Passing of an era

Last week when I went to pick up my comics I got the “official” word that the store would be closing.  I guess the building is remodeling and the owner doesn’t want to relocate again.  I’ve been going to the Comic Emporium for my comics since I started working at the hospital – which is about 11 or 12 years.  Sniff.  Whenever I hear tales online of bad comic stores, or places where women comic readers feel uncomfortable shopping I’ve always felt lucky.  The two women there are great, and managed to remember enough of what I read that they’d point out new stuff that I’d like or even things for my nephew.  Whenever I’d have a bad experience somewhere else *cough*Beguiling*cough* I’d always be glad I had such a good store.  Awww.  :(

So what am I going to do for comics now?  I’m honestly not sure.  I’ve been feeling disgruntled about the comics I’ve been reading lately, but haven’t done much to upset the status quo of my reading list.  I had a folder at the store and it always seemed like too much of a pain to fiddle with it or I’d forget to mention it when I went in.  I guess the bottom line is that I think I’ve been spoiled by my manga experiences.  One writer, one artist, one volume at a time.   I feel like whenever I really start getting into a comic they switch something up.  Like the Avengers.  I started reading it when Spider-Man joined the team.  I liked the writing and the art, and then Civil War happened and suddenly there were two Avengers titles.  I didn’t want to read both so continued with the Spidey team.  Still liked Bendis’ writing, but now Yu is the artist.  I don’t like him.  His people look like they’re dead and decaying.  Now I have a backlog of Avengers comics that I kept buying but never got around to reading because I didn’t like the art.  What’s the point?  That doesn’t happen with manga.  If you don’t like it you can drop the series, but you’re not going to have a sudden replacement artist in the middle of Bleach for example.  sigh.  Don’t even get me started on the trauma of having to drop Robin when Willingham took over.  My favorite comic book character and I couldn’t even read him in his own title!

Don’t get me wrong.  I still love superheroes and have no intention of dropping comics, I’m just going to do it a little differently.  Ultimate Spider-Man and Buffy I’m going to only buy when the trades come out, I’m probably going to stop reading things like the Avengers, and be a lot quicker to drop titles when I don’t like it or it’s boring me.  It’s a safe bet that I’m going to want anything with “Titans” in the title or Robin on the cover…  :)  

I buy my manga at the Hairy Tarantula and they can do a comic file for me there, but they don’t get comics in that people don’t order.  Which means that I’m going to have to be more proactive about finding out what’s coming out (I bought the latest issue of Previews which was fun to browse through, but potentially expensive when you see things you’d normally miss) or do more wandering around on Wednesdays.  I work fairly close to One Million Comix which is great for new releases and last minute buying decisions, but for some reason I tend to walk past it without seeing it when I try to go there and it’s one of those stores that I kind of creep around in.  Not sure why since the staff is always very nice and helpful…  They also have a really nice toy selection there which can get pricey.  Last week I went in for a $4.50 copy of Previews and ended up leaving with a Rukia figure as well.  :)

Gah, I’ll figure it out.  I guess in the end I’ll just have to figure out what comics are worth the effort and which ones aren’t.  Either way I’m going to be buying fewer of them now.  I think I’ll probably be buying more in trades rather than monthly.  It’s cheaper that way, too.

I’m going to miss the Emporium though.