COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 300
Wow, issue 300. I've been reading CBEM for quite a few years now. My subscription dates back to when I first got e-mail, back in 1996. I was sick of seeing my box empty day after day, so I signed up for this and a few other things. Now I can't get rid of all the crap that shows up, especially the Spam where the subject line advertises "hot teenage girls." I really don't need to be reminded that I am not, at least in the standard sense, hot - or even a teenager anymore.
Anyway, it's interesting to note that this month is also the beginning of my eighth year as a comics fan. It's hard for me to believe it's been that long, a good chunk of my life has been spent reading these things, or even all the money that I've spent on the habit. Part of my soul has been traded, I would say. It's been fun. I've enjoyed my fair share of stories. Personally I'm in a bit of a slump right now, because I don't buy much, I'm never in a hurry to get to the shop, I could go without comics entirely if necessary. I don't consider this prelude to an end, but will wait and see what the future brings.
Why January, of all months? And how do I even remember it was January? Back in '94 I bought X-Men #30, the issue where Jean and Scott got married. And I was hooked. No fights, no heavy drama. Just a simple wedding. I enjoyed the issue, even got my mother to read it eventually (helped that she liked to watch the cartoon with me). And I just started buying the title after that. I can't really explain why, I was just hooked.
Eventually my father bought me the issue of Wizard spotlighting the X-Men, don't remember the number, but by looking through the articles I did spot other titles I might like, which included the Angela miniseries. Despite its narrow viewpoint, Wizard is the magazine that got me to try other things. I bought Angela, which got me into Sandman, which...well, it's Sandman. You don't really need to get into anything from that. But now I grab anything that looks interesting, which is how I got into current faves like Starman and Dork Tower.
I used to run to the comics shop every Wednesday during lunch - I've told this story already -- but it's certainly relevant in illustrating the kind of excitement comics should generate. I haven't felt that way about comic books in a long time. Nowadays my attention gets split between television and movies and the Internet, distractions which those in comics fandom constantly lament. But hey, it happens. People change, and it isn't always about quality. This is supposed to be a good time for comics. It's just that sometimes I'd rather watch a movie or play a game.
In my time as a comics geek I've watched two stores close, seen Marvel go through two EIC's, now on a third. Like many others, I've watched Image grow and seen some very bad comic movies. I've been to one convention and five signings. I've had three letters printed, been in one flame war (only one, thank-the-Lord) and received God-knows-how-many marriage proposals in comic chat rooms. I've bought roughly 1000 comics in that time and 70 TPB's. It's modest compared to most, but it's certainly more than my friends have. All in all, it's been a good hobby.
Hobby? At what point does it stop being a hobby? And did I reach that point yet? Can I afford to? Or should I just get on with my life?
I go to bed now, for I have many things to do tomorrow, the least of which is to get on with my life. I have comics to buy.