The other night, while in the middle of a what had to be a rather bizarre dream about Batman, a weird phrase popped into my head: “Comic readers are a chatty, superstitious lot.” When I woke up, the phrase was still stuck in my subconscious, so I decided to brainstorm and figure out just what my noggin was trying to tell me. (Besides, I was desperate for something to write about. These blog posts aren’t going to write themselves, you know.)
I decided that “chatty” obviously referred to the proliferation of comic book forums available to fans on the internet, such as the one on ye olde Newsarama site, as well as the need to discuss comics with anyone who will listen. Not exactly a riveting subject to write about if you ask me. But “superstitious” was a lot more interesting to me. After thinking about it for a while, I couldn’t really come up with any reasons why comic book readers would be superstitious, though I suppose it’s possible that some fanboy somewhere is scared to death that his Rob Liefeld comics are going to magically come to life in the middle of the night and chop off his feet at the ankles. It did get me to thinking about how some people combat superstitions through comforting routines, like hanging garlic outside the front door to ward off vampires, or getting Mommy and Daddy to check in the closet every night for monsters. I think if you’ve been reading comics for any significant amount of time, you’ve probably developed a few habits along the way in regards to your hobby.
A few years ago, I wouldn’t dream of sitting down to read my weekly stack of funny books without first picking up a venti caramel frapuccino from Starbucks. Usually I would immediately go home and lock myself in my room so I could read in peace and quiet, though I would occasionally sit at the Starbucks and read, which I still like to do every now and then.
A couple of months ago, Friend Pete and I would head off to the comic store together every week. We’d pick up our books and then stop off on the way home for a quick lunch of whatever grease-laden fast food we were craving. Then we would go our separate ways to start reading in the privacy of our respective homes. Sadly, those trips stopped when our LCS of choice was forced to temporarily close down due to damages from Hurricane Ike. Thank you, crappy Gulf Coast weather.
These days, I have a slightly rigid reading routine. First, I flip through a couple of issues of my weekly stack just to preview the artwork. Then I decide which titles I’m most anxious to read, like Captain America or Incredible Hercules, and those end up on the top of the reading pile. Then, I read a couple of issues of books that I still enjoy but can’t get too excited about, like Birds of Prey and Ultimate Spider-Man. Finally, I’ll set aside a couple of books to read the next day, including at least one that would normally end up at the top of the pile on the first day. That one I’ll save for last, so I can finish off the week’s haul in a satisfying way.
So what about you? Do you have any personal routines you’ve developed over your years of collecting? Do you buy every issue of certain title, even when you’re not enjoying it, just for the sake of completion? Have a favorite spot to read every week? Read all your books in alphabetical order? Or do I just have OCD? Let’s hear about it.
December 1st, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Okay, first of all any comic reader who’s dreaming about Liefeld comics coming to life would know that those comics would never cut off his feet at the ankles because no Liefeld character would recognize said feet.
As for rituals, I usually walk the 4 or 5 blocks down the street every Wednesday to my LCS (DJ’s Universal Comics in Studio City, CA), grab my books for the week, maybe have a chat for a bit with Cat the proprietor then head back to the office to go through my books. I try to post my pull list on my blog (linked above) then set about reading whatever books I have time for in my lunch hour. I usually don’t have time to read them all so they get put into a reading order (changes every month depending on my mood), tucked into a plastic bag and carried with me to work the rest of the week to read at lunch. Sometimes if I need something to read on the potty I’ll take a book in with me, usually one of the faster reading titles.
Aside from my Wednesday routine I don’t have any other “superstitions” or the like. Well except that maybe one day I’ll wake up with Liefeld feet.
December 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 am
After class finishes on a Friday morning I head into town to pick up my weekly stack, do a bit of shopping and then read them over lunch and the rest of the afternoon and finish them up on Saturday or Sunday. I used to be a bit of a completest but I had to drop Fantastic Four the minute it went late, just because we had all been repeatedly promised it would “ship on time”.
I usually read all the books once and then reread them with the preceding storyparts again later, sort of like a mini-trade, just so you feel like you have got more value for your money and you can often pick up on things you missed first time round.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Being a trades guy, my reading habits are probably different than most. For one, I only go to the comics shop about once a month, and even then, I get most of my books from Amazon (from which I order every two months, on average, maybe).
New books go the bottom of the to-read pile. Books from the top of the to-read pile are read on the bus going to work, twenty minutes every morning and twenty minutes every evening, and maybe on the subway to the gym as well. I don’t read a lot of comics except on mass transit.
A few exceptions to this standard:
-Comp copies that I’ve received for review or interview purposes are prioritized. Still read mostly on the bus, but they don’t have to languish at the bottom of the pile.
-IDW’s Terry and the Pirates books and Fanta’s Popeye collections are just too heavy/big to carry on the bus. I leave Terry in my office, to be read on my lunch time. Popeye I read when I put off doing work in order to pretend I have free time.
December 2nd, 2008 at 1:41 pm
First, the solicitations come out and I make my list. This is pretty easy as, after many years of reading comics I now just “collect” The Avengers and the related solo character books for the most part.
Second, I wait for my online vendor ( mailordercomics.com ) to load the new books on thier website and then I refine my cart and make the purchase.
Third, I wait a couple months……..
Fourth, Once the last wednesday of the month has passed, I wait for the e-mail that gives me my tracking info so I can follow the package across the country until it arrives at my domicile.
Fifth, I unpack the box, bag-n-board my new books and then I file them into the stack of remaining unread books from the previous month.
Sixth, I wait for the wife and kids to either, go somewhere during the day or go to sleep at night so I can read without any interruptions. (This doesn’t happen nearly enough which is why I still have stuff left over each month)
Seventh, Once I’ve finished up the books that I’m reading I then file them into my massive stack of drawerboxes with all the rest of my collection.
Rinse and repeat.