

[Hoss]

Cynics.

Sounds like Santa gave out some coal this X-mas.....

Santa gave me XM Radio, thank you very much. Hasn't helped with the comics but it makes car trips much more enjoyable.

[heretic]

My gosh - outside of Marvel's Essentials, Star Wars Clone Wars trades and Ultimates I just can't get into comic books right now. It's as if you woke up one day and all of your favorite foods all tasted like cold oatmeal. This is horrible.

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it. I've had the 2nd Age of Bronze Trade for over a month and I quit reading it half war through. I couldn't tell you what is going on in Ultimate Spidey or what Bru is doing for Cap.

I think I need some sort of Comic book reading Viagra.
One Word: Runaways.

HTG

[Slam_Bradley]

It's probably just burn-out, Hoss. I go through it periodically. You oughta be happy that you're still liking the ones you mentioned. Take some time away and stop forcing it. You'll come back fresher and enjoying the comics again.

[literally exaggerated]

I'm loving, well, obviously not all comics right now, but a good deal more than i have at pretty much any time since the mid-90's.

[Archyduke]

If you haven't read Scott Pilgrim or Box Office Poison, they're rather sure to reinvigorate your faith in comics. They do wonders for a bad mood, as well.

[Ray R.]

I'm loving, well, obviously not all comics right now, but a good deal more than i have at pretty much any time since the mid-90's.

I'm in the same boat. I'm enjoying a lot of different books right now, particularly independents, as well as some Marvel/D.C. books.

I really don't think the story-telling has been this good across the board for as long as I can remember, with some obvious exclusions like the "event books" (and even I liked House of M #8) excepted.....

[nubly]

One Word: Runaways.

HTG
IMO, runaways isnt doing that well as it did the first time. i still enjoy reading comics but i dont have the enthusiam i had in the early 90s. that was a good era

[Dr. Hfuhruhurr]

Hoss, I'm kind of in your boat right now. I'm so burned out on comics that I haven't even picked up stuff like Captain America or Young Avengers or JSA lately, and I like those titles. It's cyclical. I'm sure in a couple months, I'll go back and buy the back issues of the stuff I missed and kick myself for not keeping up.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Wow....I can see why some aren't happy and it shocks me. I'd take some time off and drop what you hate. In a few weeks/months the love will return I'm sure man.


Good luck.

[tricksterpup]

My gosh - outside of Marvel's Essentials, Star Wars Clone Wars trades and Ultimates I just can't get into comic books right now. It's as if you woke up one day and all of your favorite foods all tasted like cold oatmeal. This is horrible.

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it. I've had the 2nd Age of Bronze Trade for over a month and I quit reading it half war through. I couldn't tell you what is going on in Ultimate Spidey or what Bru is doing for Cap.

I think I need some sort of Comic book reading Viagra.
I am with you on this, I have stopped reading comics for over a month, nothing excites me anymore. Its the same bland crap, dont get me wrong there are a few shining books out there but with rising costs, man, I got better hobbies and bills to pay.

[Winslow]

I confess . . .

I haven't bought a comic or trade since September.

I'm burned out too. Went into the shop last Friday, and walked out with nothing.

[Huh?]

Like a few have mentioned before, everyone experiences burnout. I have found that really examining what I am buying helps. You are sure to be able to cut out several titles. Then, once your list is more managable, just buy the books, but hold off reading them for a couple weeks. During that time don't even think about comics. Don't discuss them on CBR, don't read about them. When you come back, you will probably enjoy reading them again - I did!

[Perry Holley]

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it. If you're not enjoying Walking Dead then I'm going to have to officially question your sanity.

[Jeff Brady]

It sounds like someone needs to dive head first into the Will Eisner Library (if they haven't already).

[Bloopinator]

i thik comacs r so cool cuz they all awsim and stoff i thik u r a liar. u nead to r8ad sum ultimote spydarman.

[milhouse123321]

i thik comacs r so cool cuz they all awsim and stoff i thik u r a liar. u nead to r8ad sum ultimote spydarman.

And thats why Typing Monkeys fail to impress me. Look at that deplorable punctuation.

....

Anyway yeah I felt like that a few months ago, I just didnt buy them for a month and a half and then when I got some of my favs again I remembered how much I liked them.

[Sanagi]

"All they print is junk. Comic books stink!"

I read that and I thought, that's exactly right.

Which is sad.

[Greg Hatcher]

My gosh - outside of Marvel's Essentials, Star Wars Clone Wars trades and Ultimates I just can't get into comic books right now. It's as if you woke up one day and all of your favorite foods all tasted like cold oatmeal. This is horrible.


Is is comics, or just new comics? Because I am hard put to come up with more than a "meh" for anything new I bought in the last year, going and cleaning out the pull-list box is a yawn, there's nothing there I'm excited about seeing. Time to prune it WAY back.

But when I get a box of cool old stuff from eBay -- like John Buscema's Marvel Tarzan books, or a huge lot of Deadly Hands of Kung Fu like I got in the mail today --

--pause for the gloat --

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d15/GregHatcher/bigwin.jpg

-- I am as giddy as a schoolgirl.

