Done with everything?

[Smith]

Ever had a feeling you read everything?I mean,it sounds pretentious,but I pretty much read  every comic I ever wanted."To read" list is done.I know there are tons of great stuff I havent even heard of,but is there a point?Like,what to do now?

[JamesC]

I've felt like that numerous times. In the past I've taken breaks from comics almost entirely for a couple of years and then gone back later to see what I've missed.
I find I'm more reluctant to start new series than I've ever been. I seem to dislike many of the 'hyped' comics and I've never known a time when so many series are started and then abandoned (never start reading anything by Warren Ellis until it's finished)!
Having said that, I'm sure there's good stuff being produced all the time (my current favourite series is 'Kill or Be Killed - Brubaker and Phillips are a pretty reliable team).

[Tjm86]

Don't know if I would go with 'done' but certainly I'm finding it very hard at present to summon the enthusiasm to experiment.  A lot of what is currently being put out just seems so vacuous.  Then you start looking at the cost and it is hard to justify.  Perhaps it's the thought that when American comics first came across my radar properly back in the early eighties, the 40p top price didn't seem that much (even though it was 20% of my pocket money at the time!)  My non-tooth reading list is now just two of the X-men titles and the Power Pack relaunch, the latter mainly for my daughter (honest). 

Any visit to a LCS tends to be little more than a cursory flick through the back issue boxes.  Most likely since I've collected everything that I've been chasing over the years and space is now at a premium.  A far cry from those halcyon days when any comic shop seemed like a cornucopia of delights and resulted in agonising deliberation about how to use meagre funds and comic conventions could be almost overwhelming!   

[Bugger, what the hell happened?  I got old!] 

[The Adventurer]

I have no idea what your feeling could possibly feel like. I’ve been reading comics consistently for 18 years and feel I’ve only just scratched the surface. There are always more comics; books I’ve heard about but not followed up on, books I’ve never heard of, and (most importantly) books not yet created.  There are more good comics in this world then can probably be read in a single life time.

Just this month I’ve been delving into Roy Thomas's Earth 2 material from the 80s at DC (All Star Squadron & Infinity Inc). And started reading Battle Angel Alita, a 15 or 20 collection sequence, from Japan.

Always more comics.

[JamesC]

There are more good comics in this world then can probably be read in a single life time.

Agreed. The challenge is in finding them (and it's so subjective. I've lost count of how many hyped or critically acclaimed series I've started and dropped because I didn't like them). The library is always useful of course, as are digital comics. If you try lots of comics and go a while without anything really 'clicking' it's quite disheartening though.

[The Adventurer]

I’ll agree about subjective tastes. And the narrower your genre tastes, the harder it’s going to be. But I’ve always found that some of that is self limiting; "I don’t like super-heroes", "I don’t read black & white comics", "this series has been going on too long to get into know",  “All the best comics were made by five guys in the 80s". Silly stuff like that can really limit people's horizons.

[Smith]

I didnt say I read EVERYTHING,ofc. 
This huge To-read list that I built for years is actually done,and again,it feels like I read everything that interested me.Im not particularly disillusioned or anything,its just that almost everything I hear about- I have either read it,or I don't like it.Yes,that includes almost every Image movie-pitch,comic.

[Mister Pops]

I hear Mark Millar Netflix are going to start publishing show pitches comic books soon, so something there might grab your attention. I believe their first endeavour is a prohibition era gangster story but with wizards and shit.

[Smith]

Well,Im following a decent number of things;finding something to binge is the problem. 

[The Adventurer]

If it’s something to binge you're looking for; might I suggest

[Smith]

Yeah,read the first 5 parts.See my problem now? 

[The Adventurer]

That is a problem!  Have you read Battle Angel Alita or Blame!  ?

[Smith]

A few volumes of Blame yes,but I didnt read BAA.

[Dandontdare]

I know what you mean - I get the prog and meg (and will never stop!), but my biggest spend was always Marvel TPBs - since the end of the marvel universe I've managed to make a clean break, I don't feel engaged in the "new" marvel universe, and the same goes for DC - they lost me about two reboots ago. This means that I spend less, but I can often visit a LCS or Waterstones and find nothing that piques my interest.

I have been buying a disproportionate number of Image comics at the moment - Sex Criminals is wonderful, dirty fun; Bitch Planet's also good and I've bought a few Vol.1s that I may not keep up with - Ten Grand by J Michael starzxsxscxsxsczsczksy (can't be arsed to look up correct seplling) and a couple of others whose name escapes me at the moment.

[Fungus]

I'd need to give up work and read a lot faster to get through just the stuff I've *bought* (recently and loads from the early 90s before I got out). To be 'done' is an impossibility. Maybe I'm unusual.

Meanwhile, there are 22 unread Hachettes on the shelf...