After 39 years of reading comics, I've quit.

[BlackKnight]

Later .

[boynightwing]

I'll be quiting Batman when Batman Inc comes out and will not buy any new Batman comics till its over and or Grant Morrison leaves the Bat Universe. I'm sick of that guy. He's ruining my favorite heroes for me.

I'll still be getting Batgirl cause I like that title.

[Godzilla]

Titles like Tiny Titans keep me and my 4 & 6 year olds going back to the comic shop. I gave up on most of the hero stuff a long time ago, but there are still some fun books out there. I just picked up the Weird War Tales one shot this week and really liked it.

[jimsmegos]

I haven't followed a title in forever it seems. Originally my style transitioned to graphic novels since most of the places I've been didn't have a comic shop around. I have to agree with the sentiments that others have expressed that the books these days just aren't all that fun for me anymore. At least not enough to become a devout follower again. I have however also followed suit as some of you in picking up old school back issues on the cheap just to read. I could care less about actually collecting books anymore. I miss the silver age and even bronze age.

[Joe90]

I'm right there with you, Chris. And thenk goodness for reprints--I love DC Archives & Showcase.

I have to say that the only comics I read these days are Silver Age compilations, or homages to the Silver Age.

Last modern comic series I read was Darwyn Cooke's "The New Frontier". When I hear about rape, torture, and murder of comic book heroes as story lines I tend to stay away. If I want to read about that kind of stuff I can buy the newspaper.

[david_b]

I sort of quit when Norman Osborn came back. And him hooking up with Gwen Stacy? Total crap!!

Except for a 'smattering' of interest in my old titles like Titans, FF and Avengers in the mid-80s, I haven't been interested in anything after '76.

I heard about the Norman Osborne return. I gave up on Spidey when I read the Gwen clone story with the Jackel; Norman coming back was just 'too much', the epitome of ludicrous, insipid story-telling.

It was a slap in the face of what I felt classic Marvelmania story-telling was all about. I was done.

david_b

[Gorn Captain]

I used to follow 33 titles, back in the old days.
I've been cutting down ever since, reduced to Uncanny X-Men, Avengers and X-Men now.
So you see, I have been dropping the things I either disliked, or couldn't afford anymore.

Now, I know these characters aren't real. And that death is "real".
What I dislike is the random way in which they juggle "life and death". If you're going to kill off Spock, do so, but leave it at that. Don't bring him back next year.

And I know that good guys also die early and for no apparent reason.
I just attended the funeral of a friend, 57, marathon runner, into all sports, no smoker or drinker. She died of cancer. At moments like that, death becomes a bit more "real".
I've lost several relatives during the last ten years, and loss like this makes you aware of mortality. So I don't really need to see more of it happen to my favorite character.

And Kurt died in one of the comics that I don't follow.
So it was like: "Your favorite character died. Bye!"

So what can I say, a fictional character died and I care about that.
Sue me.

[huedell]

I used to follow 33 titles, back in the old days.
I've been cutting down ever since, reduced to Uncanny X-Men, Avengers and X-Men now.
So you see, I have been dropping the things I either disliked, or couldn't afford anymore.

Now, I know these characters aren't real. And that death is "real".
What I dislike is the random way in which they juggle "life and death". If you're going to kill off Spock, do so, but leave it at that. Don't bring him back next year.

And I know that good guys also die early and for no apparent reason.
I just attended the funeral of a friend, 57, marathon runner, into all sports, no smoker or drinker. She died of cancer. At moments like that, death becomes a bit more "real".
I've lost several relatives during the last ten years, and loss like this makes you aware of mortality. So I don't really need to see more of it happen to my favorite character.

And Kurt died in one of the comics that I don't follow.
So it was like: "Your favorite character died. Bye!"

So what can I say, a fictional character died and I care about that.
Sue me.

I won't bring you up on charges, or take you to court or anything...

but...

... if you take this event so personally that you find
a "life defining" thing like "death" so offensive,
that you'll cut your nose off to spite your face,
not just with Kurt, but with comics in general,
well, it doesn't seem fair not to try to reason with you
to try and "talk you off the ledge" so to speak.

If you're not going to buy into my reasoning that writing about how
a character would die in "his world" is actually a cool thing
so much more intricate and intimate to the character than
most other life events and, in my eyes, vital, to learning more about
the (current) writer's interpretation of one of the most crucial parts
of a (fictional) person's life, and you are offended by the actual killing
and/or bringing him back to life (so more can be written about him),
in a casual manner. Okay then. I can live with that reasoning
because some things are just hard to "feel" any other way.

But to have this "Annie Wilkes" mentality, and in addition,
let it spoil thousands of unrelated comicbook stories for you,
stories that are bound to have some stuff that'd make you HAPPY
to be a comicbook reader... well, I just gotta say:
"Get off that ledge...it's not worth it! You've got so much to read for!"

[The Bat]

Once again I'm force to agree with huedell. As much as the "gimick" off Nightcrawler's death ****ED me off...I couldn't bring myself to cancel X-Men. Like Hue said...there are still many great stories to be written.
I love the new Character of Hope. And I think it's cool that Namor has joined the X-Men. And...KITTY's BACK!!!!!!

That said...I have seriously cut back on my Monthly Comics. Which is due to poor writing, and I didn't like direction the stories were headed. I also cancelled my beloved SPIDERMAN for the first time in 40 years. It was a hard decision because even when the writing isn't very good...I still like to keep up on the Day to Day goings on, of Peter Parker's life.

