I went to the comic store today and picked up a few comics. Actually it was just a few. I bought the new issues of The Boys, Greatest Hits, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam and the latest two issues of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. (I didn't realize that Supergirl was only a six issue mini series. That's a shame because it's one of my favorite reads.)
After I got home I realized that my comics this week were pretty much on the two extremes. Kid comics and about as adult except for X rated as can be with The Boys and Greatest Hits.
With the economy the way it is and probably not going to get better before it gets worse I've cut back on some of my comic book spending. And with certain companies (Marvel) raising the prices on some comics to four dollars an issue (ok, really $3.99) it's getting easier to decide what to drop. I'm a big fan of Brian Michael Bendis, he got back to reading Marvel Comics with his Daredevil issues, but it's hard to walk out of the comic book store after spending twenty dollars and have only four comics to show for it. Yes, it's only a dollar increase over what we were paying, but it's just getting so hard to justify spending that much on comics every month.
I did pick up an issue of Mighty Avengers and found it basically unreadable so that will be an easy one to drop. I haven't picked up Secret Warriors, even though I'm tempted. I'm on the fence with the New Avengers. Dark Avengers I passed on, even though Bendis is writing it. At the moment I'll probably continue to buy it, but it won't take much for me to drop it.
I've dropped Captain American, even though I was enjoying Brubaker's writing it was starting to lose some interest for me. Daredevil is about to change writers soon, so I'll probably buy a few with the new writer, Andy Diggle, before I make any decision to continue or drop it. Daredevil has always been one of the cornerstones of my collecting so it'll be hard for me to drop it.
At the moment comics that I buy every month (or whenever they come out):
Echo The Boys Buffy the Vampire Slayer Walking Dead Daredevil New Avengers Spiderman Loves Mary Jane Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam
And that's about it. I might have forgotten a few, but I don't think so. I'll pick up an odd issue here and there of something that might look interesting. Right now I've been buying Greatest Hits but that only has one more issue to go and than that's over.
I find myself buying trades of books that I don't pick up on a monthly schedule. I was buying the trades of DMZ but have missed the last two. I plan to go back and get them, that is a title I've been enjoying. I just ordered the hardcovers of Swamp Thing and the second volume of Starman. I also just picked up the second and final volume of Bill Loebs' collected Journey.
Buying these hardcovers and trades is costing me the money I could spend on montly comics, but I feel like I'm getting a better deal with these volumes. And I'm enjoying the comics more.
If there's anyone out there that's still reading this blog after my terrible absence of not blogging for so long, tell me if the economy has made you cut back on your purchases. Or tell me about a comic that I just have to buy because it's so good. I'm always looking for that comic that I can't live without.
I've just realized that two of my favorite comics are supposedly for kids. I just picked up the first issue of "Spider-man Loves Mary Jane" written by Terry Moore. Terry is also the writer/artist on another favorite comic of mine "Echo." The art is by Craig Rousseau and is also very good. In fact I really liked the art in this book, it's cartoony without being too cartoony but not realistic, it fits the story perfectly. I never picked up this book before, but have heard it was good also before Moore took it over. I may have to go back and hunt up past issues. This book was fun, but you get the feeling that there is a seriousness just beneath the surface.
The other book has been out a little longer. It's "Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam" by Mike Kunkel. Mike does the writing and art on this book and his style is very cartoony but I love it. This book is really so good.
These books are being targeted for kids, which is great, I'm glad to see some really good comics being done for kids. But they can also be read by adults. They've leapt to the front of my list of comics to read for sure.
I'm also looking forward to the new Supergirl comic. It's called "Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures In The 8th Grade." And Supergirl looks like Supergirl, not some extra from the Playboy channel. This is also a comic aimed at kids, but from what I've seen and read it looks like it'll be a great read.
(And I'm going to take a deep breath and not post about why it seems all comic females have to be dressed like they're auditioning for a role in the new Cheetah Girls video.)
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