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Etreiw

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Today, was the last day I bought new comics.

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Etreiw

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The summer of 1987 was my first experience walking into a comic-book shop and buying stack of superman comics and then today was the last time going into my local shop picking up the last round of comics as well as closing my account.

Due to some big bills coming up,  I realized that the most expensive thing I have to trim from my budget is comics. Last week alone I spent $20 bucks on 2 new modern DC comics, something is wrong with that.  There looked to be some interesting stories that were gonna be told but the cost now out weighs the entertainment.  You will never see me buy/read digital, if you gonna make a digital comic, you maze as well make it animated.  Hopefully once I tackle these bills coming down the line, I can slab a few old ones before the year is out.  Gonna feel weird in the coming weeks that I don't head over on Wednesday to pick up my weekly dose of new comics..... ;( 

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Rotten isn't it, that day when you decide to stop the weekly new comic shop. Lots of us have been there though Etriew, so don't feel too bad. Things change and it's just too expensive now for some of us to carry on collecting in the way we did back in the day when things were more manageable. I miss the chats with my comic shop guys more than the comics themselves - those largely unattractive, expensive moderns with their bazillion variants made it quite easy to stop actually - but it just didn't feel right to keep going back without buying anything. And I agree with your digital sentiments - comics are a physical thing, or nothing. 

I liked your video with the nephews by the way - typical of kids to be as interested in popping the bubble wrap as the comics inside isn't it :grin:

Good luck with your comic exploits in the future, in whatever form they take.

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43 minutes ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Rotten isn't it, that day when you decide to stop the weekly new comic shop. Lots of us have been there though Etriew, so don't feel too bad. Things change and it's just too expensive now for some of us to carry on collecting in the way we did back in the day when things were more manageable. I miss the chats with my comic shop guys more than the comics themselves - those largely unattractive, expensive moderns with their bazillion variants made it quite easy to stop actually - but it just didn't feel right to keep going back without buying anything. And I agree with your digital sentiments - comics are a physical thing, or nothing. 

I liked your video with the nephews by the way - typical of kids to be as interested in popping the bubble wrap as the comics inside isn't it :grin:

Good luck with your comic exploits in the future, in whatever form they take.

I think in general comics are at a crossroads cause of the increase in cost,, sure there's gonna be an expanded Spawn Universe now but how long will that interest last? Then again I wasn't aware that there was a big interest to make a bigger Spawn Universe to begin with.  

As for the nephews and one niece, showing them what they will likely inherit from their Uncle, a tonne comics that will be old and needed to be slabbed for sale. ;)

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Commenting upon "...today was the last time..."

Suggest never say "never". Maybe you should just see it as taking a break. I loved comics as a kid. I know I had a SS #1 - long, long since binned. My break was a long one. I came back to comics when I started loving The Walking Dead. It doesn't matter what might trigger your return. But just something you love, eh?

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After getting back into comics in the mid 80s, I went to the LCS nearly every week for nearly 30 years. I wasn't a big purchaser, two or three books a week on average, some weeks more, some weeks none, but it added up. When I had to start reminding myself to read them after purchase, I knew it was time to stop. I'm sure there s still new stuff out there I could enjoy, but not enough to make a routine of it anymore. I buy a few GN a year now; whatever Brubaker is putting out, and newly printed material by old faves like Kim Deitch, Peter Bagge and Jaques Tardi to name a few, but I'm pretty much done with pamphlets. I've sold most of the floppies I purchased since the 80s, and a number of trades and hardbacks as well. 

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2 hours ago, FoggyNelson said:

You will be back L O L 

Buying new comics? no. Having 34 years worth of DC comics, it's time to reread them and slab them as well.  I just didn't realize that beginning of this year that I would be quitting buying new modern books.  The cost of individual issues have finally gotten to the point of saying dam, that was pretty expensive entertainment.

