My comic collection

In case you’re wondering: “comic books???” I though I would mention my recent passion.

I have a subscription to a few comic books (ACTUALLY… I have a subscription to about a dozen Marvel comic books: Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Cable and Deadpool, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, and Exiles being my favorites), they come here every month or so (some are published less frequently). I have also subscribed to a few titles that I don't really know, just to see if I'll like them (the premise sounds interesting and/or I like the writer). The more books you subscribe to, the more of a discount you get, so I don't mind trying a couple. I can also discontinue them later if they are not to my liking.

I get a real kick out of reading my comics and I am even enjoying the art as well as the stories: something I never did before.

Growing up, I was never that fussed about comics. I read the occasional Archie comic or Richie Rich, but that was about it. I tried getting into Batman and Superman, but they never did it for me (I've since realized that I just don't like DC comics. I prefer Marvel Comics. There is a distinctly different feel and flavour to the writing and the story telling).

I always liked Spider-Man, but it was never something I would buy regularly. I liked the X-men, but the back story was convoluted I could never follow who was what and what the relationships were between all the characters. Also: I liked the original X-Men (Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Marvel Girl) but by the time I was old enough to enjoy X-Men comics, these characters had already been retired from the main team (and I didn't even know how, when, or why), so I didn't recognize any of the X-men and just couldn't be bothered trying to figure it all out... just so that I could sit down for a half hour and read a comic book. It was too much like work!

I started reading comics again almost 2 years ago. It happened by accident. I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Both of those television shows were created and written by a man named Joss Whedon. I am also a huge fan of Joss Whedon's latest television endeavor, the prematurely cancelled Firefly (and it's subsequent movie Serenity). All three of these shows went off the air within a year of each other, and I was suddenly left with nothing new from Joss Whedon on TV.

Then I heard the rumor that he would be writing a new comic book for Marvel Comics called Astonishing X-Men. Since it was brand new, and I liked the author, I figured I should pick up the first issue and see if I enjoyed it. The way I see it, if I started reading right from issue #1, there couldn't be too much confusing back story, could there?

Well... I was half right. There was still all the back story, but it was only ever hinted at and didn't detract from the book. The main focus of Astonishing X-Men were the characters and their lives and emotions; all written with Joss Whedon's inimitable wit and penchant for snappy dialogue. I was hooked from the get-go.

I subscribed through the Marvel Comics website. While surfing on the site, I came upon an advertisement for a mini-series called Spider-Man India. The more I read about it, the more interested I became. Unfortunately, Marvel doesn't do direct subscriptions to their limited-run series, so I would have to go to a store to buy it if I wanted it. Needless to say, this is a little difficult to do in Taiwan!

As the title suggests, Spider-Man India is a comic about a young boy in India who is suddenly given these amazing "Spider Powers". It takes the original Spider-Man story and transplants it into modern day India, but with a few twists. The comic is complete with all the standard Spider-Man lore, including the instantly recognizable super villains "Doctor Octopus" and "The Kingpin" (though they are based on Hindu gods!). The book was fascinating, and filled with local Indian cultural references which were explained in a glossary at the back of each issue. When I went home to visit my parents last summer, I went out of my way to find the four issues of that book and buy them and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I think that's when it started. I had discovered an enjoyment of comic books!

My boss Emily saw my subscription to Astonishing X-Men and she thought it would be fun to have some American style comics at the school, so I subscribed to a couple of titles on her behalf: she paid for them but I got to read them! One of those titles was X-Men. In case you're confused, there are about 8 monthly comic books dealing directly with the X-Men themselves, each written and drawn by different creative teams, each with it's own cast of characters, very few of which overlap. To make matters even more confusing: at any given time, there are at least 5 different monthly comics with the name X-Men: X-Men, New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, and Astonishing X-Men.

I was subscribed to Astonishing X-Men and Emily was subscribed to X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, and Ultimate Spider-Man. This was fun in that it allowed me to see the four different styles being presented, and to read the different books.

I immediately fell in love with Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men since they are fresh and new, and very closely resembled the characters and feel of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies. Marvel comics is publishing several titles right now with the name Ultimate... these comics are unique in so far as they don't take place in the same universe as all the other Marvel comics. They take place on a parallel Earth that is exactly like ours, except that since it is NOT our Earth, and so there is no back-story for any of the characters. The characters are fresh and new and have no baggage. A new reader can pick up any one of the Ultimate comics and start to read: there is no need to wonder what they are referring to from the past because the titles are all fresh and new.

Anyway...

I discovered a website that allows you to download comics that have been scanned and uploaded. (yes... yes... I know: pirated comics, go figure!) But it allowed me to get back issues of comics that are not available except at ridiculous collector's prices, and it allowed me to sample some of the recent titles that were on the market today. I started to read some of the other titles. I was having a lot of fun! This led to me really discovering that I liked the short format of the comic book story, and that I enjoyed the monthly cliff hangers!

In a nutshell, I downloaded a lot of comics, read quite a few of them, and then I subscribed to the titles that I really enjoyed. The way I see it, if I enjoy something, I should support it. If I like a comic book, then I should buy it. I feel the same about music and MP3s. If I download an MP3, and I really like it, then I believe it is my obligation to buy the album/single and support the artist. It makes sense to me. Sales generates revenue and revenue translates as something the record company (or publishing house) will continue to produce as long as it is profitable. I strongly believe that I am not alone in that. I have many friends on-line who also purchase MP3s that they have downloaded. I wish the record companies would figure it out... but they don't seem to be looking past their noses.

Personally, I don't think i-tunes or e-music is the solution either. If I am going to pay that kind of money for a collection of songs, I want to actually own a physical product: not just own a digital file that has limits on when and where it can be played. I understand the convenience of i-Tunes, but honestly: why do people buy albums from i-Tunes for $10, when the CD itself costs the same thing at the store (and you can actually play the CD wherever you like, instead of only on one or two computers)? **SIGH**

Anyway... I've strayed off-topic.

I guess I'll just wrap up by saying that I have turned into a comic book geek and I am really enjoying it. If you are ever walking past a comic shop or a newsstand tat sells comics: do yourself a favour: pick one up... and if you're not sure what to read, get an Ultimate title. You'll enjoy it!