So for me, anyway, it's not comics as a whole. It's just there's nothing coming out at the moment that gets me going.

[Joe Rice]

I went through a period where I didn't buy any comics for almost a year in 1999/2000/around there. I was also completely miserable in my everyday life and poor as hell, so that didn't help. Sometimes outside life can affect your enjoyment of comics. But, at their best, comics can affect your enjoyment of outside life.

[Cei-U!]

So what if they stink (a premise I'm happy to accept)? With 70+ years of back issues out there, you can ignore contemporary comics completely and still satiate your appetite. It's been working for me quite nicely.

And it's nice to see you haven't lost your flair for overstatement, Hoss.

Cei-U!
I summon the blissful ignorance!

[Justin D.]

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it.

Give it to me you unappreciative bastard.

[xgeek52]

burnout is par for the course for any comic book reader...i went three years without reading them...my pull list was close to $30 per week...today it's not even close to $12...long and short of it, you get tired of what the publisher do and don't do with the characters...they want the big event (ie infinate crisis,house of m and the upcoming civil war)...who wouldn't get burned out...

the publisher want the bucks and we are the fans to put it out...junk no...but it ain't what it used to be...

'nuf said... :cool:

[Alex]

I've been through this in comics, books, tv, videogames, and even music.
It comes back....comics imstill not totaly back into, but it's not because i think comics are bad, its because i think they are not great.
When i can go to a movie that will last 2 and a half hours for the same price it takes me to buy 4 comics (maybe 3) that take me 8 minutes to read, it's hard too justify buying something average.

[Ayo]

I don't read comics.

I don't feel the least bit bad about it.


Write something worth reading, draw something worth looking at, and I'll buy it. Until then...

[king mob]

Read INFINITE CRISIS. It will make you better appreciate most other comics.

That, or it'll inspire you to poke your eyes out with a fork.

I used a spoon, it was quicker.

[Shellhead]

I'm cutting down to almost nothing. The only monthly titles that I'm consistently buying right now are JSA, Y the Last Man, and Legion of Super-Heroes. I am also getting Infinite Crisis (just the core title), Seven Soldiers, and Planetary, but in a few months, those titles will be done. I started as a Marvel Zombie, but I'm not buying any Marvel comics these days, except for the Essential reprints.

Marvel peaked in the 70's. DC peaked in the late 80's. There have been some great comics since then, but the vast majority of current comics are mediocre and over-priced. I'm not going to lower my standards unless they lower their prices.

[Melissa]

I am with you on this, I have stopped reading comics for over a month, nothing excites me anymore. Its the same bland crap, dont get me wrong there are a few shining books out there but with rising costs, man, I got better hobbies and bills to pay.

Me too. I don't think it's burnout, I think it's just that they're publishing crap. I'm going to get out of comics in the New Year and I think I'm done with them. I look around and I can't see the old favourites (Avengers, JLA, Byrne) that turned me on when I was a kid. Time to go, methinks.

[Hoss]

Oh, it is definitely burn out. I go through this periodically and went through it hard core from about 1995 to 1998. Weird as it sounds, what brought me back in the late 90's was stuff like Witchblade and Darkness. Sometimes you need the over the top action movie type stuff.

Usually, one or two good books get me through. I really dug reading the Essential X-Factor and Essential X-Men volume 6. They brought me back to the period when I was first discovering the Marvel universe. And I'm in the middle of a big Star Wars kick overall and the quality of their clone war stuff is quite high. The next book that I'm looking forward to is Essential Moon Knight.

Part of the problem might also be the return of big event cross over. What I really dug about the perdiod between 1998-2003 was that you could just follow one title through trades or pamphlets and not have to worry about being forced to worry about characters you don't care about or purchase books you don't normally read. And isn't that part of what drove off so many readers (not investors) during the 90's? Event burn out. It seems kind of silly to go back to that stuff.

[west3man]

My gosh - outside of Marvel's Essentials, Star Wars Clone Wars trades and Ultimates I just can't get into comic books right now. It's as if you woke up one day and all of your favorite foods all tasted like cold oatmeal. This is horrible.

I mean, I've had the 4th Walkind Dead trade for over a week and I can't bring myself to read it. I've had the 2nd Age of Bronze Trade for over a month and I quit reading it half war through. I couldn't tell you what is going on in Ultimate Spidey or what Bru is doing for Cap.

I think I need some sort of Comic book reading Viagra.
We call him Joe Rice.

[Cephus]

Me too. I don't think it's burnout, I think it's just that they're publishing crap. I'm going to get out of comics in the New Year and I think I'm done with them. I look around and I can't see the old favourites (Avengers, JLA, Byrne) that turned me on when I was a kid. Time to go, methinks.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. I'm even thinking of dropping some of the titles that I've read for years and years, just because they're garbage right now and have been for a while, regardless of the writer. I dislike the whole philosophy that Marvel has come up with and frankly can't see any reason to read the majority of DC as I seriously dislike most of the characters.

Who knows, maybe it's time to hang up the hat. I started reading comics in 1974, maybe 30+ years is enough?