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14 hours ago, Etreiw said:

Buying new comics? no. Having 34 years worth of DC comics, it's time to reread them and slab them as well.  I just didn't realize that beginning of this year that I would be quitting buying new modern books.  The cost of individual issues have finally gotten to the point of saying dam, that was pretty expensive entertainment.

I have to agree, it reminds me of modern coin collectors , why do they pay big dollars for a brand new 2020 dime when they could buy a classic seated dime from the 1860,s 

it just doesn’t make sense to buy a modern comic at today cover price

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Don't be silly. Something will catch your eye. I bought the Ross Hulk/Thing diner cover just because I really liked it. I bought the something is killing the children virgin cover at cover price because I thought it looked cool. I didn't even know it was hot. And I wasn't about to pass on an ASM 55 at cover price -- At the very least you may find yourself staring at a book on the rack that is currently $35 on ebay and say "I might as well" unless you pledge to never go into a comic shop again.

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6 hours ago, the blob said:

Don't be silly. Something will catch your eye. I bought the Ross Hulk/Thing diner cover just because I really liked it. I bought the something is killing the children virgin cover at cover price because I thought it looked cool. I didn't even know it was hot. And I wasn't about to pass on an ASM 55 at cover price -- At the very least you may find yourself staring at a book on the rack that is currently $35 on ebay and say "I might as well" unless you pledge to never go into a comic shop again.

Having seen some DC comic previews for March, April and May, I know there's some pretty interesting storylines coming out but I can't walk back into a comicbook store cause the temptation would be to great.  If I want to keep a roof over my head and able to buy some food....comics are the one that have to go.  Ebay? I have never bought anything comic related from Ebay and I sure in hell won't start now. :)  Gonna be tough for the next couple of weeks though. 

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On the bright side, your hiatus isn't related to a loss of passion for the hobby.  When the fiscal picture gets brighter, you may find yourself right back in the fray.

I've "sworn off" comics twice in my life - first when I was 9 or 10 because I hated the Fatal Attractions story line so much.  That was a full swearing off, but luckily it only lasted about 7 years.  I even came to appreciate FA a little bit as I entered my adult years.

The second time was after I had the misfortune of reading the atrocious "Death" of Wolverine story.  At that point I realized that new releases no longer held interest for me, and I haven't bought a new one, of any title, since then.  Who knows though, maybe after 7 years have passed I won't think that Charles Soule is an overrated hack, but I doubt it.

Luckily, swearing off #2 just left me more time and funds to focus on the books I actually enjoy :banana:

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59 minutes ago, mattn792 said:

On the bright side, your hiatus isn't related to a loss of passion for the hobby.  When the fiscal picture gets brighter, you may find yourself right back in the fray.

I've "sworn off" comics twice in my life - first when I was 9 or 10 because I hated the Fatal Attractions story line so much.  That was a full swearing off, but luckily it only lasted about 7 years.  I even came to appreciate FA a little bit as I entered my adult years.

The second time was after I had the misfortune of reading the atrocious "Death" of Wolverine story.  At that point I realized that new releases no longer held interest for me, and I haven't bought a new one, of any title, since then.  Who knows though, maybe after 7 years have passed I won't think that Charles Soule is an overrated hack, but I doubt it.

Luckily, swearing off #2 just left me more time and funds to focus on the books I actually enjoy :banana:

I've read some bad DC stories as well like Cry for Justice and recent storyline that they put Wally West through was pretty bad. This is different, we all know that the cost of comics have steadily rose and some of it is related to adding varient covers to issues.  I don't see the justification of shelling out over $6 bucks(including tax) for a new modern comic book.  It was a great 34 year run.  I'll stick to buying blue-ray videos of new DC cartoons...like that Justice Society coming out in May. ;)


 

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Yes. My “this is absurd” moment came about 25 years ago. It wasn’t so much that comics hit $1.95 about that time, but all the gimmicks really turned me off. I bought 5 copies each of X-men #1, covers A-E... so 25 copies!

I spent almost $50 on that one issue! I was part of the problem. No more. 

With the exception of one book, I still have every book I have ever bought. 

