How To Enjoy Comics For Under $20 A Week

Sorry about missing a post yesterday. The Wife Of The Future and I are in the process of finding a new place to live, so every moment of free time right now feels like it is devoted to apartment-hunting. After working for nine hours, then driving around for four hours, all I wanted to do was shoot virtual zombies.

Today is a new day, though! Today is also the start of a new weekly post. In the old days, I really didn't have a declared budget, as I was attending college and living at my granparents' house, rent-free. Now, as a semi-responsible adult, there are other priorities, like rent, utilities, keeping the love of my life happy... Y'know, the hazards of being out on your own. That means less money for comics, sadly. Twenty dollars is my weekly limit. Sometimes, I have a little extra cash and can splurge on a trade (that sounds so dirty), or there is just nothing that catches my eye and I can check out a new title. So, if you are budget-minded like me, this here weekly post will be a guide to what I get and how I stay under $20. Let's get this going...

This week I bought six titles, one of which was not on my usual "must-have" list, and two which were from last week. Those ones were shipped late to my Friendly Neighborhood Comic Shoppe, thanks to Diamond's wonderful shipping department. Normally, said Comic Shoppe's owner picks them up, but Ralph was involved in a traffic accident and totalled his truck. He is okay, but the truck did not survive, which led to what felt like a conspiracy between Diamond and UPS to screw with comic fans. Anyway, here is my pull list for August 4, 2004:

• Swamp Thing #6 (current series) $2.95- This is turning into what the last Swampy series should have been. I liked the Tefe series, but it didn't feel like a Swamp Thing series. The main character just has to be a shambling, muck-encrusted creature that can grow psychedelic tubers on it's body. Enrique Breccia's art feels like the old Steve Bissette art, without looking too much like he is just tracing over the lines. Nice and monster-y. Andy Diggle is doing a fine job writing, but this issue wrapped up too cleanly. That is a small complaint, though. I do have an indirect complaint about Vertigo in general as a result. John Constantine is appearing in three titles right now:Swamp Thing, Books of Magic: Life During Wartime, and his own title, Hellblazer. He is in a completely different mindset in each one: he has lost his memory in his own title, in Books of Magic, he is in some magick-y realm, and he is the old John Constantine in Swamp Thing. Do the writers ever talk about maybe some continuity between the titles?
• Firestorm #4 (current series) $2.50- Man, I am digging this book. Nice and different, for a change. It is neat to read about a hero who gets powers for no reason and has to decide what to do. It makes sense that others heroes that knew the Ron Raymond Firestorm would have some questions about who this new kid is. Plus, he has real problems that interfere with his life. This is definitely a book to watch, but it is early yet. Let's see where it is in ten issues.
• The Witching #2 $2.95- I picked this up because the (future) wife saw the ad and went "I want this!". I very much enjoyed the first issue and having Lucipher in it was a bonus. This issue felt a little too much like filler, though. Still enjoyed it, but I have a "wait and see" attitude towards it.
• Hellblazer #198 $2.75- 198 issues? That means I have probably read 120 issues of john's so-called adventures and I have considered this book Vertigo's premier title for as long as I can remember, even when Sandman was published. This is one of the top three books for me. I bought issues one off the stand and have kept with it off and on ever since. Easily, John Constantine is my favorite character by any publisher. The new cycle is definitely different and I am still unsure about it. I think I like it, but I miss John being a bastard. #200 is soon and he still doesn't have his memory. There is probably nothing that the writers could do to drive me off this title. Maybe give John a cape and have him fight crime. That might do it. Oh, and if you want my opinion on the upcoming move, just ask me. Beware, though, I will curse a lot. I'll still go see it, though, as Karen Berger, head honcho of Vertigo, said, this is the first Vertigo movie, and I would like to see more. Unfortunately, they will get my $9.
• Uncanny X-men #447 $2.25- Why do I continue to torture myself with this book? Maybe it is the fond memories I had of the Chris Claremont-written issues of X-men and Excaliber from the Eighties? Actually, I think it is more the "car wreck syndrome" I suffer from: it is terrible, but I can't turn away. It is amazing how quick every single aspect of Grant Morrison's run is being conveniently changed or ignored. Surprisingly, I am enjoying Joss Whedon's run over on Astonishing X-men. Why can't this one follow suit?
• The new issue of Wizard $4.99- I went under budget this week, so I bought this on a whim. Ehh. I haven't read Wizard in two years and I guess I didn't miss much. More of the same, if that's your thing. One thing about Wizard that drives me nuts: the price guide. It really feels that they just pull the prices out of their ass. And they continue to fuel the CGC craze. Don't they have any recollection of the Big Bust in 1994? The Collector's Market almost destroyed the comics market and CGC feels very similar. Don't buy comics for investment; buy them to read. Grrr. Gets me so mad sometimes.

So, after my local sales tax, I spent $19.72 and there is only one thing I regretted buying. Not a bad average, but next time, I listen to Dorian. He rarely steers me wrong.

See ya tomorrow, True Believers!