[elheffe]

I'm with you Hoss, the only good things to buy these days are the Essentials - but now I can add those DC Showcase books - 50's era Superman and Green Lanterns for 10 bucks, how can you not go wrong?
The reason I'm liking all the old stuff is that it's so uncomplicated - there isn't two Lex Luthors running around, and no one knows who Spidey's identity, etc, etc.

[samuraizero]

MANGA!!!!!!!!
the soloution to all problems...........

[Michael P]

We call him Joe Rice.
I know he gets me hard.

[Joe Rice]

I know he gets me hard.

That's because of my excellent bodywork.

[king mob]

I went to a friends house last night and he's a Marvel fan and had all the House of M stuff there. So i read some of it.

This and Infinite Crisis sum up just why the American superhero genre is killing American comics.

Anyhow, i put down issue 4 and started drinking gin.Mmmmmmm, gin!!!

[Forefinger]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. I'm even thinking of dropping some of the titles that I've read for years and years, just because they're garbage right now and have been for a while, regardless of the writer. I dislike the whole philosophy that Marvel has come up with and frankly can't see any reason to read the majority of DC as I seriously dislike most of the characters.

Who knows, maybe it's time to hang up the hat. I started reading comics in 1974, maybe 30+ years is enough?
I'm feeling the same way about many titles. Sometimes it's just time to drop down to basics. I've been collecting X-men for over 20 years and have back issues going back well before that, but the past few years haven't produced anything worth remembering. I guess I'm going to drop all X titles, as I dropped all Spider titles years ago, and all Super titles years before that. Sometimes you just grow out of stuff.....
I think that I may drop monthly comics altogether. I need to start saving some money and 40 + dollars a month is just too much.
There are a few books out there that I still enjoy though; Daredevil, Captain America, 100 Bullets, Punisher, Supreme Powers and a few others. All those probably read better in TBP format though.

[Typo Lad]

It's sad that even the lamest, silliest comics that I've read for my blog are leaps and bounds better than 90% of what's out there.

Except for the Avengers, Circa Inferno and basically from then on. It's really, really hard to top that for suckyness.

[gary bolt]

Oh, it is definitely burn out. I go through this periodically and went through it hard core from about 1995 to 1998. Weird as it sounds, what brought me back in the late 90's was stuff like Witchblade and Darkness. Sometimes you need the over the top action movie type stuff.

Usually, one or two good books get me through. I really dug reading the Essential X-Factor and Essential X-Men volume 6. They brought me back to the period when I was first discovering the Marvel universe. And I'm in the middle of a big Star Wars kick overall and the quality of their clone war stuff is quite high. The next book that I'm looking forward to is Essential Moon Knight.

Part of the problem might also be the return of big event cross over. What I really dug about the perdiod between 1998-2003 was that you could just follow one title through trades or pamphlets and not have to worry about being forced to worry about characters you don't care about or purchase books you don't normally read. And isn't that part of what drove off so many readers (not investors) during the 90's? Event burn out. It seems kind of silly to go back to that stuff.

Event burn out. I guess that is what drove me away from comics years ago (in the 80's) when I was reading Marvel X-titles. Some of the crossovers were great but when editor in chief Jim Shooter decided that he wanted a mega event crossover called Secret Wars and that the only way to get the entire story was to buy all titles I just walked away. Stayed away for years, too. I'm back into comics now and will buy the odd run of Marvel or DC if someone recommends it with enthusiasm but I have a hard time with those companies. I guess it's because they are so big.

These days I prefer independent or smaller press comics. I've come to respect and love the craft that goes into making comics and in many of the smaller press titles I can feel that the writers and illustrators are doing it for the love of the process. With many smaller publications the creator of the comic is part of the team (or all of it) and there isn't a production line moving the product through every month. The downside of that is that things don't always stick to schedule. Marvel and DC sometimes seem transparent in their marketing behind deciding to do crossovers. I would love it if crossover stories only happened because the creative teams wanted to do it for story driven reasons but so often it feels like teams and heroes get thrown together because the publisher wants to try to market to a wider audience.

[K'Nort]

I seem to be burning out as well. For a bit, I was only reading some of the Wed stash and finishing them on Thurs, which seemed odd enough. But now I'm realizing I'll pick something up and I haven't gotten around to reading the prior issue yet. Time to prune.

[Slam_Bradley]

I seem to be burning out as well. For a bit, I was only reading some of the Wed stash and finishing them on Thurs, which seemed odd enough. But now I'm realizing I'll pick something up and I haven't gotten around to reading the prior issue yet. Time to prune.


This was always a sign to me that I was buying books that I really wasn't enjoying out of habit. If I'm not reading them I shouldn't be paying money for them. Pruning the deadwood is always a good thing.

[Cephus]

MANGA!!!!!!!!
the soloution to all problems...........

Except it's not. I want to read hard sci-fi and there just aren't many hard sci-fi manga out there. Once you get through all the Gundams and Full Metal Panic and Planetes, etc. all of which are finished, what do you have?

I don't want to read fantasy or romance or drama.

