So today’s article isn’t about comics specifically, but is more about a general phenomenon I am currently experiencing as a reader.
When I think about the industry right now, I am feeling rather…. Bored.
Yes. I said it.
I’ve been thinking it for a while now and I kept blaming it on the winter blues.
Fact is, after talking to other comic readers around me I realized it wasn’t in fact due to seasonal depression. I am experiencing the horribly dreaded…. Comic Blues. Resulting from this sneaky state of mind: intense pickiness.
.
I might have already talked about this with some of you. I’ve been feeling kind of bored lately of my readings. In search of this mind blowing, life changing, taste altering experience I once experienced in comics.
I was afraid at the beginning: “Please, don’t make me tired of comics. Please, please, please.” I was afraid of speaking up and reaching out to other members. What if people start saying I’m a fraud for slowing my interest in comics?
When I visited my LCS last week for the first time in two months (because yes, that’s how uninterested I was in the recent NCBDs….) it was time to ask for help and ask the spark igniting question: ‘’What new comics can you recommend me?’’
We then proceeded to go around the store and look at the new and not so new great comics that would match my style...
“I have that one”
“I finished that one”
‘“Already read”
“Started reading it and got bored”
I ended up having a long conversation with my LCS about how I missed the feeling of randomly picking up a comic and having my mind blown by it.
That feeling I had with Paper Girls, Saga, Preacher and other great classics. That feeling of fulfillment and almost addiction towards flipping the pages and jumping onto the next volumes. You know what feeling I’m talking about.
At some point in the conversation I said “I’m afraid of getting bored by comics. I’m afraid of… not liking it anymore”. That’s when he said “You’re not getting bored or disinterested… You just learned to filter”.
Huh. Interesting I thought.
I started asking around and turns out: many comic collectors experienced this feeling in their life. In the beginning, we are all so excited to read everything out there. There is so much “must read in your life” blog posts out there, you think it will be impossible to read them all. You jump right in there buying everything you can grab. You speed through your readings, like you’re gonna run out of time.
In reality, the more you read, the more you discover about yourself. You start noticing your preferences (For me, I learned quickly that “classic superhero” stuff wasn’t my thing). And then you start realizing that not every “must read in your life” comics are actually good. Because, let’s be honest, there is no comic that EVERYBODY love (yes, I’ve even encounter some Saga hater in my time).
And I guess that’s how I became picky. I started filtering: I can’t accept reading anymore generic stories. I can’t be impressed by stories told 1000 times before already. No. Those are boring.
I want the thoughts shattering experience. The induced obsession experience. The fresh, new and exciting concept.
If like me you thought you were alone, let me reassure you: you’re not.
Because yes comics are wonderful. It's a unique medium. But it is also an industry. It's a money making universe with faults too.
We can't expect to always find perfectly unique comics every time. Some will even say that every stories were at least told once already.
If we stay on the optimistic side, the beauty of comics is how new ones are coming out every week!
Right now, I’m reading some Terry Moore that really helps me remind myself the reasons why I fell in love with the medium. So if like me you were experiencing some difficult time finding interesting reads, maybe it’s time to go back to your classic. Just so you get to remember what you are looking for… At least until something new and exciting come out again!