I've decided to undertake a rather drastic pruning of my comic collection, and by drastic I do mean drastic. Which is to say the majority of it is going, and indeed possibly a few more besides.
The realisation dawned on me that I'm simply not going to read them enough to justify keeping them. Ergo, it's time for us to sadly part company. I could keep them if I wished...it's not a matter of desperately needing the space or a sudden financial shortfall requiring an emergency fundraising effort. If it was, I'd be selling everything in one go. No, I'm going to do it piecemeal, bit by bit, and I'm going to read and review each and every one of them one last time as I wittle down my comics collection.
Given the number of books I'm looking to divest myself of, it's going to take well over a year if I only read one a day, so I'm going to be forcing myself to read multiple comics on a daily basis (which is no bad thing, in and of itself). I am of course fully prepared, if not dreading, the prospect of somehow reigniting my love of comics in this fashion whilst halfway through my collection. Perhaps this is just a phase I'm going through, a momentary crisis of comic book faith, but I feel as though it is something altogether more permanenet. I don't know why, that's just the sense I get. It feels somewhat sad, yet profoundly liberating at the same time, although I guess that ultimately time will tell whether this will prove to be a wise and necessary decision or one upon which I will look back upon and ask 'What were you thinking?' for the rest of my natural life.
Before you get the wrong end of the stick, I should take pains to point out that I'm not 'down on comics' per se, just a realist. I've read and enjoyed them, but it's time for me to move on.
However, rather than just dumping them en masse on Ebay or putting them in the recycle bin, I've decided to use this rather momentous sea-change as an opportunity for both a little self-reflection and analysis
The raison d'etre of the blog is reflected in the title...I've decided to read each one again, post a small review here, and then put it into an envelope, bid it adieu, and post it off to a new owner.
I'm sure I will no doubt come to regret this decision (both the decision to divest myself of the majority of my comics collection and the decision to take an ill-advised trip down Memory Lane by reading them all again) at some point in the future. In fact, I know I will. I'm regretting it already, truth be told, but my mind is made up and there's no room for mawkish sentimentality.
In the process of reviewing them, I'll also be looking back and trying to recall what it was that motivated me to buy them in the first place (I dare say this will necessitate a few uncomfortable admissions along the way, both to myself and my readership), as well as what ultimately has motivated me to part ways with them now.
I really couldn't decide which was the best angle to approach my collection from for the purposes of this blog, such as via publisher, creator, character, genre, era and so forth. So I've decided to do it in a completely random fashion. It's more fun that way, it will definitely keep things varied and interesting, and who knows it might just turn a few people on to some stuff they never even knew existed.
My collection is a real mixed bag, with everything from superhero stuff to indies, small press and alternative stuff. Some of it is worth mere pennies, others are worth quite a bit more, including some real rarities. One thing they have in common is that I'm getting shot of them.
So, keep an eye on the blog...each review will have a link to a listing on Ebay, where you can take the title off of my hands if you like the sound of it. Thus, you not only get to feel my pain, but potentially profit from it too. What's not to love?
Now, True Believers, let our Journey Into Masochism commence in earnest...