[Cephus]

I'm feeling the same way about many titles. Sometimes it's just time to drop down to basics. I've been collecting X-men for over 20 years and have back issues going back well before that, but the past few years haven't produced anything worth remembering. I guess I'm going to drop all X titles, as I dropped all Spider titles years ago, and all Super titles years before that. Sometimes you just grow out of stuff.....
I think that I may drop monthly comics altogether. I need to start saving some money and 40 + dollars a month is just too much.
There are a few books out there that I still enjoy though; Daredevil, Captain America, 100 Bullets, Punisher, Supreme Powers and a few others. All those probably read better in TBP format though.

I already dropped all 616 X-titles except Astonishing, and frankly that hardly ever comes out anyhow. I don't miss them either. I read one Spidey title and that might be going away soon, it just isn't holding my interest. Even Daredevil and Iron Man, two titles I have consistently read since the early 70s just aren't cutting it anymore. It isn't that you grow out of stuff, I can go back and re-read comics from the 70s and 80s and really enjoy them, the crap that's coming out today just doesn't compare.

[tricksterpup]

MANGA!!!!!!!!
the soloution to all problems...........
yeah, its not my cup of tea, when I was a teenager it was cool but I really do not care to read Manga. I am not into the BIG EYE look. I have no problem with many artist, heck, I may have stopped reading comics right now but I still collect original art. I have some Hester stuff that would Knock your socks off.
You know what I really miss in comics, just good ole tuff guy stories like Beau Smith or Chuck Dixon writes, they need more work in the industry.

[king mob]

I was sat in the pub last night and started chatting with a mate who is a Spiderman fan.

I thought he was ripping the piss when he mentioned that Gwen Stacy was the mother of Norman Osborns children. Thinking "he's having a laaauuughh", i checked up today and well, fuck me, it's real!

So, the question is. Is it as awful as it sounds?

[Shellhead]

I was sat in the pub last night and started chatting with a mate who is a Spiderman fan.

I thought he was ripping the piss when he mentioned that Gwen Stacy was the mother of Norman Osborns children. Thinking "he's having a laaauuughh", i checked up today and well, fuck me, it's real!

So, the question is. Is it as awful as it sounds?

Yes, it's awful. When you work for Marvel (or DC) and you run out of good ideas, it's time to go for obnoxious shock value.

[Smarty Jones]

I pretty much read "JSA" and that's it. It's pretty bad when I can come up with better ideas for comic book stories than what is being presented out there. A lot of the books are written in a mean-spirited but yet dumbed-down fashion that makes little sense.

[king mob]

Yes, it's awful. When you work for Marvel (or DC) and you run out of good ideas, it's time to go for obnoxious shock value.

I had a shufty on Wikipedia and it just sounds awful, truely, really awful. But yes, 'obnoxious' seems like the best word for something which really should have been stopped at the editorial stage.

Whats next, Bruce Banner was gay, Ben Grimm had a sex change, Galactus was Sue Richards lovechild?

[howyadoin]

I was buying books that I really wasn't enjoying out of habit.I stopped doing that years ago. I'm pretty merciless when it comes to dropping books.

Free yourself!

[tricksterpup]

Free yourself!
I have been Freed like the Prom Queen's Panties.

[Cei-U!]

I'm pretty merciless when it comes to dropping books.

I got you beat. I dropped everything!

Cei-U!
Free at last! Free at last!

[howyadoin]

I got you beat. I dropped everything!Yeah, but I still get to enjoy new stuff.

[Cei-U!]

Yeah, but I still get to enjoy new stuff.

True. On the other hand, I'm spending more money of late on the old stuff than I was when I was buying the new stuff. I'm happy, you're happy, the publishers are making a profit off both of us so it's all good.

Cei-U!
I summon the win-win!

[Shellhead]

I got you beat. I dropped everything!

Cei-U!
Free at last! Free at last!

I was almost there with Marvel, but I actually bought two, count em, two Marvel comics last week. Ok, one was a reprint of the Daughters of the Dragon stories from the longlost Deadly Hand of Kung Fu b/w mag. But the other was Thing #2, which actually was as much fun as the best issues of Marvel-Two-in-One. (Um, that's fairly high praise from me.)

[Ottmeister X]

Funny, I find that comics are arguably as well-written now as they have ever been. We're definitely past the glut of titles in the 90's where they tried to out-do each other with art. It seems to me that these last few years have done an awesome job of quality writing with quality art.

Titles that haven't lost any luster for me:
Batman (with Winick writing and Mahnke drawing)
JLA Classified
Green Lantern
Superman/Batman
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate FF (especially with Millar and Land)
Justice
New Avengers
Fables
Y The Last Man
Powers
Daredevil
Astonishing X-Men
Ultimates
Ultimate Iron Man
All-Star Superman
Green Arrow
Iron Man (Ellis and Granov)
The latest Spider-Man crossover hasn't been too bad either.

That's about half of what I collect. Amazingly, I'm a Marvel guy and half of those are DC titles. I enjoy some of the others also, but they can be hit and miss sometimes, such as Hulk, Fantastic Four, and JLA.

