how do you deal with a friend that's abandoned comic books and they were the only one you could discuss them with?

[Chrysalis_Changling]

i might be the only one in that situation(given my rural location.....)but i have a online friend i frequently chat with on skype(or playstation)and during the early stages of the new 52 he read some books and we talked about what we were reading but flash forward to present day 2016 and he's not read a comic book in a long time plus when i tried to discuss DC's Rebirth with him in an attempt to get him psyched and back into comics so we could have fun comic book related discussions again

he just sounded very bored and uninterested in the concept and all the books i laid out for him that were in "Rebirth" because he's gotten sick of comic books constantly hitting the reset button all the time and erasing those previous issues you bought that now don't matter(He actually thinks DC Rebirth is secretly a soft reboot no matter what i tell him)

i wanted him to get back into comic books so we had something more to discuss and have fun with.....yet he seems intent on just saying no because he's past the point where he can enjoy comics without seeing them as an annoying money pit i guess

[Carabas]

Try getting him interested in comics that don't have superheroes in them and/or are not set in DC/Marvel's shared universes, and thus are not subject to reboots and practically never have reset buttons, just a nice little "The End" when the story is done?

[ed2962]

Well, lots of people go thru comic book burn out. If you have other things that you guys talk about, I wouldn't worry about it. He'll come back to it in his own time.

If not, you can always make other friends on the internet to discuss comics with.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

Try getting him interested in comics that don't have superheroes in them and/or are not set in DC/Marvel's shared universes, and thus are not subject to reboots and practically never have reset buttons, just a nice little "The End" when the story is done?

he's never really seemed like much of a person that can go beyond the superhero realm i believe(he doesn't give a crap about realistic stories that are heavily grounded)

[Chrysalis_Changling]

Well, lots of people go thru comic book burn out. If you have other things that you guys talk about, I wouldn't worry about it. He'll come back to it in his own time.

If not, you can always make other friends on the internet to discuss comics with.

that's the problem we used to have a lot of things to discuss but over time that list dwindled until it's down to almost nothing

Doesn't Read comics anymore
doesn't even watch wrestling consistently anymore(we used to skype chat during monday night)
i don't own any online play PS4 Games so we cannot play games together(which just means he's less focused on me and more focused on the game if he's playing on his PS4)

his busy job doesn't give him a lot of room to do much when he can relax(tuesday being his one day off)

what breaks the camels back for me is he's the kind of person that will keep quiet and only respond when necessary letting someone else strike up the conversation and keep it going

i like him and i can see at times he has a good heart because he's dealt with me for several years now it feels like

it's just now I'm doing all the talking because we don't play games together anymore he's not a comic book reader anymore and he's seemingly lost interest in talking about wrestling like we used to

that leaves me with a very limited pool of discussions to start up with him

that is why I'm so insistent on trying to get him back into comics so I'm not just saying random stuff to him to keep a conversation going

[ed2962]

he's never really seemed like much of a person that can go beyond the superhero realm i believe(he doesn't give a crap about realistic stories that are heavily grounded)

There's lots of indie comics that are super hero, fantasy, or sci fi based. Has he checked any out? Judging from your avatar I'm guessing you like the Jem comic...maybe you can steer him towards other licensed comics, GI JOE, Turtles etc...

[ed2962]

that's the problem we used to have a lot of things to discuss but over time that list dwindled until it's down to almost nothing

Doesn't Read comics anymore
doesn't even watch wrestling consistently anymore(we used to skype chat during monday night)
i don't own any online play PS4 Games so we cannot play games together(which just means he's less focused on me and more focused on the game if he's playing on his PS4)

his busy job doesn't give him a lot of room to do much when he can relax(tuesday being his one day off)

what breaks the camels back for me is he's the kind of person that will keep quiet and only respond when necessary letting someone else strike up the conversation and keep it going

i like him and i can see at times he has a good heart because he's dealt with me for several years now it feels like

it's just now I'm doing all the talking because we don't play games together anymore he's not a comic book reader anymore and he's seemingly lost interest in talking about wrestling like we used to

that leaves me with a very limited pool of discussions to start up with him

that is why I'm so insistent on trying to get him back into comics so I'm not just saying random stuff to him to keep a conversation going

He may be developing other interests that are taking up his time. What are new things that he's into? Maybe it's something you can pursue as well?

[Chrysalis_Changling]

He may be developing other interests that are taking up his time. What are new things that he's into? Maybe it's something you can pursue as well?

there aren't any....as far as i know

he's only got his job(night shift) and playing games on his plate

playing games is what he does shortly before going to work or on his day off

once in a blue moon when the time is right he does go to conventions but other than that his life isn't that interesting and his schedule doesn't allow him many hobbies or interests

that's the key thing here...his job takes so much time away from him that he just sleeps away most of the next day until it's time for work usually

so again new things are hard for him to get into simply because his job doesn't allow him that freedom and even on his day off he's constantly badgered by his girlfriend and her screaming child(I Simply voice chat with him and have to endure the madness sometimes)

he is numb to a lot of things so he doesn't really seem to argue or fight back with people he just doesn't care much about anything aside from what shows he might be watching games he might be playing or if its time for a convention

outside of those three things he doesn't really give a crap about the world and comes off as sounding very cold and not that excited(from all the years I've spoken with him on skype it's clear that being used like a puppet at work has obviously sucked the life out of him)

best i can do with him right now is discuss shows we might be watching at the same time

