Reaching that End of Your Collection - Your Thoughts

[arosenbarger]

I have a strange topic that I wish to ask here, because, truthfully, not sure if other folks that I run with in my life would get this issue.

Over the past two years I have picked up my diehard wish-list of collected editions, and believe my collection has reached its apex. While there are still runs I wish to pick up, if ever published - such as JM DeMatteris Spectactular Spider-Man Run, Conway Spect. Run, Ann Noncenti Daredevil Omnibus, and Amazing Spider-Man vol 3 omnibus, Paul Pope's Battling Boy vol 2 - I can honestly say that my "want" of books has reached almost nil (as much as any comic geek really can).

Speaking only for myself - I have grown tired of chasing the next preprinting of Batman: Year One for pages and different color. I am using YO as an example of books constantly in print - Watchmen, TDKR, X-Men DOFP, etc., I personally do not feel like repurchasing those reads. Additionally as good as - Scott Snyder's Batman, Dan Slott's Spider-Man, etc., is to read - I just don't feel the beed to purchase them.

This all said - unless one of the above wished-for items are published, I honestly feel like I have reached the end of my collection. Again, speaking only for myself, the feeling is weird. I have all of my direct "wants" I have wanted for years. Anything else is peripheral, but still I feel this desire, nagging feeling really, to compulsively go "WOW! A reprinting of Batman: YEAR ONE with XYZ COLOR TONE!!"


While these are my thoughts and opinions - I was wondering yours regarding reaching the end of your collection v. continue collecting. (and additionally - your thoughts on that comic book addict brain screaming MOOOOOOOOORE )



Some times when looking at the images of others' collections - I am astonished! I am jealous! But then I go...I have what I want, you know?

Thank you for letting me post regarding this issue. If youre a fan of getting the most up-to-date reproduction of your favorite work - I'm not judging or hating. I spent months debating if I wanted to buy BIG DAMN SIN CITY whereas I have my favorite runs of that collection.

[victorxd1999]

I try to find new books I want. Venturing into other genres and styles, no matter how obscure. European comics, indie comics, even amateur comics

[T Guy]

I try to find new books I want. Venturing into other genres and styles, no matter how obscure. European comics, indie comics, even amateur comics

Yes, but this leads you into the area of madness that I inhabit. I know that I'll never complete my collection as I would wish because there are so many things I want. I also know that if I aqcuired all of them, I would then find more that I had an interest in.

So if I actually owned every comic by Jack Kirby, Robert Kanigher and Steve Gerber; every Bronze Age DC and Marvel comic; every DC war comic; and every DC romance comic... I would start getting more serious about Carl Barks, Samm Schwartz and Marvel/Atlas Teen Humour/Glamour Girls.

If I then arrived at a state where I owned all those, I would advance on to Misty and Spellbound, then Jinty and then Tammy.

Then there's all those issues of Commando, War Picture Library, Love Picture Library...

Oops! I forgot Alex Toth and Joe Kubert. Oh, and at some point I'd go for a set of ECs. Then Krigstein.

I have a hundful of issues of Treasure Chest and one of Boy Comics that look rather interesting. The latter would lead on to Daredevil, then Silver Streak, I'm sure. And Daredevil would lead on to Plastic Man, which might pique my interest in other Quality comics.

My view - as you may have noticed - is that it's never ending. Before one gets to foreign languages (I have Mai, the Psychic Girl and the Takahashi mermaids, but little by Herge or Hugo Pratt).

[Hero]

Good thread.

I know that if I allowed myself, I would have the most massive collection of collected editions, and would pine over each and every next purchase as you've described. But, while we all may have a bit of a collector's mentality, my true interest is in the content and entertainment from reading. So I instituted a strategy to help me avoid the never ending growing collection. Digital.

My favorite issues from my childhood I still have in floppies. I buy no more floppies. I sold off most of my floppies accumulated over time. One long box, that's it. Just X-Men related key issues.

