Hot take: I was buying comics the totally wrong way for years

I used to just walk into my local shop in Nashville and grab whatever had a cool cover or a hot character cameo. I thought I was being a real fan by chasing those variant covers and first appearances. But last month I saw this older guy calmly flipping through a dollar bin for like 45 minutes and he walked out with a stack of runs that told complete stories. I asked him about it and he said "you're collecting hype, not comics." That hit me hard because I realized I had spent about $200 on single issues that had no plot payoff just because a villain showed up on page 28. Now I actually read story arcs in trades or cheap back issues first before I buy anything expensive. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized you were treating comics like stock tips instead of stories?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_angela1mo ago

Right, that dollar bin guy was onto something - chasing variants is basically gambling on speculation instead of actually enjoying the art and writing. These days I only buy something if I've already read it digitally or know the writer isn't going to leave me hanging with a cliffhanger that never gets resolved.

cooper.reese1mo ago

Ah man, that's exactly what I started doing too and it saves so much money.