My exile from DC Nation

[patio]

It all started with Wizard World. Maybe I had too high expectations. Maybe it was the sinus infection that made my head feel like a fishbowl. I don't know. All I know is that after the DC Nation panel I didn't go back to my comic store for over 3 weeks. I seriously considered not going back at all. The comics were building up. How much was it going to cost me to read a bunch of books and say "eh?" And that Countdown every week. Week after listless week. It was daunting.

The thing is, I like Dan Didio. And he was very ever-present and dynamic at the con. And he was very, very excited during the DC Nation panel. Too excited. It made me nervous. Give me some space, Dan. Don't ask me to cheer for DC. DC doesn't need my cheers.

And it's Vertigo too. I've been reading trades of Fables and Y from my library, and enjoying them more than most of the books I pay hard-earned cash for. So I had to ask myself why. What was the benefit? I wanted to go back to my store, but there was nothing calling me.

Then it hit me. There were plenty of good books waiting for me at the store. Iron Fist, Captain America, Ultimate Spidey, Starlord, Astonishing X-Men. The list goes on. Three weeks worth of good comics. But what was keeping me back was all the stuff I wasn't looking forward to reading but was on my pull list. As well as the sizable stack of things I was lukewarm on (Busiek's Action Comics, I'm talking to you) and letting accumulate in my pile for the past few months.

So I purged. Goodbye Countdown. I'm sorry but i won't even miss you. I think I'll enjoy JSA and JLA and Sinestro Corps all the more without you. Goodbye Punisher War Journal and your mediocre painted style. Goodbye New X-Men and X-Men and Uncanny. You think you're pretty cool but I'll be laughing at you along with She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel when you pass by in the hall.

I am an egalitarian no more. Mediocre comics will no longer guilt me into reading them. I will no longer spend money in the hopes that it will pay off 2-3 months down the line. I am free. Free I tell you. Freeeeeeeeeeeee!

[labor_days]

Good for you, dude. I think everyone would be better off by shunning mediocrity in all media.

That said, I am enjoying the hell out of all the DC books I read. Even Countdown, though I love to ***** about it. ;-)

[mikegraham6]

Preach on brotha! i say to thee Hallelujah and Amen! now if only i can feel that devine inspiration to cull my books as well....

im proud of you though!

[humphrey-lee]

I've said it once and I've said it a thousand times; there's no reason to keep on bad comics. And mediocrity is the main word that's becoming synonymous with the comic book industry right now, at least from its main publishers.

[patio]

Dammit! JLA and Astonishing were disappointing too. That's it. There's no more X-books left for me! And if JLA wasn't getting a new team, I'd seriously consider dropping that one too.

Next week is going to be better, right? WIth the She-Hulk-Ms. Marvel-Buffy combo, there's gotta be some enjoyment to be had, right?

<sigh> When is that Groo special coming out anyhow?

[humphrey-lee]

There's always great comics coming out, week in and week out, it's just a matter of finding them. That's why I always chime in on recommendation threads whenever I can, because the more info someone has the better. Anytime I hear that someone is "getting bored with comics" I usually call BS. They just need to do a little research.

Of course, it doesn't help that (like most forms of entertainment) the media that covers it is usually geared towards promoting the mediocre stuff that comes from the companies that give them their jobs.

[labor_days]

ext week is going to be better, right?

I believe Sorrow and Faker are shipping this week. Really looking forward to those two books. Could be wrong about the shipping though.

[jimski]

Then it hit me. There were plenty of good books waiting for me at the store. Iron Fist, Captain America, Ultimate Spidey, Starlord, Astonishing X-Men. The list goes on. Three weeks worth of good comics. But what was keeping me back was all the stuff I wasn't looking forward to reading but was on my pull list.

It's too bad the Seinfeld characters weren't geekier; the awkward interaction involved in breaking up with your pull list has "Seinfeld episode" written all over it if personal experience is anything to go by. You've asked the manager to hold all those books, but now you've grown to hate them... and you have to tell the guy... but they're all sitting there in the file, and he's going to look at you like you're dumping him, and he loves some of the books you're dropping, and ugh, it's a whole big thing. Oy. I ended up dropping the concept of a pull list altogether; I'd rather get to the store two minutes after they open every week, and keep from missing my favorites that way. The other way brought a little too much Larry David into my life.

