The Official Superman Thread

[Anubis]

While reading your old stuff, do you read the crappy ones or do you skip over them?

 

[C. Lee]

While reading your old stuff, do you read the crappy ones or do you skip over them?

I read the crappy ones too. When I get a hankering to read a bunch...I get a bunch out and read them all in order. It's not like I'm rereading the same book every other week.

Last week I reread the AllStar Superman comics #1-12. I think it's been 2 years since I read them originally, and it wasn't a long run, but it was a fun read. It'll probably be a month or so before I reread another group of books. Haven't made my mind up which ones yet. Maybe SGT. FURY or Marvel's Conan series. I have around 150 issues of each. And it's been about 10 years since I read those.

 

[Anubis]

I'm talking like, you're reading a series. Like, Action Comics. And you get to Chuck Austen's run. Do you go ahead and read it? Or do you skip over it? Cuz I gotta tell you, you could get the same effect smacking yourself in the head with a stick for a few hours. With me? If I'm rereading my old Superman comics, It will skip from whoever was writing Action Comics before Austen took over, to whoever was writing Action Comics after. Cuz I gave his run two issues, then tossed those two wasted issues in the garbage.

 

[Kurosawa]

You can be adult, matrue, and cosmopolitan while recognizing Superman's rural roots. You can't just throw out the rural roots of Superman, while at the same time, you have to write him as a worldly person considering that he's lived in Metropolis for 15 years, lived on New Krypton for a year, has traveled to the future with the Legion of Super-Heroes, patrols the entire world, learns about Kryptonian society and culture in the Fortress of Solitude, and has journeyed throughout cosmos.

And yes, Superman is required DC reading. I have every Superman from issue 500 (except for Adventures of Superman #594 because I can't find it ) and I will never drop it.

He could be written that way...but he's not. His rural roots were never an important part of his character before the movie. You know...when he was written as a grown man, not an inept and naive child.

The movie ruined Superman as much as I loved it when it first came out. for 99.9% of people that's all they know of the character going in. The Bible to write Superman by should be Siegel's stories and Maggin's novels. Instead it's that damn movie.

Here lately I've been rereading old Action issues, starting from #419. I'm up to 462 now, lots of cool cool stuff there and the Swanderson art in some of them is really great. And some silly stuff too.

 

[C. Lee]

I personally don't have a lot of Superman comics...so can't comment on those particular guys or storylines.

Back when I did my heaviest collecting (late 60's -mid 80's) when I bought a character's book, I bought the entire run if I could. There were always bad stories mixed in with good ones. But I never threw anything away. In the mid 80's I had to sell a great deal of my collection....but I never threw a comic away. So when I go back to read some old stuff....I pick a long run and read it all.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I guess I'm a gear grinder. You asked him if he reread 100+ issues. Well, can't answer for him, but for me the answer is YES. I have a big collection of old comics (unfortuantly my collection isn't as big as it used to be)....I rarely buy any new comics (mainly because of money issues)...so I reread my old comics.

I'm the same way, I like re-reading my old comics. I actually take the time to read Wolfman's run on New Teen Titans or JMS' Amazing Spider-Man and of course my favorites: Aquaman, Deadpool, and Superman. Old, new, I just love reading comics. I'll make sure that I read them all at least once and the ones that I love I'll read over and over again.

Also, I too simply love collecting as well. I like to think of my Amazing Spider-Man, Superman, and Avengers collections to be rather decently sized

 

[C. Lee]

I'm the same way, I like re-reading my old comics. I actually take the time to read Wolfman's run on New Teen Titans or JMS' Amazing Spider-Man and of course my favorites: Aquaman, Deadpool, and Superman. Old, new, I just love reading comics. I'll make sure that I read them all at least once and the ones that I love I'll read over and over again.

Some of mine I've read a dozen times. Just don't have the time for it as much these days. I've got so many different things I try to get done.

I'll be on the lookout for that Superman book you're looking for too.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Some of mine I've read a dozen times. Just don't have the time for it as much these days. I've got so many different things I try to get done.

I just have so many I gotta read. I just got into Scott Pilgrim and the Threeboot Legion of Super-Heroes, so they have been devoting my time and efforts.

I'm thinking about going on an Avengers binge next.

I'll be on the lookout for that Superman book you're looking for too.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I like rereading stuff occasionally, but I usually buy a trade or download the issues to do so. Not because I'm a collector and I don't want to damage the old issues, but because I got lazy and stopped organizing my collection like 3 or 4 years ago, so it'd be impossible for me to find anything specific. I like reading long stretches of stuff, though, and seeing how things change over time. I read every post-Crisis Aquaman comic a while ago and now I'm working on reading every Thor comic ever. At one point, I was so into it that I knocked out almost 100 issues per week.

