Hi, been on the board for a few months now (mostly lurking) so thought I should do the formal thing and post here
I read 2000 AD from prog 1 right up to prog 670, by which time I was away from home at University and not able to get my weekly fix, so I cancelled the order - it just wasn't the same coming home every few months and ploughing through a stack of old issues.
Still kept up my interest in 2000 AD and browsed through new progs in W.H. Smith's whenever i could. However I never felt tempted to take the plunge and subscribe.
That all changed a few months ago when I hauled all my back prog boxes out of my dad's loft and began a prog slog from around about prog 250. The many classic thrills I experienced while doing this slowly convinced me to try and catch up on what I'd been missing.
At first I did this by buying up batches of back progs wherever I could find them. Trouble was I could never find much of a run, and there were always annoying gaps. Besides, the chances of me completing a full set in this way were remote, not to mention expensive.
Eventually I realised that these 'wilderness years' progs were not for me. The reason I enjoyed reading my own back progs so much was partly because they brought back so many memories. I determined I would stick to anthology collections in future.
Then, the week before last, it happened. The W.H. Smith on campus had prog 2016 proudly sitting on one of its shelves. It was the first time in over a year that they'd stocked 2000 AD (no idea why they stopped, or what persuaded them to resume). And that Alex Ronald cover of Dredd holding up Par Vega did it for me. Before I knew it, £2.65 had been exchanged at the counter for my first new prog in 27 years.
I am proud to say that my restarted collection now features TWO progs, with prog 2017 doubling its size. And I've discovered another reason why bingeing on bulk-bought back progs was so unsatisfying - there was no excitement, no requirement to wait a week before getting my hands on the next one!
Well the excitement is now well and truly back. And my original prog slog is up to prog 503, so I've got a double whammy of thrills to enjoy. And maybe I lucked out with my hopping on point, but the comic's current strips are every bit as good as those from those golden days.
I'll have 520 new progs by the 50th anniversary!
Welcome back into the fold norton and worry not - my own to-read pile could reach the moon at this point!
Welcome back, and welcome to the forum!
Welcome back and enjoy catching up on the thrills! :)