Thrill back log

[Sean SD]

I'm a digital Prog and Meg subscriber for a few years now and lately have been reading other stuff ie Older 2000ad collections, Mignolaverse books, Brubaker crime comics, plus some DC and Marvel while letting my to-read list of progs and megs start to grow.
I also am wanting to read some other stuff like bios, some fiction etc this year.

I have until recently been keeping up by reading the Progs and Megs as they are sent out digitally by Thargs droids but this year am thinking of letting them pile-up on my ipad. Maybe even for a year or so.

Was wondering if any of you ever do a big prog reading catchup and what you do to manage keep up with 2000AD reading as well as other books, comics etc on your reading list.

[broodblik]

Well comiXology solved the one problem that I will not have a pile-up building up on that side. On 2000AD unfortunately I do not have the patient to wait; I download it; I read it immediately.

[Colin YNWA]

Yeah 2000ad, physically via sub, and the Meg (digitally via sub) are instant reads. When they land, or are downloaded I read them straight away.

My other new comics I have on a pull list at my local comic shop and collect them ever 2 to 3 weeks and read them pretty much straight away.

Its the other stuff I buy that's the issue. Trades, back issues anything like that get added to my 'To read list', I literally have a spreadsheet to manage it. Now half the stuff on there is a list if comics I want to re-read. But the embarrassing truth is anything that gets added to that list can wait up to 4 years to get read!

[Magnetica]

I'm kinda similar Colin in as much as I aim to read 2000AD and the Megazine when they come out. When I used to buy the Prog on the way to work it would get read there and then on the Tube. I always try to read the Meg each month. In both cases a small backlog can build up these days but I try to not let it get out of hand.

The only other comics I get are Shift and The77 but a bunch of them are still unread.

The issue, such as it is is collections. I have a load that are unread more than 5 years later. And I'm now accumulating more digitally which are just sitting there on my iPad. I don't use a spreadsheet to track stuff - I just know what I've read and what I haven't.

The situation is not helped by a) my tendency to start reading something and then switching to something else and b) no longer getting the Tube to work- although that might resume soon, if not to the same level as before.

[Colin YNWA]

...And I'm now accumulating more digitally which are just sitting there on my iPad. ...

... no longer getting the Tube to work- although that might resume soon, if not to the same level as before.

These are two things that have greatly increased my backlog. The amount of digital materials you can pick up cheap these days from Humble Bundle, Comixology and publisher sales etc just mean I've picked up LOADS of stuff for bobbins. Add to that a few years ago I got a new job that cut out a commute on which I got loads read and the backlog went from less than 2 years (which was bad enough!) to four, which is just horrible!

[Magnetica]

Yes Humbe Bundle and also Rebellions own sales - for physical and digital.

Grey Area for a fiver? Go on then.
How about some Aquilas for 99p. Be mad not too.


The other thing about not necessarily reading the Prog or Meg in the week or month they come out is that I no longer contribute as regularly to the respective review threads as I used to. Which I miss.

In my case the reason for not getting the Tube anymore - and hence why it's about to resume was 🦠.

[AlexF]

As it happens one of the big reasons I switched from physical Progs to digital was because I was letting the physical Progs pile up - somehow on a magaizne rack they were weven more 'out of sight out of mind' than on my ipad (which I probably do pick up to use for something every day).

I remember reading Progs in biog chunks way back in my University days, and that was a thing to look forward to catching up on in the holidays - but I do get a kick out of keeping up to date with the Prog and Meg.

As for all the other comics/collections I buy, I've totally given up on trying to keep track of a 'to-read' pile. Colin's 4-year wait time feels like an unachievable dream, especially for some of those mammoth Marvel Epic collections. Doing that Dredd Mega-Epic blog two years ago was partly a way to work through a bunch of Case Files I'd never quite found the time to actually read...

[sheridan]

I used to read each prog and meg as they came out, but then a few things affected this - first was that the comic shop was virtually on my way home (about a minute's diversion to get to it) so I could drop by just to check what they'd got every Wednesday.  Since I moved my journey is increased by about an hour, so I can't risk Diamond distribution delays affecting my home trip as easily I used to.  So I'm tending to drop in once a month after the meg gets released so at least I'm assured of a few week's worth of progs if there wasn't a delivery that day.  The other thing is that a few lockdowns have meant that my collections have sometimes been months apart, and it's not quite so easy to catch up on three megs and twelve or more progs in one go.

Non Thargian thrills have had different issues.  First is that they're sometimes mini-series in which case I'm tempted to leave it until they've completed until reading them.  The other is that a few moves have meant that I have the comics but I'm not necessarily sure where they are, so have to get them all in one place before I read through them.

[Richmond Clements]

I was 40 (yes 40) progs behind up until a few days ago. As of today, I'm a mere 28 weeks behind.

[Sean SD]

Interesting to read your replies everyone. Thanks

I have a few comic book podcasts that I like to listen to but generally, I only listen to them once I have recently read the issues or books that they are about to discuss.

Here's my podcast list and where I'm up to reading-wise in regards to them

2000AD Thrillcast - Subscribed and up to date except for the Stainless Steel Rat ep as I'm waiting for my copy of the collection to arrive via my local comic book store.

Space Spinner 2000 - Subscribed and am currently stopped at where they discuss approx Prog 500 as I'm trying to read collections from that era so I can get what they are discussing. Almost ready to start again as I have read heaps of collections lately.

Mega City Book Club - Selected episodes mainly the 2000AD related ones to listen to once I've read the related collections.

Then Eamonn from MCBC did some cross-over eps with the Never Iron Anything podcast so now  I have some mainly non-Tharg related comics and collections to read lol. Selected episodes here again and have downloaded some single-issue comics from Comixology just before the 4.0 update to read and then enjoy their discussion.

Then we have the  Wait, What? podcast people who discuss Dredd collections so I am working my way through them as well. I only listen to the Dredd eps from the Wait, What? people.

Plus am starting a re-read of the Hellboy and Mignola-related titles along with the Hellboy Book Club Podcast and am working through the Brubaker bibliography with The Undertow Podcast as my guide.

Combine that with quite a few purchases of trades from local comic book stores to support them during the Pandemic and you could say I'm right for reading options for a while yet lol.

Oops, just subscribed to The Phantom Never Dies podcast but I think it's just a general discussion not specific collections phew.

It all started with 2000AD and the Thrillcast with Molch-R, Conrad and Fox on Space Spinner 2000 and then Eamonn on Mega City Book Club for doing a great job producing entertaining and informative shows on these books.

Right, off the internet and get reading lol