How I Stopped Being a Grown-up and Learned to Re-love Comics

Pathfinder #1,
Dynamite Entertainment

Last August, Dynamite Entertainment released the first of their ongoing, licensed Pathfinder comics, and I, being a good Paizo employee and undying fan of the setting, picked it up. I loved it. And over the last 9 months, I've read every issue the second it came out, even going so far as to sneak a preview glimpse from Publisher Erik Mona, who always has the next issue or so in his office for licensing approvals.

It took a few months, but I realized sometime around the first of the year that I had missed the joy of episodic comic book reading. It was in 1993 or so that I stopped following comics on an obsessive basis. I'd moved on to other nerdy obsessions (Star Trek, movies, David Bowie, among others). I missed the days of talking among my fellow comic fans in middle school about the newest development in the lives of Spider-man or the X-Men. I missed collecting Marvel trading cards, trading them with friends, and trading comics after I'd read and reread them until they were no longer in NM or even Good condition.

The Spider #1,
Dynamite Entertainment

I'd been following Dynamite's solicitations page periodically to look for new issues of Pathfinder to put up on PathfinderWiki and in the process read about some of the other title in their catalogue. I was particularly intrigued by some of their pulp titles like The Spider, Dejah Thoris, and the pulp superhero crossover series Masks. Between a few of these titles that I picked up a la carte at my local comic shop and DC's Before Watchmen series, I quickly got myself back into the habit of stopping in once a month to grab a few items off the shelf.

Toward the end of last month, I set up a pull box at the comic store nearest my apartment, The Dreaming Comics and Games in Seattle's University District. The pull box only had a few titles in it, including the above-mentioned Masks, The Spider, as well as The Black Bat, Green Hornet, and Miss Fury. I was totally on Dynamite's pulp bandwagon, and I loved it! But every time I walked into the store to get my weekly pull on Wednesday evenings, I was inexplicably drawn to some of the titles of my youth (or at least to the heroes of my youth—many of the titles themselves have been replaced or relaunched so many times I feel like I no longer have any connection to them.) It only took a few more weeks before I was fully engrossed in DC's "New 52" and Marvel's similar "Marvel Now" relaunches.

This weekend was Free Comic Book Day, and also saw the grand opening of a new comic book and game store in the middle of Capital Hill, miles closer to my apartment than The Dreaming. Phoenix Comics and Games looks like it's going to be an incredible store, with a super-convenient location right on my way home from work (and with late hours every night of the week)! In addition to picking up a bunch of back-issues and new titles I wanted to check out, I also set up a pull box there (set to start in July, after I've given the courtesy 2-month notice to The Dreaming of my move. I'd only had my pull box at The Dreaming for a few weeks, but I feel the need to support a new, local business in my own neighborhood.

The Movement #1,
DC Comics

What's on my pull list, you ask? I can't say I really remember, honestly. It's been such a whirlwind these last few weeks as I've dived in head-first to this whole comic thing again that I can't recall what I committed to on a monthly basis and what I plan(ned) to pick up issue by issue from the shelf. So I guess I'll be in for a surprise every Wednesday for a bit. Some titles I know I will likely add to it if they're not already on it, however, are Justice League America, Wolverine, Superior Spider-Man, and The Movement. I'm keeping all my Dynamite pulp titles from my previous pull-list, of course.

In the coming weeks, I plan to do some catching up on the New 52 and Marvel Now and will do my best to post my thoughts as I do so here. For anyone stumbling across this blog—my first that isn't simply a product description of a book I wrote or edited—I can also be found on Twitter @yoda8myhead and on Facebook. Hope to see you around!