[Chrysalis_Changling]

Try getting him interested in comics that don't have superheroes in them and/or are not set in DC/Marvel's shared universes, and thus are not subject to reboots and practically never have reset buttons, just a nice little "The End" when the story is done?

it's very hard to do that when he seems so disinterested and negative about comics these days if i want to get him into comics again i have to try my best and make an effort to show him why he should be reading comics again

if i direct him towards something unrelated to superheroes it's gonna be damn near impossible to get this guy to go through with it unless i have read it myself and can recommend it cause he doesn't have the time or patience to give something a go without assurance it's good....

he's not someone that ever really kept up with writers or artist names so a specific person on a specific book won't mean a thing to him

he's only ever read superhero books to my knowledge and seeing as every conversation I've ever had with him is left in my hands to control i have no idea what he really thinks of smaller publishers though considering he's so against reading comic books and knows there's stuff outside Marvel/DC I'm pretty sure he's seen some of that stuff and just wasn't interested

which brings me back to the question....how do i get him to stop hating comics if he won't even give them a try when i ask him to? I'm not asking him to make a huge pull list because I'm sure his budget won't allow it but just a couple books from what he's familiar and what he knows he likes

just something to add to our little chit chats so that I'm not just rambling about comic book news to him that he doesn't care about him cause he isn't reading it....

he honestly makes it very difficult to convince him to try something he's already set on not wanting any part of

[CSTowle]

That's pretty much the reason i'm even posting on this board. I used to go to the shop on Wednesdays and shoot the s##t with the owner and regulars. Can't do it anymore, don't see friends as often and usually aren't up for comic chat, so here I am. And to be honest there's rarely anything new to say about comics (that looks interesting, that was crap, I'd recommend such and such if you're looking for something like that) so I tend to stick to the Community Board and there only a handful of threads (mostly politics and football).

[Sharkerbob]

You throw them into a deep hole in your basement. If they refuse to talk about comics, you him them with the hose.

[Spike-X]

Let it go. If he's lost interest, he's lost interest.

[SJNeal]

You throw them into a deep hole in your basement. If they refuse to talk about comics, you him them with the hose.

This is the correct answer.

[Carabas]

it's very hard to do that when he seems so disinterested and negative about comics these days if i want to get him into comics again i have to try my best and make an effort to show him why he should be reading comics again

if i direct him towards something unrelated to superheroes it's gonna be damn near impossible to get this guy to go through with it unless i have read it myself and can recommend it cause he doesn't have the time or patience to give something a go without assurance it's good....

he's not someone that ever really kept up with writers or artist names so a specific person on a specific book won't mean a thing to him

he's only ever read superhero books to my knowledge and seeing as every conversation I've ever had with him is left in my hands to control i have no idea what he really thinks of smaller publishers though considering he's so against reading comic books and knows there's stuff outside Marvel/DC I'm pretty sure he's seen some of that stuff and just wasn't interested

which brings me back to the question....how do i get him to stop hating comics if he won't even give them a try when i ask him to? I'm not asking him to make a huge pull list because I'm sure his budget won't allow it but just a couple books from what he's familiar and what he knows he likes

just something to add to our little chit chats so that I'm not just rambling about comic book news to him that he doesn't care about him cause he isn't reading it....

he honestly makes it very difficult to convince him to try something he's already set on not wanting any part of

Well, I a in pretty much the exact same situation as your friend, except that I always paid attention to comics beyond the superhero genre and what DC & Marvel put out, and you literally could not pay me to get back into superhero comics.

I don't see this Rebirth thing as a reboot or fresh start. I'm seeing it as more of the same thing, and as a slap in the face of those readers who were enjoying the New 52 universe and its Superman just fine.

DC and Marvel do not treat their properties well, they do not ever put good stories above a quick buck and some nostalgia, and it got old real quickly after all of my heroes got replaced by some silver age relic over the course of a few years.

Following DC and Marvel requires a big investment of money, and buying emotionally into a lot of characters that DC and Marvel don't care about at all as characters and will throw under a bus in the latest event at the drop of a hat.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

to me stuff like image comics doesn't have as strong of an appeal if you don't really know writer and artist names most of the power comes from top tier writers and artists being let loose on concepts they themselves thought about and wanted to run with

it's why i try to get him back in via DC Or Marvel because then the concept isn't as hard to sell with him already being familiar with whats what and because I've never really heard of him looking at or reading comics outside the big two i don't try and shove it in his face with how negative he feels about comic books now

if i tossed him into a world foreign to him it probably won't turn out well....i just need to know what kind of books he likes or what characters he likes so i know what to do

unfortunately I'm not sure what words i could use to try and get him out of this "Comic Books Suck" Phase

but if anything i just want him to read what he wants to read and not just recommend him stuff he might not like....

i want him to act like he used to and not like this grumpy guy who just tolerates the world dumping on him...and only has video games to keep his mind free of raging out from a crappy day