Titles that I still collect but are kind of sucky: X-Men, Uncanny, and Exiles. Exiles was good stuff when Winick was writing it, but Bedard has been lukewarm at best. X-Men and Uncanny are consistently two of the worst titles on the shelf with those jokers Claremont and Milligan writing. Just some of the worst writing ever. Makes me miss Austen. Slightly. Uncanny is barely tolerable because Bachalo is drawing it at the moment (but his lifespan on titles is short of a six-pack). Needless to say, X-Men and Uncanny always get read first to get them out of the way and sometimes it's a skimming through.

[Ultraman Max]

There have been several points in recent memory (issue 2 of the current Firestorm series being a standout low point) where I considered giving up on current comics in favor of back issues, collections, and manga, only to end up finding something that resparked my interest and faith in new material. The most recent titles being Godland and a number of the Seven Soldiers minis (mostly Manhatten Guardian and Klarion the Witchboy).

I think though, that I was likely enjoying more of what was coming out in the late nineties (starting with Morrison's JLA, and post Onslaught Marvel) than I am at present.

[Guts/Batman]

I used to buy only Berserk, Hellsing, Shonen Jump, RK, DBZ and Yu-Gi-Oh mangas. I'm realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ly looking forward to Berserk's release this month...

I can't say that for anyother comic.

Now I buy American comics as well. I'm experiencing some burn out or story fatigue or something because almost everything I read (I'm mostly DC with Marvel minis splashed in) I see inconsistency or bad writing. It's just ingrained now.

I read because of character loyalty but if the writers are gonna mangle the characters so much that I barely recognize said character (I really wish Bane would come back and break Bruce's back again).

I think I read too much of the Infinite Crisis connected stories early on. I enjoyed it for a couple of monthes but as the 4 mini series drew to a close I saw a different story rearing it's ugly head.

The finale of The OMAC Project was just brutal. Deus ex machina ending and all. That was the final straw for me. Then came two filler issues also known as Infinite Crisis #1 and #2. That certainly didn't help.

I'm relatively new (I started around Countdown) so I didn't know what authors to look for, just going off of what characters I liked but so many of those books have gone downhill that I'm actually looking forward to OYL.

That's pretty odd because I have not been looking forward to OYL for the longest time. The comics have just gotten that bad. I find myself wishing for something I don't really wanna see.

Was that DC's goal?

Now, I have a few writers and artists I will follow including Gail Simone among others. Artists that I will follow: Shane Davis, Ed Benes, among others.

I think I've sworn off Judd Winick after his time on Batman. Never again will I buy one of his DC comics. He has taken GA down a path I don't think I can return to.

He has found a way to make a whole arc be filler, dunno how he did it, but he did it. Plus, now he can't keep his own story consistent. That's on Batman.

His Outsiders is halfway decent. I think he writes groups better than individual heroes with tons and tons of continuity behind them.

I've stopped buying all of Jeph Loeb's DC books currently. S/B is just too goofy for me and the less I think about Hush (both the character and the original arc) the better it becomes.

Johns is really making me mad for his treatment of Conner Kent. Can we not have him being a whiny bitch boy now? I really want Eradicator back to tell him "Either you go out there and help or I'm gonna break you in 2!!!"

But if luck would have it, Conner would probably rather have his back broken by Eradicator. Infinite Crisis itself is alright but if I hadn't read as much as I did prior to reading the mini itself...maybe I wouldn't feel so jaded towards it.

It's funny. I'm selective with my Marvel purchases but I'm not selective on my DC purchases. I feel much more character loyalty to DC characters than I do to Marvel characters.

The only Marvel books I get are Thing, Ghost Rider mini, Sentry mini, Drax mini, Books of Doom mini. Been thinking of getting into some Marvel series but with all the stuff that is going on Post-HoM...is kinda driving me away.

I haved loved the Batman minis DC is putting out with the exception of the 12 parter I forget the name of at this second. Maybe I just like reading minis better than I like reading continuity books or I'm just not seeing the writing on the wall.

Been thinking about tackling some Lucifer, Sandman and Swamp Thing tpbs and other Vertigo titles. Also, definitely getting more into Wildstorm Universe. Majestic, Capt. Atom: Armageddon,

Of the DC books I buy the only I look forward for the reason DC wants me to look forward to them is JLA: Classified, Batman minis, Jonah Hex, Action Comics and Superman (mainly for Ed Benes' art). The rest of it is...for a morbid fascination I have with the books wrecking themselves with inconsistency and bad writing. (Nightwing, GA, Batman, etc)

Does it sound like I'm a lil burnt out?

[The Wayner]

I pretty much read "JSA" and that's it. It's pretty bad when I can come up with better ideas for comic book stories than what is being presented out there. A lot of the books are written in a mean-spirited but yet dumbed-down fashion that makes little sense.

Well, at least I now have a good idea of what's on your pull-list! ;)

And as for you coming up with better ideas just because things are "pretty bad" is BS, man. From what I've read of your ideas on this board, you could run with some of the big dogs... and that's when most of the books were firing on all-cylinders!

I don't care if Echo was outed as Ronin... will always be Bullseye to me.

[Slam_Bradley]

I stopped doing that years ago. I'm pretty merciless when it comes to dropping books.

Free yourself!


Oh, I did. This would have been, circa 1995-99.

