Quitting comics


Missy

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Often you'll hear people talk about how they quit reading comic books for a while, but something drew them back in. So I guess the question I'm asking is, if you were one of those people who walked away, what made you do so, and what brought you back?

Also, if you've never quit reading them, what would make you stop?

Me, though I've never stopped reading comics, Countdown made me hate them for a long, long time.

However, about a year before that I did contemplate quitting. Every Wizard World Philly and Chicago panel I went to had Jeph Loeb on it, usually sitting right next to Joe Quesada. Worse yet, it seemed as if Joe was deferring to Jeph. On top of that, I could swear I recall Joe saying that when he steps down as EIC, he could see Loeb replacing him. That got me thinking Joe's tenure was ending, and the reign of Loeb was about to begin. And I have to tell you, had that happened, I would have quit comics. Because I will not support an industry that has Jeph Loeb as a leader.

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Loeb may be a money grubbing prick, but at least he can write a decent story.

onslaught-reborn-04.jpg

I don't think anything could truly run me off comics, if just because there's no chance of a lack in competition. I was deeply involved with wrestling for years, but once the WWF purchased WCW, they sat back on their heels and haven't leaned forward since. The lack of competition allowed them a certain degree of complacency, and without the pressing danger of the enemy nipping at their heels, (or even running away from them) they lost that urge to innovate and reinvent. They got lazy, their writing turned to shit and it ultimately ran me off.

The comic landscape is so much more spread out, though, that there's always going to be something to capture my interest, even if the big guns are putting out serious crap. The independent scene is the unheralded lifeblood of the industry. It keeps things fresh, provides a tasteful alternative and feeds the big boys like a good minor league circuit.

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The only Loeb-written comic I will ever call anything above good is Fallen Son #5. Everything else is mediocre or worse. I'm sorry, but the reason people praise The Long Halloween is because it was the first time in a long, long time Batman had been written as a detective. So it seemed new and fresh. But if you actually examine the mystery and the overall story of that book, it's terrible! And Hush, that's all Jim Lee.

But let's not derail this into a pro- / anti-Loeb thread.

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I've all but stopped reading Marvel, just because of the way it's been handled from an editorial standpoint. Deadpool and Cap (Bucky) are about the only two characters left that can hold my attention. Dark Reign has been much, much more tolerable then I expected, but as a whole, the world feels stale. DC is doing a great job of holding my interest, though.

I'd probably never stop reading "something" but I can be turned off of companies.

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The only Loeb-written comic I will ever call anything above good is Fallen Son #5. Everything else is mediocre or worse. I'm sorry, but the reason people praise The Long Halloween is because it was the first time in a long, long time Batman had been written as a detective. So it seemed new and fresh. But if you actually examine the mystery and the overall story of that book, it's terrible! And Hush, that's all Jim Lee.

But let's not derail this into a pro- / anti-Loeb thread.

This.

I've basically quit Marvel as is. Prices going up have made it less likely for me to stick my neck out on new series. I see myself moving to trades in the next year or so but never stopping. It's in my blood too much.

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See, I am switching to trades as single issues are really just not interesting me anymore.

I wouldn't quit comics entirely I would just be more likely to say no to stuff that costs more than I'm willing to pay.

With the prices going up, I am starting to take note of what I am enjoying and what I really couldn't care less about.

I would say I am quitting comics in that I am trying not to buy single issues from October at all, as I just realised how much space I could save selling my single issues, and how little enjoyment I got out of re-reading single issues as it is a slight hassle to change comics every ten minutes rather than read one trade all the way through with breaks when I choose.

Even now, that I am using DCBS, it should be "Hey, look at all the comics I can get for the same price as the few I got before" when actually I am now saying "Hey, I can get this trade or graphic novel of a full story instead of this other thing which is part 2 of 6 and some crappy Batman story."

I would quit comics if the prices go up to $4.99 for 30 pages of comic, which sadly will happen, as prices are going up, but not going down. Especially during this time and all the comic movies coming out.

The only way I would justify comics at the same page count going up anymore now, is if the publisher gives you the option to go ad free, as that would be a great help as I am sick of double page ads in comics.

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I quit comics at some point in the mid-90s. Before that, I only ever read X-Men and Gen13, and that got old pretty quick.

If I never came to this site, I probably still wouldn't read them. As it stands now, I'm still not a huge consumer. The only books I buy on any consistant basis are Crossed, Gravel, and (recently) Green Lantern. Other than that it's usually some random horror book or a trade from ten years ago. I'm just able to keep recent through IIWY and Comic Geek Speak.

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I quit publishers more than I ever quit comics. I used to be majorly a Marvel person but between how good the build up to Infinite Crisis and how terrible House of M was, I just couldn't justify giving Marvel any money. Amazons Attack and Countdown almost made me want to quit comics but then Sinestro Corp and Final Crisis itself made me want to stick around. That all said, if Darkest Night somehow bombs, then I might consider dropping a few more titles and just sticking to the couple of DC Titles titles that I can't bear not to read (Secret Six, Wonder Woman, and Booster Gold Mainly.)

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The only Loeb-written comic I will ever call anything above good is Fallen Son #5. Everything else is mediocre or worse. I'm sorry, but the reason people praise The Long Halloween is because it was the first time in a long, long time Batman had been written as a detective. So it seemed new and fresh. But if you actually examine the mystery and the overall story of that book, it's terrible!