I’m quite happy now buying only back issues that came out prior to the mid 70’s. 

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4 hours ago, ECDC said:

Yes. My “this is absurd” moment came about 25 years ago. It wasn’t so much that comics hit $1.95 about that time, but all the gimmicks really turned me off. I bought 5 copies each of X-men #1, covers A-E... so 25 copies!

I spent almost $50 on that one issue! I was part of the problem. No more. 

With the exception of one book, I still have every book I have ever bought. 

I’m quite happy now buying only back issues that came out prior to the mid 70’s. 

I still remember DC had at one point advertise the saying, "Drawing the line at $2.99".  If they are pushing digital reads then why don't I see the advertisements for that kinda of venture when I surf the net?

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On 2/28/2021 at 7:00 PM, Etreiw said:

Having seen some DC comic previews for March, April and May, I know there's some pretty interesting storylines coming out but I can't walk back into a comicbook store cause the temptation would be to great.  If I want to keep a roof over my head and able to buy some food....comics are the one that have to go.  Ebay? I have never bought anything comic related from Ebay and I sure in hell won't start now. :)  Gonna be tough for the next couple of weeks though. 

My reference is the book that is $35 or $40 on ebay that you see on the rack for $3.99. Yes, you might not be buying it to read it, just immediately sell it. I agree, if you have no capacity or interest in ever selling anything, buying new comics is a problem.

I agree, I am not trying to get involved with stories. Thankfully I am really bad about that. I usually loose interest in a few issues (which lost me a lot of money on Walking Dead when I stopped reading it in the late 60s). The last few years I have probably bought 5-8 new comics a year (it was TWO in 2020), mainly covers that caught my eye, some #1 I thought might be a big deal, whatever. It's more a matter of never say never. 

The fact that 98% of what is $4-6 now will be a $2 or less back issue later does create a big disincentive. I wonder if comic companies allowed some returnability of books, thus severely limiting the amount of overstock out there, if that would actually raise sales. Of course, we have decades of back issues that need to get unloaded, so maybe it is too late. 

 

 

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12 hours ago, the blob said:

 

The fact that 98% of what is $4-6 now will be a $2 or less back issue later does create a big disincentive. I wonder if comic companies allowed some returnability of books, thus severely limiting the amount of overstock out there, if that would actually raise sales. Of course, we have decades of back issues that need to get unloaded, so maybe it is too late. 

 

 

Exactly!  The thing is, we who bought print are getting old, when I went to a small comic convention, did I see any young kids going through the $2.00 comic boxes? No I did't, so down the road when the seller is trying to unload those $ 6 dollar comics, they gonna have to drop the price just to get those 70 year old comic book readers.......... :)

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You are doing yourself a favor!

The best move I made was stopping my pull list to buy Ultimate Xmen and various Drek at $3 and up!

I channeled that $ in buying SA & BA which is my passion for comics, & 95% of the new stuff is Drek anyway!

When your finances are better maybe you will revisit the LCS again,,, but for now, you ain't missing much! 

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12 hours ago, Etreiw said:

Exactly!  The thing is, we who bought print are getting old, when I went to a small comic convention, did I see any young kids going through the $2.00 comic boxes? No I did't, so down the road when the seller is trying to unload those $ 6 dollar comics, they gonna have to drop the price just to get those 70 year old comic book readers.......... :)

I see kids going through cheap boxes. those are the boxes they can afford. Part of the problem is many conventions are so dang expensive it keeps some kids out.

Mine did. He had some titles he wanted to read from 1 up like Howard the Duck (2000 version) and Earth 2. I was a little annoyed he got them out of a $2 box (as some probably could have been found for $1), but I bought them anyway as I didn't want to discourage his desire to read them, Anyway, once read he gave them back to me and i will be getting my money back and then some on two issues of Earth 2.

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1 hour ago, Comics4All said:

You are doing yourself a favor!

The best move I made was stopping my pull list to buy Ultimate Xmen and various Drek at $3 and up!