At this point I'm a lot like Kurt. 90% of what I'm buying is old stuff that's been collected in trades. The other 10% is current trades.

[noodleboy]

I just did a major pruning as well, maybe it's the new year. I have been doing what some of you have, getting behind 2-3 issues on a title so obviously it's time to move on. This will probably give me that push to go almost exclusively to the TPB side, I guess I'll see.

[tricksterpup]

I guess another reason I stopped collecting is that my favorite comic of last year got cancelled. Bloodhound by Dan Jolley, I was just heart brokened.

[Dreadstar]

If you're not enjoying Walking Dead then I'm going to have to officially question your sanity.

I would agree with this, except for one thing. The arc uncompassing vol. 4 seems to be an act of "stirring the pot." They story reaches a nice semi-conclusion in the previous arc, and rather than let the story lapse into a bit of vapid stagnation in the prison yards, the pot gets stirred. Now don't get me wrong, I like the way the story is twisting. But I can see why, after arc 3, it can be a bit difficult going back up the next hill.

[Cephus]

Oh, I did. This would have been, circa 1995-99.

At this point I'm a lot like Kurt. 90% of what I'm buying is old stuff that's been collected in trades. The other 10% is current trades.

Mine was better, back in the mid-90s I dropped all comics. Period. No back issues, no trades (still don't buy them), no nothing. Took a good 5 years off or so, came back into it again around 2000-2001 when JMS started doing Spidey. I'm still nowhere near the number of titles that I used to read and doubt I ever will be again. Most of the time, I know when to cut bait and run from bad titles, even though there are a few that I'm really getting tired of and know I need to let go, but I'm holding on because I've been reading them forever. (ie. Daredevil and Iron Man).

It just doesn't make sense to buy things you're not enjoying.

[CaptMagellan]

Before Dan Didio's ascension and the subsequent Identity Crisis I loved the majority of what DC was putting out and that was the majority of what I bought.

Since then I've dwindled down to only Seven Soldiers and the odd Vertigo books. Marvel I'll read Ultimates and Ult FF, and the rest are Dark Horse or Indies.

My wallet loves the change in spending though.

[K'Nort]

I guess another reason I stopped collecting is that my favorite comic of last year got cancelled. Bloodhound by Dan Jolley, I was just heart brokened.

Hear, hear.

[howyadoin]

Before Dan Didio's ascension and the subsequent Identity Crisis I loved the majority of what DC was putting out and that was the majority of what I bought.

Since then I've dwindled down to only Seven Soldiers and the odd Vertigo books. Marvel I'll read Ultimates and Ult FF, and the rest are Dark Horse or Indies.

My wallet loves the change in spending though.What I usually do when I drop a book is look around for something else to try out. Doesn't save me any money, but it exposes me to lots of cool books.

[CaptMagellan]

What I usually do when I drop a book is look around for something else to try out. Doesn't save me any money, but it exposes me to lots of cool books.

I try to do the same, which led to the increased amount of indies I read, but the amount of new things I've liked is still less than the amount I dropped.

(but that just means more money for Tequila!)

[howyadoin]

but that just means more money for Tequila!What was I thinking? Comics suck!

Mas tequila!

[CaptMagellan]

What was I thinking? Comics suck!

Mas tequila!

*downs shot*
;)

[Justin D.]

I'm still waiting for that fourth Walking Dead trade.

[fly on the wall]

Read INFINITE CRISIS. It will make you better appreciate most other comics.

That, or it'll inspire you to poke your eyes out with a fork.

Ha ha ha! They should call it "Infinite Botched Abortion"! It's a sticky mess.

Can't wait till next issue.

[fly on the wall]

Hoss, I'm kind of in your boat right now. I'm so burned out on comics that I haven't even picked up stuff like Captain America or Young Avengers or JSA lately, and I like those titles. It's cyclical. I'm sure in a couple months, I'll go back and buy the back issues of the stuff I missed and kick myself for not keeping up.

We should make it a rule that if you don't read at least 20 comic books a month that you get banned.

I mean come on, this place is for comic book readers not whining phonies.

[fly on the wall]

I don't read comics.

I don't feel the least bit bad about it.


Write something worth reading, draw something worth looking at, and I'll buy it. Until then...

Bane him!! Now.

Tom I command you.

[fly on the wall]

I went to a friends house last night and he's a Marvel fan and had all the House of M stuff there. So i read some of it.

This and Infinite Crisis sum up just why the American superhero genre is killing American comics.

Anyhow, i put down issue 4 and started drinking gin.Mmmmmmm, gin!!!

To be honest, I think comics have been getting better lately. The Spiderman Titles and the X-men titles are much better than they were 7 years ago, and that's like a third of the titles Marvel prints.

The Ultimate line is generally higher in quality than the regular Marvel books.

The Superman Titles are better than they were seven years ago. Even Byrne shows signs of improvement.

I'll admit that it's awful when they kill off characters or make good characters turn into mad, cackling villains, but these guys smoke a lot of crack. It's got to effect them in some ways.

In conclusion comics have improved in the last seven years. The fault lies in you Hoss, not in the comics.

