
Something funny happened this week at the comic store. Let's just pretend at this moment I don't work at a store on Wednesday nights to make this sound a bit cooler.
So as I walked up and down the rows at Most Excellent Collectibles in Enfield, CT. i pulled my books. I have the special stuff ordered, but for me I still love pulling books right off the shelf. Of the 14 books i pulled this week this is the breakdown...
DC - 4 (all Batman or related)
Marvel - 1 ('Uncanny X - Men')
ICON - 1 ('Secret Service') sort of Marvel...yes.
Valiant - 1 ('Archer and Armstrong')
IDW - 7. Yes I said (or at least typed SEVEN)
This was a shock to me. As someone who is trying to buy less but keep it at 10 - 15 books a week, I didn't realize I was buying so many IDW books. 'KISS', 'Rocketeer', 'Star Trek', 'Mars Attacks', 'G.I. Joe Special Missions and Cobra Files' and Doctor Who Classics. These are titles that have replaced books from the big two.
So there is the reason for this little story. Most of us have been showing displeasure in the current comic market, and I'm confident that DC will write this ship. But the danger for them is will I come back when they do? Will I even notice? With all the "new creative team to bring (fill in title) back to glory" hype I may not believe it. 'Action Comics # 19' was an amazing book but we all know how that ended, before it began. Will I come back again?
We as comic book fans show power with our purchases. As Brian said on a show recently, if you don't like it, don't buy it and i couldn't agree more. I'm no longer buying a book because I always have or because i hope it'll get better. At at least four bucks a pop, i can't afford to do this. There are some great characters and title I'm not reading because I'm not enjoying them. On the flip side... I'm discovering some amazing comics and creators I never noticed before.
Let your local comic book shop know you want more variety. Order books early from Previews to help them control their inventory and purchases and buy the 'indy' books that they have already ordered.
IDW may be taking more of my money, but they are giving me a whole lot of reading enjoyment.