 

[BrianWilly]

collecting = dumb

Yes, I agree with this completely. Every single person who buys issues that they don't actually like -- which is the majority of comic book buyers in the world -- just leads to worse and worse tripe, because writers know they can get away with it. You wouldn't buy Countdown, after all...and what's the difference between an issue of Countdown and an issue of Superman that sucks just as badly? Nothing but the title.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Yes, I agree with this completely. Every single person who buys issues that they don't actually like -- which is the majority of comic book buyers in the world -- just leads to worse and worse tripe, because writers know they can get away with it. You wouldn't buy Countdown, after all...and what's the difference between an issue of Countdown and an issue of Superman that sucks just as badly? Nothing but the title.

And you don't collect anything?

For me Superman, Deadpool, Titans, and the Avengers are my collections. It goes beyond just reading comics, I just really love collecting those three particular comics.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I can honestly say there's really nothing I flat out collect in the sense that if it gets so goddamn bad that I literally feel sick buying, I will continue to do so. I know it's not uncommon, but it's always been a strange mentality to me, as well

 

[hippie_hunter]

I can honestly say there's really nothing I flat out collect in the sense that if it gets so goddamn bad that I literally feel sick buying, I will continue to do so. I know it's not uncommon, but it's always been a strange mentality to me, as well

I really haven't had that yet. Whenever I think a comic has gotten that bad, I will drop it once the arc is done.

Titans is getting there though

 

[Tron Bonne]

But you wouldn't drop Superman if it got that bad, though, right? Not to say it's gotten Titans bad or anything in recent memory or ever, but speaking theoretically

 

[hippie_hunter]

But you wouldn't drop Superman if it got that bad, though, right?

Considering that I haven't dropped Titans yet, probably not

Far too much emotional attachment. And it would break a 200+ straight run once I get Adventures of Superman #594 which would piss me off just as much as a disgustingly bad Superman comic.

However, I have faith that DC wouldn't allow Superman to get that bad.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yes, I agree with this completely. Every single person who buys issues that they don't actually like -- which is the majority of comic book buyers in the world -- just leads to worse and worse tripe, because writers know they can get away with it. You wouldn't buy Countdown, after all...and what's the difference between an issue of Countdown and an issue of Superman that sucks just as badly? Nothing but the title.

Have you ever dropped Wonder Woman? Just out of curiosity.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Right, and that's what I'm saying. I'm not judging you for doing so, don't get me wrong or anything; I know there's collectors out there like that. I have emotional investment in these characters, too, but I just can't will myself to give money to something they're in that's really mediocre or just outright **** or is going in a direction I love is awful and will result in bad things for the character later. I still love the character...I just can't stomach something they're in that's awful.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If Thor ever got Titans bad, I like to think I'd drop it. Grudgingly, perhaps even tearfully, but I'd do it. But it'd have to be really bad. Like, Warren Ellis came back to write it again bad.

 

[Kurosawa]

Last series I read through was All-Star Squadron, then Conan, now I'm on the Bronze Age Action Comics, probably go on to Superman next. My biggest set is Detective-pretty much every issue from 300-700, most of the issues from 700 up, and about 30 issues before 300. Haven't ever sat down to re-read all of those but the main reason I have stuck with a lot of books is because I have fairly good runs on them.

That said, Zero Hour pissed me off enough where I dropped everything for years, including Action, Superman, Batman and Detective. And I seem to remember I had no problems with those titles at the time. But seeing Atom, Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite all get killed after they canceled JSA...I had just had enough at that time. So I went and read Ah my Goddess and Ranma 1/2 for ten years or so.

I've since went back and filled in those sets for the most part, although I'm still working on them.

 

[Anubis]

I really haven't had that yet. Whenever I think a comic has gotten that bad, I will drop it once the arc is done.

Titans is getting there though

Dude, Titans got there five years ago.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Dude, Titans got there five years ago.

No. There's bad. And then there's Wallace's run on Titans.

 

[Anubis]

You see, I don't even know what you're talking about, cuz I gave up after Cassie went nuts during OYL. I would occasionally pop into the Titans thread, see whether people were starting to dig it again, but no dice. I saved 100's of dollars, and managed to read some far better books. You read a run so s**ty, you would say it's worse than that *****e bag that ruined Batgirl's run. You see where character loyalty gets you?

 

[hippie_hunter]

You see where character loyalty gets you?

Something that I have described several times as paying DC $2.99 to shove hot broken shards of glass up a certain body part of mine, treating the fanboy in me like the little ***** it is

 

[BrianWilly]

And you don't collect anything?

Other than porn? No, not really. I buy a lot of things, arguably wasting money on more comics and games and movies than I would probably ever need, but they were good comics, good games, and good movies in my opinion. I own Heroes season 1 and Scrubs seasons 1-5 because I thought they were good. I don't own Heroes seasons 2-whatever and Scrubs seasons 6-whatever 'cause I thought they weren't good.

Have you ever dropped Wonder Woman? Just out of curiosity.

I have Picoult and Pfeifer's issues framed and laminated in the center of my house.







Wait, are you serious?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, I was curious if there was a time you were ever consciously not reading Wonder Woman on the basis of s***tiness.