The End

[soda]

hey everybody, my 2 cents:

I went through the "comic burn out" phase, we ALL have gone through it, it's a natural part of life. My burn out phase started around 1995-1996, when I stopped buying comics, completely, for about five years. Things were just so bad, and the overall quality of the stories was so awful that I couldn't take it anymore, I needed out, so I dropped everything. I got back on the boat when "Hush" came out for Batman, I'd read Loebs other work, and dug it, and found out Jim Lee was writing Batman, so I figured "what the heck?", I started buying comics again, and today, my list increases nearly every week and it's bigger than it's ever been. IMHO, comics are better now than they have been at any time in the last fifty years, there are more cool titles out there to buy than there ever have been before, I can't believe how cool my stuff is every single week.

My advice to you: take a break, and then, re-orient yourself, there is WAY too much good stuff in the industry right now for you to waste a dime of your money on Crap, way too much gold to be paying for monkey excrement. Get recommendations on CBR (hint: ignore fly), and vote with your consumer dollar. Only you can force yourself to support the publication of crap, by continiuing to pay for it.

[Shellhead]

hey everybody, my 2 cents:

I went through the "comic burn out" phase, we ALL have gone through it, it's a natural part of life. My burn out phase started around 1995-1996, when I stopped buying comics, completely, for about five years. Things were just so bad, and the overall quality of the stories was so awful that I couldn't take it anymore, I needed out, so I dropped everything. I got back on the boat when "Hush" came out for Batman, I'd read Loebs other work, and dug it, and found out Jim Lee was writing Batman, so I figured "what the heck?", I started buying comics again, and today, my list increases nearly every week and it's bigger than it's ever been. IMHO, comics are better now than they have been at any time in the last fifty years, there are more cool titles out there to buy than there ever have been before, I can't believe how cool my stuff is every single week.

My advice to you: take a break, and then, re-orient yourself, there is WAY too much good stuff in the industry right now for you to waste a dime of your money on Crap, way too much gold to be paying for monkey excrement. Get recommendations on CBR (hint: ignore fly), and vote with your consumer dollar. Only you can force yourself to support the publication of crap, by continiuing to pay for it.

Soda, it isn't burnout if the comics really do suck. I wasn't buying comics in '95-'96 either, because there was so much crap.

While I strongly agree with you about voting with your dollars, not everyone will understand what you mean. A couple of years ago, I ran a poll in the X-Boards here, asking X-fans if they would buy the latest issue of Uncanny even if they knew that every single page of that issue was blank. Something like 15% said that they would be upset about it, but they would still buy it, to avoid having a break in their collection. That's just sad.

[soda]

Soda, it isn't burnout if the comics really do suck. I wasn't buying comics in '95-'96 either, because there was so much crap.

While I strongly agree with you about voting with your dollars, not everyone will understand what you mean. A couple of years ago, I ran a poll in the X-Boards here, asking X-fans if they would buy the latest issue of Uncanny even if they knew that every single page of that issue was blank. Something like 15% said that they would be upset about it, but they would still buy it, to avoid having a break in their collection. That's just sad.

few things:

back in the mid-nineties, the only book I was buying was the tail end of marvel's "savage sword of conan the barbarian" (loved that book, still my all-time favorite series), and the only 90's x-series worth anything: the age of apocalypse (decent story, unlike the entire rest of the decade of the 90's in x-comics). That's what I was down to, at the end. I do agree with you, sometimes, things in the industry itself get so bad, that you just have to get out, the mid-90s were that era, there was nothing, you'd go to the shop on Wednesday and try like crazy to talk yourself into buying something, and then walk out with nothing when you realized it was all garbage, and you only went to the shop once a month (or at least, I did). Bad times.

These times aren't the mid-90s, there have been a lot of people, both on this thread, and in others on this forum, complaining about how bad the industry is right now, and how everything sucks. Well, America is a democracy, a democracy of the dollar and of the people. If people want something, they vote for it with their dollar. And based upon comic sales figures (all up), what I'm seeing at cons, and what I'm seeing in my own tiny corner of the world at my local shop (sales way up), the buying consumer has spoken, and is liking the direction the industry is going in right now. This is, IMHO, a time of plenty, when the quality in the industry is at an all-time high. Nevertheless, even in such an environment, it is still possible to get burned out, and to need a break, I see it happen to fans all the time. Personally, I strongly disagree with Kramer, I think Infinite Crisis is one of the best things that's ever happened in comics. I dig it, he doesn't. I don't really care. We can both be right, and we can both be wrong. All I know is that the sales figures indicate that a lot more people are in the same boat as me, and digging IC, than are in the boat of Kramer, and who hate it. As the legendary PG Wodehouse once said: "it takes all types to make the world."