:cry:

I have never been one to buy comics in huge bunches, even though I own several hundred individual issues of comic books. I definitely prefer trade paperbacks, but even those I haven't bought many of in the last two years. The only story I'm engrossed in right now is Old Man Logan (which is awesome, btw). I wish I could sell my entire comic book collection since they are just taking up space in my room and I could use even the small amount of money I'd get for them. Maybe after I pay my car off in November I can splurge a bit more and try new books, but not right now.

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I've never "quit" comics because I've technically never "started" them; I get all my comics in trade format.

There's no way that I can actually keep up with all of my favorite series; it's just too expensive. I mean, just collecting Batman & Robin, Green Lantern, Thor, Spider-Man, New Avengers, Dark Reign, and Captain America each month is $30-$40, and that's without even counting any other major crossovers or side issues that I want to pick up.

I'm really not sure that I want to pay $360-$480 a year for comics when I can just wait a few months and read them at a library or buy them for half-price in trade format.

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  • 3 months later...

I always had to order my comics through the mail and I quit collecting two years ago because I just got sick and tired of the neverending 'epic storylines' that resulted in endless crossovers. I absolutely despise this marketing gimmick. And since there isn't a comic book shop within 100 miles from where I live, I'm unable to discover new comics that don't fall into this category.

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Welcome to the forums, Mortimer.

Based on your comment, I'm assuming you mostly read superhero comics published by DC and Marvel. So here's a list of books you might want to try:

Scalped: A noir crime story set on an Indian reservation. The two lead characters are a fed and a crime boss, but neither are truly good or evil. It has great characterization, a nicely woven plot, and art that perfectly matches the tone of the writing.

Criminal: Pulpy, noir stories, but each volume stands on its own. Like Scalped, in Criminal no one is good or bad, they're just people trying to get by.

Daredevil: You're probably thinking, "But that's a superhero book!" And though that's true, if you read Ed Brubaker's run (#82-119, and the renumbered #500) you'll find a brilliant story that's more Law & Order than New Avengers. Better yet, it doesn't connect to a single event. Not one.

Radical Comics: Nearly everything by this publisher is worth a look. Me, I'm really hyped for The Last Days of American Crime. You'll notice that their books do cost $4.99, but each one is 48-64 pages long, so it's like getting two to three comics for only $5. Best of all, sometimes their first issues only cost $1!

Witchblade: Like Daredevil, you probably have preconceived notions about this title, but trust me when I say you should at least give this book a chance. Ever since Ron Marz took over as writer (#80), the book has really turned around. It used to be nothing more than cheesecake, but now its characters actually have lives and personalities. Then when Stjepan Sejic came on as artist (#105) the book really took off. Together the creators have promised to stay on the book until #150 (they're currently on #131), so you're sure to get a nice long run. And yes, it does get fantastical and sometimes superheroic, but Marz keeps it grounded. And there have been a few events that it's tied into, but they're kept very small, crossing over into two other comics: The Darkness and the event miniseries.

I hope that helps give you some ideas of current comic books you might want to try. Most (if not all) of these are collected in trade paperbacks, so you should be able to find them at local book stores.

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Thanks for the welcome and suggestions. I'm gradually trying to get back into comics so I'll try to look into those. I did buy a Jonah Hex trade last month which I found kinda 'meh.' Hopefully I've just had bad luck in finding good stories and haven't actually outgrown comics in general.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My comic book reading has its high times and low times, kind of like the tide. I was a kid during the bronze age (of comics) and, being a big horror/monster movie fan, I read The Witching Hour and House of Secrets, with a dash of Batman and Spider-Man or sprinkle of Dr. Strange and Star Wars tossed in for flavor. I stopped reading around 1978 or 79, although I did pick up some comics and graphic novels from time to time during that period. The two that I remember most clearly are the comic book tie-ins/adaptations for Alien and Creepshow.

While waiting for a matinee showing of The Blob (or was it Monkey Shines? The Monster Squad???) I drifted into a comic book shop and thumbed through a comedic "horror" fantasy anthology series titled Wasteland and was hooked. I drifted away for about a year, mostly due to no comic book stores that were easy to get to and my being both lazy and broke.

But I came roaring back in 1990, thanks in large part to Sam Raimi's Darkman (a great comic book of a movie) and Dark Horse. From 1990 to 1994 I read comics regularly. Then I moved and, once again without easy access to a comic book store, drifted away.

I found one in 1999 and was good to go until it packed up and moved in 2001. Came back yet again in 2004 or 2005 and was a steady reader until 2007. Now I am coming back again, but with a difference.

Buying the serial editions are just too damn expensive, I was sinking $100 plus a month into Flying Colors Comics, so I am cutting down the serials to just three books: The Walking Dead, Hack/Slash, and Fallen Angel. Everything else I'm going to be picking up in a trade paperback edition, more or less. (Every rule has its exception.) Right now my purchasing goal is to limit myself to only two trades a month, one with each paycheck.

...

...

Yeah, right. :rolleyes:

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  • 2 months later...

Howdy guys.

It's been a while.

I've walked away from comics for a while now. Why you may ask? Because I have no money.

I'm fifteen with no job.

And my mom never trusts me with money anymore. >_>

The last "new" comic I bought was Darkest Night number 1.

I seriously want to get back into comics again, but I have no fucking clue as to what's going on right now.

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