In general, I applaud you for your decision and strongly favor the "drop it like it's hot" theory of reading over the "buy it till it's good again" theory.

[labor_days]

There was a time when rather than telling the owner of my LCS I wasn't interested in his recommendations and wanted to drop half my subscriptions...I just stopped going to the shop.

Then at some point I remembered he had my number. Everytime "unknown caller" showed on my phone, panic would grip me like an anaconda does a small child.

Never broke it off formally. Eventually, I moved to another city and got a new number. Whew!

[horatio616]

Dammit! JLA and Astonishing were disappointing too. That's it. There's no more X-books left for me! And if JLA wasn't getting a new team, I'd seriously consider dropping that one too.

Next week is going to be better, right? WIth the She-Hulk-Ms. Marvel-Buffy combo, there's gotta be some enjoyment to be had, right?

<sigh> When is that Groo special coming out anyhow?

Don't give up on Astonishing yet. There's only one more issue in this arc then there'll be a new creative team. Astonishing is the only good X-Men book out right now. The others I can't stomach.

[pkbear]

I've walked away from comics more than a few times in my life. Just dropped them all together without a glance over my shoulder. And later I come crawling back for a brief check, a single issue purchase, a one-night stand in colored ink. And then I'm back again the next week, adding a couple more and picking up a few back issues to fill in the gap. Then I'm dropping $40 - $80 a week and hiding it from the husband like a mistress, shredding receipts and bringing in books over a period of days instead of in a hefty stack. Now I'm trailing off again; dropped Countdown, Legion, Supergirl and I'm questioning others. But sooner or later I'll be back. argh. I wish I could quit you.

[racemccloud]

Drop the bad, keep the good. I just did a similar purge. I found that some weeks I'd come home and I wasn't even enjoying half my stack, or could care less about the story being told. So... goodbye, JLA! Goodbye, Uncanny X-Men! Goodbye, Ultimate X-Men! Goodbye, GL Corps! (Well, except for Sinestro Wars.)

I also fight against my "raised in the 90's" urge to buy all event crossovers/tie-ins, because 90% of them will be pure crap, I just know it. Still, i succumbed to weakness, and "World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #1" sure taught me that lesson again.

It was tougher to drop things when Bendis was writing 12 books a month, though. How do you drop books when they're all the best thing you ever read?

[chris-neseman]

Skottie Young is going to come to your house and smash you for not finishing his run on New X-Men.

[patio]

Skottie Young is going to come to your house and smash you for not finishing his run on New X-Men.

Skottie's welcome to come. It's nothing against him, these characters just aren't that interesting to me. I gave it a shot. I was really hoping for Illyana's return. She and Kitty were the best thing about the X-books in the 80's. But this story wasn't what I hoped it would be.

[patio]

Don't give up on Astonishing yet.

I'm not. I gave it another shot when I wasn't so tired and once I had brushed up on the last two issues. You really need to go back and re-read to enjoy this book. A good argument for waiting for the trade, but that would take, what? a year?

Anyway, that turned out to be pretty good. But it still felt damn good to drop the other ones.

[patio]

It's too bad the Seinfeld characters weren't geekier; the awkward interaction involved in breaking up with your pull list has "Seinfeld episode" written all over it

Well they were pretty geeky. They did debate whether or not Tony wore underwear under the armor.

But yeah, it was totally a whole thing, at least in my head. I mean, I know it's an investment for the comic shop to buy enough for all the pull lists. But my guy was really cool about it. He said he'd rather I drop 10 titles than keep buying stuff I didn't enjoy and then stop coming in altogether.

[cam-]

I'll say one thing here, it's a slippery slope.

Once you start the dropping you just can't stop.

Though I'm with you, Countdown is out. F that shit.

[jimski]

Tom Breevort is thinking about this too: Why do we keep buying books that are just 'good enough'? (http://www.marvel.com/blogs/Tom%20Brevoort/entry/861?utm_source=blog+feed+-+Tom+Brevoort&utm_medium=rss+link&utm_content=blog+feed+Tom_Brevoort&utm_campaign=rss+feeds)