The changed pursuit
I think I might be done with comic books.
That's a scary sentence to type. Identity-shaking, even, given how much of my sense of self is wrapped up in being a geek, in fandom, in pursuit of fictional heroes. Yet it's a sentence to which my mind returns every fortnight. I wake up, every second Saturday, looking forward to new comics and I go to bed, every second Saturday, by and large apathetic toward what I've read. When new comic day has been a part of your life - a regularly scheduled "up" in your psyche - for 24 years, that's an extremely disconcerting sensation.
I remember when the wait for the next issue of any book (especially Green Lantern) was agonising. I'd catch 6am trains, skip university lectures, be late for family dinners, whatever it took to make sure I had my comics on the day of release. Circumstances altered the cycle: comics changed from a weekly to fortnightly thing. Retcons and reboots dulled my anticipation; my interest waned accordingly. This morning, the thought of going out in the wintry cold to buy comics seemed the most onerous of chores. I very nearly didn't bother. Having brought home a stack of stareyednight's books I'll barely read, and an issue of Green Lantern: New Guardians best described as "tepid", I wish I hadn't.
I still read three titles. Transformers: More than Meets the Eye is whacky and fun but I consider it an alternate universe; as such, it's ultimately inconsequential. Earth 2 is utterly brilliant and the closest I have to a "must-read" but it, like the Marvel movies I adore, is a reboot and reinterpretation of old ideas - a very pretty symbol of the medium's self-cannibalisation. New Guardians is as bland as the central character's white costume; Kyle has become a generic cookie-cutter hero, interchangeable with the next. Geoff Johns' departure may have been overdue, but it's done nothing to revitalise the title. If anything, his ending was too perfect. New stories seem tacked on, like a blockbuster movie's ill-fitting, low-budget, direct-to-DVD sequel.
If all three titles ceased publication tomorrow, I'd not miss them.
Compare that, then, with Warren Ellis' sublime Transmetropolitan, which I'm re-reading through an impromptu "book club" with hive_mind_d86. The passing of time has only sharpened that book's scalpel-like satire, insight and social commentary; has matured a brash and bold concept into an unimpeachable masterpiece. Same goes for Claremont's Uncanny X-Men, Morrison's JLA, Kelly's Superman, Grant and Breyfogle's Detective, Furman's Transformers UK, Stern's Amazing Spider-Man... even more recent fare, like Fraction's Invincible Iron Man. Hell, the same goes for the damn property cards in our Transformers Monopoly game; I found more joy reading those than I did scanning a single comic today! Madness!
I'm not sure where this line of thinking ends. I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to achieve beyond ramble and get it all down "on paper". I'm neither sad nor feeling bereft... just a little surprised and disappointed. I'm grateful comic book characters have gone mainstream: following my long-time icons through cartoons, movies and books instead of comics is simplicity itself. Fandom, identity, being a geek, it's all safe as houses - the pursuit is changed, not abandoned. Still I wonder: will the time come when I stop buying comics outright? When I no longer think I'm done with them, but actually am done?
I guess we'll see.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
That's a scary sentence to type. Identity-shaking, even, given how much of my sense of self is wrapped up in being a geek, in fandom, in pursuit of fictional heroes. Yet it's a sentence to which my mind returns every fortnight. I wake up, every second Saturday, looking forward to new comics and I go to bed, every second Saturday, by and large apathetic toward what I've read. When new comic day has been a part of your life - a regularly scheduled "up" in your psyche - for 24 years, that's an extremely disconcerting sensation.
I remember when the wait for the next issue of any book (especially Green Lantern) was agonising. I'd catch 6am trains, skip university lectures, be late for family dinners, whatever it took to make sure I had my comics on the day of release. Circumstances altered the cycle: comics changed from a weekly to fortnightly thing. Retcons and reboots dulled my anticipation; my interest waned accordingly. This morning, the thought of going out in the wintry cold to buy comics seemed the most onerous of chores. I very nearly didn't bother. Having brought home a stack of stareyednight's books I'll barely read, and an issue of Green Lantern: New Guardians best described as "tepid", I wish I hadn't.
I still read three titles. Transformers: More than Meets the Eye is whacky and fun but I consider it an alternate universe; as such, it's ultimately inconsequential. Earth 2 is utterly brilliant and the closest I have to a "must-read" but it, like the Marvel movies I adore, is a reboot and reinterpretation of old ideas - a very pretty symbol of the medium's self-cannibalisation. New Guardians is as bland as the central character's white costume; Kyle has become a generic cookie-cutter hero, interchangeable with the next. Geoff Johns' departure may have been overdue, but it's done nothing to revitalise the title. If anything, his ending was too perfect. New stories seem tacked on, like a blockbuster movie's ill-fitting, low-budget, direct-to-DVD sequel.
If all three titles ceased publication tomorrow, I'd not miss them.
Compare that, then, with Warren Ellis' sublime Transmetropolitan, which I'm re-reading through an impromptu "book club" with hive_mind_d86. The passing of time has only sharpened that book's scalpel-like satire, insight and social commentary; has matured a brash and bold concept into an unimpeachable masterpiece. Same goes for Claremont's Uncanny X-Men, Morrison's JLA, Kelly's Superman, Grant and Breyfogle's Detective, Furman's Transformers UK, Stern's Amazing Spider-Man... even more recent fare, like Fraction's Invincible Iron Man. Hell, the same goes for the damn property cards in our Transformers Monopoly game; I found more joy reading those than I did scanning a single comic today! Madness!
I'm not sure where this line of thinking ends. I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to achieve beyond ramble and get it all down "on paper". I'm neither sad nor feeling bereft... just a little surprised and disappointed. I'm grateful comic book characters have gone mainstream: following my long-time icons through cartoons, movies and books instead of comics is simplicity itself. Fandom, identity, being a geek, it's all safe as houses - the pursuit is changed, not abandoned. Still I wonder: will the time come when I stop buying comics outright? When I no longer think I'm done with them, but actually am done?
I guess we'll see.
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF