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  1. #1
    Fantastic Member Hive's Avatar
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    Sep 2018
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    279

    Default How obsessed are you with collecting?

    We're all collecting comics in here, but *how* you collecting? Are you buying/keeping only the good stuff, or are you obsessed with collecting entire runs?

    For the most part, I keep only what I think is good - but for my favorite comic book, X-Men, I strive to collect everything. For them, I'm a completionist.

    Back when I was a kid, I gradually stopped reading X-Men (and comics in general) in the mid-to-late nineties. I used to think it was simply because I was "growing up" and losing interest, and while this was probably also part of the reason, I have lately - as I have bought and read most X-Men from the 90's - come to realize that the latter part of the 90's was simply a terrible time for X-Men. With a few exceptions (such as Age of Apocalypse and parts of the Phalanx Covenant), the period was marred by way too frequent and disjointed crossovers, subpar writing (at best), poor new characters and a too cartoonish style of art around the board. I liked the days where everyone tried to mimick Jim Lee a lot better than the days when everyone tried to mimick Joe Madueira, that's for sure...

    Anyway, the thing is: even though I dislike this period, I'm having a hard time getting rid of the books due to my somewhat obsessive need to collect everything from my favorite comic book property.

    How do the rest of you handle when your favorite comic book has a long, rough patch (assuming that no property has a 100 % success rate)? Are you capable of leaving a hole in your collection or do you, too, have a need to collect it?

  2. #2
    Spectacular Member
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    Dec 2016
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    109

    Default

    I had most Spider-Man titles from about Amazing #300 up to #606, having started collecting them when I was about 6. I went back to university in my mid-20's and had to scale right back on my comics. Even though there were some decent stories at that time, I just couldn't get over the One More Day storyline. After walking away from the title I've not picked up any new Spider-Man comics since, although I am enjoying the omnibuses that are from before the Clone Saga.

    I've also got most core Batman comics since Year One and I've followed them through plenty of rough patches. I've even gone back to fill in gaps with stories I knew I probably wouldn't enjoy.

  3. #3
    Incredible Member Dick Grayson's Avatar
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    Apr 2014
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    Yokohama, Japan
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    582

    Default

    At one point I was uber-completist, no doubt spurred on by custom binding which made it easy to make hardcovers to my exact, OCD specifications. At that time, if I was into a title/character, I’d get the issues no matter how awful. When I bound Nightwing, for example, I tucked the Bruce Jones run into one volume knowing I’d never, ever read it. Similarly, I bound Larry Hama’s Batman with the same knowledge that it would be a cold day in hell before I so much as glanced at it.

    But, once you let go the first time, it becomes easier to allow those holes to exist. Saves you a ton of money and space too

  4. #4
    Incredible Member
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    May 2014
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    616

    Default

    A few years back I realized I had too many comics and many of which I hardly read again and was just collecting as a completest, so I had to narrow it down by favorite (a)character and (b)artist. For example I like X-Men but even I admit most of the 90's were complete garbage and both Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men while may have been hot titles for the time looking back I was never gonna revisit them again

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