COMICS CULTURE SHRAPNEL from CBEM 317
I believe a few weeks ago I mentioned cleaning my room. I'm almost done - yes, it was something to be done in stages - and I'm finding lots of things I thought long gone. Like comics I forgot to put away the first time around. I cleaned those up a bit too - currently I have maybe three and a half longboxes worth. To some of you that might not be much, while to most of the people I know, that's just sick.
I got to look through those boxes of old issues and a lot of the time I came out with this: "what was I thinking?" While I cherish my collections of Flash and Starman and heck, even X-Men (especially now), I've made many questionable decisions, or just bought things for the hell of it. Good thing I sold my Spawn collection years ago, or I might have had a seizure.
Now, I suppose this means I'll be tossing many an issue out the door soon. But I'm kind of a pack-rat, and find it hard to throw anything out. Which makes it amazing that I managed to create three recycling bins worth of refuse. But I'm not about to fill up another bin. I don't want to see any of those comics go to waste - even if they are bad, someone else could be forewarned by my own mistakes. Or regrets, and simply loss of interest. That's pretty much why I sold the Spawn issues to my best friend - I stopped reading it, and figured she could get it out of her system, and heck, I could make some money off the side.
I sold the whole lot for $10. And then used that money to well... buy more comics. Think of it as the circle of life. Instead of tossing things, or hiding them away in a box simply to fill up space, give them away or sell them. And not at guide or cover price. Just take what you can get. This isn't a business.
Since a lot of my issues were one-time buying decisions and never amounted to collection numbers, I thought that creating a communal box, where anyone could add or take as they please. My friends eventually want to get a house together, such a box might make a nice addition to our living room. I'd also like the opportunity to read what my friends would bring to the equation. Goth comics? Manga? Maybe something they made themselves?
I enjoy being a comics geek so much more when I have friends to share it with. Instead of just talking about comics, maybe it's time to go back to Kindergarten and share a little more.