[samurainoir]

Given the ridiculous variety of different kinds of comics that are available these days, I tend to swing back and forth between what I read.

When the superhero stuff gets less interesting to me like they are now, I find I will gravitate to other kinds of comics. I only probably care about a handful of Marvel/DC titles, and the only Must Reads are the ones by Jonathan Hickman (FF and SHIELD) and Jason Aaron (Astonishing Spiderman and Wolverine). Although I'm enjoying the big Kirby coffee table book right now.

War comics are keeping my interest currently, particularly the Battlefields series by Garth Ennis and the reprints of Charlie's War.

Over in the Manga side of things I'm rediscovering 70's and 80's bombastic stuff like Riki Oh Violence and Mad Bull.

On the horror end of things, Walking Dead has once more become incredibly gripping as the stakes get higher. Crossed is also a book I read right away. Chew has been a great little twisted sleeper book.

[Gorn Captain]

I hear what you're saying, and have to agree with you to some extent, Huedell.
I don't want to come over as "you killed off my BFF, and now I'm not gonna read anymore comics!"
I think it's a combination of factors:
A. I find recent comics overcluttered, both storywise as artistically.
B. I hate the gimmick of "kill off/resurrect".
C. I'm in a point of my life where I need a little more sunshine, and a little less "Saw 7".

The sore point with Kurt, was that he was a force of light, and it pains me to see him go. Yes, life is like that. But even though death is part of life, I still feel dying sucks bigtime. And the fact that so many "forces of light" in the real world get cut down.
But it's OK, I have had a great run with comics. Almost 40 years. Time to move on, and let others keep enjoying the new ones. Marvel won't even notice I'm gone....

[boynightwing]

I haven't seriously read Marvel since the Civil War ended. I liked the Civil War a lot. I thought Cap's death at the end was very impactful and it made me a little sad. The thing was that I knew that he wasn't going to stay dead and that cheapened it for me. (Though I like Cap so I am happy he's not permi-dead at the same time)

I picked up some free Marvel sampler books this summer at Fan Expo and wasn't the slightest impressed with anything contained within. The X-Men fighting Vampires (I'm on a break with Vampires. Like when Ross was on a break with Rachel kind of break). Jubilee had no powers? I came across some ridiculous story featuring "the son of Wolverine". All of it made my eyes roll.

Now I see that they killed Nightcrawler? yeeesh. Might be time for Marvel to do a hard reboot like 1986 DC...

[BlackKnight]

I only Read Hulk, Incredible Hulk and Secret Avengers from Marvel right now.
Just 3 Titles.
I Read the 2nd Comming Arc, in it's Entirety, and thought it was one of the Bext X-Crossovers Ever. It sucks that NightCrawler Died, but given his Stance on certain issues that happened in the story line, it also makes sense.

[stevenlore]

I stopped reading comics back in the 90's when they killed off Magik (Colossus' sister) and only came back to comics about 3 years ago when there was rumors that Magik was coming back. So I started reading X-Men again, then Spider-man, then Hulks, then Avengers, and I found out I was hooked again. I also read the return of Barry Allen as the Flash and its all good. Eventually Kurt will be back, Wasp will be back, heck the Chaos wars will be bringing a bunch of heros back. I can't wait.

[Sandman9580]

I gave up a long time ago.

I love comic books, but there's something about the long, never-ending story form that I really dislike. It's a soap opera that never ends, and I know that's why people like it, and that it's fun to "check in" on your favorite characters, but... it never ends. So any character development happens very slowly. Or, in complete lieu of it, a character gets killed to "liven" things up and generate interest. It's insulting, and it's vulgar. And then - whoop! - the character comes back to life! His DNA was just resting! Well, now you're applying fractal mathematics to insulting and vulgar. I don't know how anyone could blame anyone else for turning their back on this garbage. It's a rational reaction.

When it comes to popular superheroes, I've long preferred the self-contained, non-continuity stories like Dark Knight Returns and New Frontiers, where you really hear the unique quality of a creator's voice. I think that's the most natural and satisfying way to tell (and experience) a story: this is this person's take on these characters, and it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and after the end it's over.

But, I have to admit I avoid most comics nowadays for reasons that are a lot more superficial than slogging, pointless narrative. I hate the pseudo-edginess of everything. I hate the digitally pristine way the word balloons and lettering look. I hate the artistically retarded imperative that dictates that all background elements have as much detail as foreground elements, because that's how fifteen-year-olds who can't draw like their art. But most of all, I hate the color. Everything is "beautiful" and gleams and shines and has gradients and render effects.

Well, it's not beautiful. It's ugly as poop. Historically, yes, the basic illustrative concept of paying close attention to your light source has been more-or-less ignored by comic book colorists. That gave old comics a neat, distinctive look and that's fine, especially back in the day when you were limited to the four color process. But if you're going to have the inker's lines turn orange because the sun is "flaring" behind them, then... you're basically saying "Hey, things are super-realistic now, okay? From now on we're going to pay real close attention to light and how it affects the appearance of physical objects." And then you ignore it and color everything like it's shiny and radioactive. It's like what the world would look like if you had a brain disorder.

Well, clever you. You got me to part with my cash, way too many times. But I'm not letting you back into my house until you treat me with respect, and you've gone to art school. And all the writers and editors have gone to writing and editing school.