I channeled that $ in buying SA & BA which is my passion for comics, & 95% of the new stuff is Drek anyway!

When your finances are better maybe you will revisit the LCS again,,, but for now, you ain't missing much! 

A lot of BA and SA is drek, as in it sux. Mainly the DC books, many of which are objectively terrible. But we collect them anyway! The Marvel stuff is usually readable today. DC, not so much, outside of war, horror, and a few others (ok, guys like denny o'neil were writing readabke stuff, but he was more in the BA). What makes the new stuff drek? Drek as in badly drawn/written, or you think it is too common? Most recent books are probably no more common than many BA books. 

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What makes Modern books today Drek is they are badly drawn/poorly written!

I agree with you on the BA Dc stuff, I am a Marvel Zombie!

I guess I meant more of the 80s than 60s 70s for DC. I enjoyed Swamp Thing by Alan Moore, Teen titans by Wolfman/Perez etc...

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11 hours ago, the blob said:

I see kids going through cheap boxes. those are the boxes they can afford. Part of the problem is many conventions are so dang expensive it keeps some kids out.

Mine did. He had some titles he wanted to read from 1 up like Howard the Duck (2000 version) and Earth 2. I was a little annoyed he got them out of a $2 box (as some probably could have been found for $1), but I bought them anyway as I didn't want to discourage his desire to read them, Anyway, once read he gave them back to me and i will be getting my money back and then some on two issues of Earth 2.

Ah Earth 2 (DC)  man there was so much potential with that series but sadly the storyline went kaput and it ended...forever logged into one of my comic book boxes.......

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On 3/3/2021 at 10:34 PM, Etreiw said:

Ah Earth 2 (DC)  man there was so much potential with that series but sadly the storyline went kaput and it ended...forever logged into one of my comic book boxes.......

3 issues from the series are now expensive. i hate breaking up my set, but now is the time.

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I have "quit" three times in the past, but came back.  There are always three series I will buy, no matter what, and I made that decision the last time I "quit":  Justice League, Avengers, Titans.  There is nothing wrong with sayng good bye. I am sure some day I will, but for now, I don't mind spending my money. I have no kids, so I might as well enjoy what I have. 

And yes, I agree, splitting sets are.. difficult to do. I want to sell my West Coast Avengers #45, but...  I .... just... can't... do ... it.....  That means I have to buy it again.

:eek:

 

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3 hours ago, JayBees said:

I have "quit" three times in the past, but came back.  There are always three series I will buy, no matter what, and I made that decision the last time I "quit":  Justice League, Avengers, Titans.  There is nothing wrong with sayng good bye. I am sure some day I will, but for now, I don't mind spending my money. I have no kids, so I might as well enjoy what I have. 

And yes, I agree, splitting sets are.. difficult to do. I want to sell my West Coast Avengers #45, but...  I .... just... can't... do ... it.....  That means I have to buy it again.

:eek:

 

I have no kids as well, cause if I did I probably would have had to quit ages ago. ;) 

If comics were still cheap, then yes it would be harder to quit but I just remind myself that near the end of me buying weekly comics, I spent $20 bucks on 2 modern current DC comics and that itself is bad. Prior to signing up to CGC, I read majority of the collections that CGC had linked to their site, I wondered what made those collectors quit? Was it the cost increase over time? Perhaps a untimely death? Or they needed some money?  I never dreamt that a year later that my own collection would stop  in Feb of this year. 

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OK, so you're not going to buy new monthlies, but fishing a story line from 6 months ago out of the discount box is not out of the question? I get it, I can't remember the last off the rack comic I bought just to read for myself. I've bought my kids some, sure. But everything else has been the occasion #1, a couple of store autograph editions, something I knew was hot on ebay, or some cover that just knocked my socks off ... and sometimes when the big companies do $1 comics...like they did a few years ago with some round of #1s...I figure if they do a $1 release I should buy it. i'll read my cheap-o box buys, sure. not all of them. i don't have the time.

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