The post where I compare buying comics to heroin, and probably flog a metaphor into the dirt.

Pictures not scanning today, so we'll have to wait a day or two before we get into Captain America's (and possibly Mark Waid's) increasingly worrying forgetfulness, and why the Winter Soldier had a trunkful of Nazi memorabilia...seriously.

So, what then? Well, one thing I should mention is that I don't respond to comments very often, I very much appreciate them. And the other day, 'bandini2828' had a pretty good one on the topic of buying monthly floppy comics, or not:

Just stop buying comics. Give it a try...enjoy the hell out of your old ones, save some money, and build a model rocket or something in your spare time.

I went six months without buying CDs because I realized I wasn't really enjoying listening to anything as much as I was just used to going to to the record shop every payday.

Go six months without any new comics at all...you won't die, and the world won't end, and it's a safe bet they'll still be around in August.
Plus, the withdrawl will make a great subject for the blog.

Bandini has a point there, as I too eventually fell of the CD habit as well. But my enjoyment of CD's reached a point where I wasn't enjoying them at all. But there's a lot of other things I've given up, some easily, some hard; and I don't want to lose my love of comics like that.

Some of you may be old enough to remember buying comics in grocery stores, which is where I read (and occasionally, purchased) the vast majority of my comics for over a decade. The direct market took a while to get to Montana, but it did eventually, and I remember buying an issue of Jon Sable, Freelance on my first trip to a comic book shop. (I was watching the short-lived TV show at the time. Pretty sure it was around #32.) Of course, by that point I was good and hooked on comics, but this was my first taste of the hard stuff.

There was a Hastings in Great Falls, Montana, that cleared out comics as cheap as forty-nine cents, and that's where I was introduced to Badger, then Nexus. There were at least three shops that regularly sold comics in Missoula when I started college there, and one pretty good shop there when I left. Over the years, I stopped getting comics at grocery or convenience stores, at least not regularly; but I hit a comic shop at least once a week. My collection would grow and grow, and occasionally I'd lend out comics never to be returned, or sell boxes of good comics and crap alike. (I think I miss the crap more, now that I'm blogging...)

And a comic shop has always been there. Some people probably regard the trip to the shop as a necessary evil--the only way to get the books, but all too often meaning a long drive to a dank store full of gaming manuals and crappy lighting and overpriced 90's Image books. Others may think of it as a meaningless ritual: a habit to be broken by switching over to trades, or online shopping, or god forbid, downloading.

But for me it's always been a reason to look forward to Wednesday. Even if I didn't have any new books, like I do this week, unless I somehow convince myself I need another Werewolf by Night revival...what is that, Greg Land? There's always quarter books and action figures or a title I don't buy consistently. (I think I'll get last month's Cable & Deadpool, featuring 'Pool asskicking Taskmaster again.) Maybe that last issue of Scud will finally come out. Who knows? (Is that coming as a single issue, or part of a collection? 'Cause I just need the single issue.)

And six months without new comics and not dying? Not if the last issue of Planetary comes out. Maybe I should just try to be less guilty about not buying crap.

I didn't pound the heroin metaphor as much as I expected, but I'm doing this on the fly and I'm ok with not comparing comic shops to needles...damnit!

For coming all this way, why not a Gene Colan panel?

Sometimes, what I want from comics is pretty simple, really.

From Tales of Suspense #88, reprinted in Marvel Double Feature #5, "Beyond All Rescue!" Written by Stan Lee, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Frank Giacoia. I don't think I have any long runs of Gene Colan's work, except for the Essential Tomb of Dracula and Nathaniel Dusk (which we'll come back to), but I think I have a ton of his work. I had a really strong image of a Colan-drawn Moon Knight, and was racking my poor brain to remember where I had seen it...duh, Avengers #211. So much for blogging to better remember comics. Read more!

From Midnight Men #2, story and art by Howard Chaykin, letters by John Workman.

This is going to be a little more gloomy than usual, I think, but I'm just 'thinking out loud' a bit to see where it goes. The other day, I went downstairs to get some comics out of my messy, messy basement. Among other things, I re-read Midnight Men, which was part of Marvel's Epic line, and their 'Heavy Hitters' launch. Most of those books are barely remembered now, which isn't to say they were bad, just not classic. And that was during a stretch when Marvel was trying to corner, or rather flood, the market. Indy books like Fish Police or Trouble with Girls were brought up to the big leagues, then promptly sent right back down when the market contracted. Good times.

Although I've been a fan of Howard Chaykin's for years (many, many years, if you count the amount of time I poured over his Star Wars adaptation), a lot of his work I picked up long after it was off the racks and into the back issue boxes: the Shadow, Blackhawk, the American Flagg! issues I've read. I did buy the singles of American Century and Challengers of the Unknown, though, and still think American Century was underrated and doomed--the direct market didn't seem to be the target audience for that one.

But then came Hawkgirl, which, even with Walt Simonson writing, was only OK for me, and I dropped it when I had to cut the budget. I didn't have the same level of distaste or mockery for it that a lot of bloggers/readers seemed to, but it wasn't firing on all cylinders either. I was kinda looking forward to Chaykin's New Avengers fill-in...until I flipped through it. Chaykin has a set style, and he drew Hank Pym in his 'asshole' style. I fell off the Civil War bandwagon pretty quickly...

Running over all that made me think about what I was buying. I dropped some books during a cash drought, and then was gunshy about picking new ones up. For some new limiteds, like Beyond!, Annihiliation, and Agents of Atlas; I decided to try that 'wait for the trade' thing. An idea that only works if you actually pick up the trade in question...we'll see how that goes.

There's other books that I would like to read, or should be reading: Cable & Deadpool, for example, although I would probably only buy the more Deadpool-centric issues. I take a similar approach to Uncanny X-Men, buying only issues with Nightcrawler; despite Brubaker doing an OK job on the Vulcan character, I kinda don't care. I dropped Daredevil before Brubaker picked it up, and now I'm thinking about getting it again. Ditto Criminal.

Over at DC, I've been occasionally reading Detective and Batman again, for what seems like the first time in years...since No Man's Land? No, I read some of that, then fell off entirely during Bruce Wayne: Criminal. The Justice League relaunch hasn't grabbed me, I tried the first issue of Creeper but it didn't take, and I've bought all the first issues of the Authority that I care to, thanks. (I thought Brubaker's Authority started great, lost steam, then broke its leg right before the finish line.)

In recent months, I've read the occasional issue of Legion of Super-Heroes and Catwoman and if I had more comic budget I would buy both more often. I may still try Scalped, since like a lot of Vertigo, it looks interesting and doomed.

I don't buy them consistently, but I seem to enjoy the all-ages Marvel Adventures line or Justice League Unlimited more than the regular universe books. Since they're almost always 'done-in-one,' those comics are more enjoyable because they can't take the scenic route; but then they sometimes don't have the same push to make you buy them every month.

Then, the other publishers...where if I want something, it seems I just buy it, but fortunately most are published on a staggered schedule, like Hellboy/B.P.R.D, Fell, or Warren Ellis' Avatar work. Planetary is almost over...Gah, what else am I reading? I am getting excited for the eventual return of Nexus, one of my favorite comics ever.

Maybe it's just my mood, but looking at the DC and the Marvel solicits this week, and the new figures premiered at the 2007 Toy Fair, and there just didn't seem to be as much stuff I couldn't live without as previous years. I'm having a hard time telling if that's because I'm more discerning with my hard-earned dollars, or if everything just sucks now. Something to consider, once I get my overtime check, since I think I've earned a bit of a splurge. We'll see what I end up with... Read more!