My favorite storylines of all time I have in collected editions for the bookshelf. But they've got to be very important to me and highly rereadable. So this is stuff like Moore's Swamp Thing, Sandman, V, Watchmen, Planetary, Sin City, LoEG, Bone, various important Batmans. I know I've left quite a few out, but you get the idea.

Then for my more casual reading, it's digital. If I'm patient and wait for the great sales comiXology runs regularly on great runs, I can get that stuff cheap and it satisfies my reading requirement. I love reading on the iPad and find it super convenient. No growing bookshelf or the need for upgrading.

[kdjac0434]

A few years ago I off loaded most of my collection to go digital. Then I really missed the books. So about 4 months ago I'm back to books. There's just something nice about holding and smelling the paper. I still read new stuff digitally and I no longer buy floppies, but I still love a nice big hardcover.

[John Keyt]

I am at that point now . I only have maybe 35 books in my want list ( mostly pre 50 savage sword of conan ) and about 4 current series I collect . I have grown tired of the conventions but still love to look threw dollar boxes at local comic shops . I got no plans on starting new series kinda disappointed in a lot of the 2 big companies book and have ventured into image comic collecting saga east of west and lazarus . The only other book I collect is Iron man and am having a tough time with it . Hoping it will get better . Just can't drop it cause I have ever issue since volume 1 # 1 1968 series . Been also debating weather to sell off majority but fear parting with them . Just love the smell and feel of a old comic ,

[banky]

Some times when looking at the images of others' collections - I am astonished! I am jealous! But then I go...I have what I want, you know?

I'm at that point too. I honestly believe that the majority of collectors with those massive stacks of Omnibuses and absolute editions rarely open them up and actually read them (some still have the plastic!). I never was that type of a collector. That behavior falls somewhere in between borderline OCD hoarding and lame speculator profit-hawking, imo.

I read what I like. Building a nice collection of what I've actually read thru & like enough to keep in a bookcase is a positive byproduct of this hobby. It shouldn't become an obsession or reach the level of completist manic behavior.

Somehow, I fear I've just insulted many of the collectors on this forum.

[The Cheat]

I'm at that point too. I honestly believe that the majority of collectors with those massive stacks of Omnibuses and absolute editions rarely open them up and actually read them (some still have the plastic!). I never was that type of a collector. That behavior falls somewhere in between borderline OCD hoarding and lame speculator profit-hawking, imo.

My conscious motivation for buying is always to read rather than collect, however looking at the rate my 'to-read' pile is growing I wonder if I haven't slipped over into the 'got to have them all' mentality without realising. I should really limit myself to a currently reading and one in reserve and stop there, but I keep panicking that if I don't buy something now it may go OOP and end up getting it, even though I know I won't be reading it for a long time. At what point does 'a long time' become 'maybe never get read', and suddenly I'm a collector not a reader?

[NZ_InFerno]

I came to the "end" of my collection a while back, purely because I thought I had enough regular books to read on top of the comic books, and anymore would see an never ending backlog of books. I'd live within the bookcase confines and any new purchases meant I'd sell off other books to fit within the mostly full bookcase. At this point I'd purchased all the OOP books I'd wanted, and mostly stopped looking for the hard to find ones. That's not to say I'm not buying books anymore, because I am. Theyre just all new collections.

I'm in an unusual position where I don't usually own a previous edition of a book I've bought and often I've not read the material before. It's worked so far, generally this board has steered me well. This coupled with my selection criteria; oversized, value for money, interesting to me and of course being a good read means there is probably 30 odd collections a year that interest me, though I probably buy half of those. For the last year and a half I've not bought any books just to try, and I've been selling off the lesser books as it were.

So the collecting bug is well and truly gone, and I'm just buying books I want.

I'm at that point too. I honestly believe that the majority of collectors with those massive stacks of Omnibuses and absolute editions rarely open them up and actually read them (some still have the plastic!). I never was that type of a collector. That behavior falls somewhere in between borderline OCD hoarding and lame speculator profit-hawking, imo.

