John Jakala offers up an overview 2004 at The Low Road and concludes with what’s essentially going to be my comic book resolution for 2005:
“Stop investing time and money in works you don’t enjoy or don’t expect to enjoy.”
Looking back on my buying habits in 2004, I really can’t justify some of my purchases. I mean, is there any reason to buy a Chuck Austen comic? Well, maybe the first one can be excused, but willingly repeating the experience? I didn’t think so. Given the volume of evidence to the contrary, should I keep expecting a different response to comics written by Geoff Johns, or does that fit too neatly under the definition of insanity? (Where is that pesky line between optimism and madness, now that I think about it?)
Nostalgia, misplaced more often than not, leads me to buy too many books because I liked the characters when I was 13. And, while this kind of cord-cutting won’t be easy for me (decades of entrenched behavior, and all that), I’m really going to make an effort to follow creators I like rather than characters. 2004 has offered ample evidence that blindly following franchise characters is a recipe for disappointment. 2005 promises more of the same (Countdown, House of M). Following creators at least lowers the level of risk.
So, despite my lack of interest in Spider-Man and the Human Torch, I’ll try Dan Slott’s mini starring the two. Superman doesn’t interest me in the slightest, but Gail Simone and Grant Morrison do. I’ll give Peter Milligans upcoming X-work a shot. And it isn’t as though my current buying list will be totally decimated: books like She-Hulk, Birds of Prey, Fallen Angel, Ex Machina, The Losers, Astonishing X-Men, Gotham Central, Manhunter, and some others will stay in place for 2005.
And, though I find its heft and layout painful, I’ll try and make better use of Previews. Of course, there’s always the blogosphere, which has already given me any number of great recommendations. Without it, I wouldn’t have picked up great books like Street Angel, Scott Pilgrim, Planetes, Hot Gimmick, Sgt. Frog, and others.
So, that’s the goal for the year ahead: fewer comics that I liked two decades ago, more comics that I might actually like now. And, yes, it is about time. Happy new year!