Comics 2008

In trying to create a new Ryan for 2008, I dropped a few titles when I went to the store this week. I dropped:

• JLA: Classified
• Amazing Spider-Man (I'll pick it up again when they eventually ret-con One More Day out of existence)
• Some Countdown tie-ins that I totally don't care about (Mystery, Adventure)
• Wildstorm titles
• Black Panther
• Birds of Prey
• Teen Titans
• ...and a few more

This is after I'd already dropped:

• Batman: Classified
• Welcome to Tranquility
• Godland
• ...and a few more

1) I was simply getting overwhelmed. I wasn't finishing my stack each week.
2) I kept getting vaguely depressed about money I'd spent on comics I didn't like. For every two or three bad comics, that was a Jimmy Olsen, Superman, Adventure, Action or Lois Lane back issue I could be picking up.
3) I wasn't picking up and trying anything new. Why did I spend money on Arena and not try the hipsterish "Umbrella Academy" they interwebs are liking? Or trying stuff I'd never heard of.
4) As much as I like the characters, there's no joy in seeing them go through the paces in mediocre stories.

I certainly haven't lost love of super-hero comics. There are still lots of titles on the list of what I will pick up. I just don't want to buy comics any more that aren't consistent or well done, hoping they get better. Comics are too expensive any more to justify following a series because you keep forgetting to purge it from your pull list.

There are a few substandard series I'm sticking with until they wrap, just because I'm curious. "Countdown" and "Death of the New Gods" (seriously... this series has been two issues two long already, and Starlin's "everyman" dialog for the New Gods is awkward and misplaced. He's a fine artist, but he needs an editor like nobody's business.) are on that list.

I'm hoping as the events of 2008 unfold, I'll find new titles to stick with. We'll see. In the meantime, I'd also like to do some exploring of comics I haven't given a chance.

Oh, and by the way, Jim Shooter's issue of Legion of Super-Heroes was the single best issue of Legion I've ever read. Just saying. That guy still has it.