I read what I like. Building a nice collection of what I've actually read thru & like enough to keep in a bookcase is a positive byproduct of this hobby. It shouldn't become an obsession or reach the level of completist manic behavior.

Somehow, I fear I've just insulted many of the collectors on this forum.

People with massive stacks of books are much more likely to have read them, either the book itself or a previous version in floppy or tpb. I know that most people who post here read the books, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover

[Dr. Jay]

Storage space is the tough thing for me. I have a giant closet that is filled with bookshelves full of hardcovers, absolutes, and omnibuses ...and now some epic line books.

To be honest, there are many absolutes or omnibuses I own that I haven't actually read from cover to cover. By the time they get to that format, I have already read them either in trade or in floppy. Still I have great pleasure in collecting the book, owning it, having it on my bookcase, and getting it down and flipping thru it.

Everytime I think I am nearing the end of my getting new things, I discover new things. I mean those PS Artbooks are very attractive and then I stumbled into the European thread the other day and found six more things I want now. Until I just decide to stop, there's always going to be something.

[Emerald_616]

I have an Excel Workbook about the X-Men. Some of the sheets contain every issue ever released, but the important one is entitled Wishlist. Here, I have copied the complete X-Men list, and deleted everything I don't want. Then I colored in everything I have, so now I have what I'm searching for (or waiting to be released) down to a managable size. I also used Battle of the Atom as a cutoff point because
#1 it was so awful
#2 it was the 50th anniversary

On another note, this thread made me think of this song:

[Mace Dolex]

I've stopped buying single issues entirely, I have 24 longboxes of comics and most of it is just stuff I hoarded, I don't even read them so a couple of months back I sold off many comics (mostly garbage like Ultimate Spider-Man).

For now I'm focusing on Tpb's but only IF the story warrants a blind purchase, that being so I still occasionally hit the conventions but now I'm through with buying for the time being although at times I might find a hidden gem in those 50 cent boxes.

[chicainery]

I've stopped buying single issues entirely, I have 24 longboxes of comics and most of it is just stuff I hoarded, I don't even read them so a couple of months back I sold off many comics (mostly garbage like Ultimate Spider-Man).

For now I'm focusing on Tpb's but only IF the story warrants a blind purchase, that being so I still occasionally hit the conventions but now I'm through with buying for the time being although at times I might find a hidden gem in those 50 cent boxes.

I've never head Ultimate Spider-man called garbage before.

Also, 24 long boxes can be a lot, yeah...I've thought about paring down my individual issues as well, but have never gone through with it. I can't see myself selling my Batman, Uncanny X-men, or Daredevil comics, much less my Amazing Spider-man or Ultimate Spider-man comics.

[Mace Dolex]

I've never head Ultimate Spider-man called garbage before.

Also, 24 long boxes can be a lot, yeah...I've thought about paring down my individual issues as well, but have never gone through with it. I can't see myself selling my Batman, Uncanny X-men, or Daredevil comics, much less my Amazing Spider-man or Ultimate Spider-man comics.

I got caught up in the hype with Wizard magazine promoting the Ultimate line like crazy that while in the beginning I might have really got into it but after some 50 odd issues I realized that Mark Bagley's has never been an acquired taste and all those comics were just boxed away only having read them once, so yeah eventually i sold them off along with Ultimate X-Men comics.

[dbngaa]

I converted all of my floppies to collected editions about a year and a half ago (except for one long box with some runs and single issues that have yet to be collected). In that time I acquired over 600 books (TPBs, Omnibuses, OHCs, etc.) and recently my monthly spending was getting WAY too high. The collector mentality was setting in and I was buying stuff just to have and my read-to-own ration was below 50%. So I made some deep cuts and have so far sold off about 25%, with more to come. I also cancelled a lot of pre-orders, slashed my Want List (only 3 OOP Absolutes on it now), and set a monthly spending limit. As long as some of my favorite writers and artists are working there will be new books coming out, so there may never be an "end"; but I'm trying to be more focused and actually READ rather than just collect.

Is this a support group thread now?