In any case, my point was that this is a time of plenty, there is NO REASON to buy anything you don't like / don't read / hate. It's not like you have to buy coke, because the only choices you have are coke or pepsi, and you hate pepsi. It's not like you have to vote for John Kerry, because the only choices you have are him and George w. Bush, and you hate Bush. There is so much quality in the industry right now, that there are way more quality books out there than any fanboy can afford. People tell me the new Punisher stuff is great, other people tell me they're really digging star wars comics, I don't have the money to be able to afford all that stuff (would sure as hell like to), but the point is that the stuff I do afford has to be a cut above, or it gets the ax. I axed new avengers from my list last week (gasp!) solid book, but sorry BMB, not one of the top twenty best books I've read each month. For the last three months, every week I'd get New Avengers, it would be one of five or six books I'd get, and invariably, it would always be the last book I'd read, and I'd always think "man every other book I read this week was better than new avengers", so, despite the protest of my comic book guy, I dropped the book.

vote with your dollar. X-fans aren't the best example to use, they're mindless zombies, they'll buy anything with an "X" on it, and marvel knows this, which is why the publisher has no incentive to put out any quality x-stories, which is why there never seem to be any. x-fans have to realize that marvel isn't going to cancel the x-men, and if they're dissatisfied witht the direction of the x-books, stop buying them, and make marvel fix them. I'm a die-hard batman fan, big, huge, honkin batman fan, I buy no post-war games core-batman books, because I've hated the creative direction. I vote with my dollar, and I urge other consumers to do the same, DC ain't going to cancel Batman, but by not buying it, I'm telling them, with my money, that I want a new creative direction. Right now, I am buying Batman versus the Monster men (Matt Wagner is a great writer, IMHO), and All-stars Batman and Robin, (I dig Frank Miller, and I'm a sucker for Jim Lee), and Superman / Batman (Jeff Loeb, sucker for him), and Gotham Central and Birds of Prey, so I buy enough to get my bat-fix every month, but I only buy the titles that I think have quality content. I used to buy Amazing Spiderman and Ultimate Spiderman, but I dropped both because they were both lacking. Vote with your dollar, it's the only vote these comic book companies understand.

[howyadoin]

I'm still waiting for that fourth Walking Dead trade.It came out a couple weeks ago.

[fly on the wall]

Get recommendations on CBR (hint: ignore fly), and vote with your consumer dollar. Only you can force yourself to support the publication of crap, by continiuing to pay for it.

Ignore me? But I agreed with you that comics have improved much in the last few years.

You sure treat a comrade like dirty dog.

[tricksterpup]

Ignore me? But I agreed with you that comics have improved much in the last few years.

You sure treat a comrade like dirty dog.
I thought I was the dirty dog, i mean coyote.
http://www.nps.gov/rocr/natural/graphics/coyote.jpg

[howyadoin]

Ignore me? But I agreed with you that comics have improved much in the last few years.

You sure treat a comrade like dirty dog.That's the problem with the youth of today - no respect for the elderly.

[Cephus]

To be honest, I think comics have been getting better lately. The Spiderman Titles and the X-men titles are much better than they were 7 years ago, and that's like a third of the titles Marvel prints.

That's not saying much, since 7 years ago was during one of the darkest artistic decades in the history of comics. The phone book was more entertaining than most comic books.

The Ultimate line is generally higher in quality than the regular Marvel books.

Ultimates, yes. Fantastic Four, maybe. X-Men and Spidey, um... probably not, but I guess it's a toss-up because both the Ultimate and 616 books are really awful. Especially in Spidey, where it's little more than a retelling of the same old, tired stories that the 616 books told 30 years ago.

The Superman Titles are better than they were seven years ago. Even Byrne shows signs of improvement.

Blah, I can't be the only person who really detests iconic characters, especially Superman, can I?

I'll admit that it's awful when they kill off characters or make good characters turn into mad, cackling villains, but these guys smoke a lot of crack. It's got to effect them in some ways.

Who kills off characters? They all come back, usually with some really moronic excuse. Does anyone seriously care if anyone dies in comics these days?

Perhaps comics have improved since the 90s, but if you go back to the 70s and 80s, comics today are nowhere near the quality of storytelling, characterization or continuity that they had.

[king mob]

To be honest, I think comics have been getting better lately. The Spiderman Titles and the X-men titles are much better than they were 7 years ago, and that's like a third of the titles Marvel prints.

The Ultimate line is generally higher in quality than the regular Marvel books.

Which is like saying that you prefer a cricket bat in the bollocks as opposed to the face. Yes, the X Titles perked up briefly thanks to Morrison and Milligan but they're going right back donw the swannee. And i can't bear what has happened to Spidey.

The Superman Titles are better than they were seven years ago. Even Byrne shows signs of improvement.

I'll admit that it's awful when they kill off characters or make good characters turn into mad, cackling villains, but these guys smoke a lot of crack. It's got to effect them in some ways.

In conclusion comics have improved in the last seven years. The fault lies in you Hoss, not in the comics.

The End

Heh, i wish it was but in 30 odd years of reading comics i can't remember a time when i've seen so much which makes me so pissed off and jaded. Especially when second rate shite such as Infinite Crisis is proclaimed as the saviour of DC Comics.

Ah, bugger it, i'll stick to Love & Rockets.

[CaptMagellan]

Heh, i wish it was but in 30 odd years of reading comics i can't remember a time when i've seen so much which makes me so pissed off and jaded. Especially when second rate shite such as Infinite Crisis is proclaimed as the saviour of DC Comics.


My feelings exactly. I've gone through the periodic waning of interest but this is the first time that I've had this negative of a reaction.