Read The Dead

July 24th, 2019 by

Finally went to the comic shop where I purchase the few comics I collect, and picked up Walking Dead #193. I mentioned in a previous post that the series is ending. It was a shock, and sad, since Walking Dead was one of the best comic series I have ever read. It was consistent, done by one creator, and evolved over time in a real way. I was always a fan of superhero comics, and when I was younger comic book creative teams stuck with a series for very long times. Chris Claremont’s run in the X-Men, John Byrne’s run in the Fantastic Four are notable. For independent comic creators the major goal is to reach 300 issues, this benchmark was set by Cerebus creator Dave Sim. Walking Dead technically was not an independently created comic, Skybound is an imprint of Image Comics, and the title fell short of the 300 issue benchmark.

I read the final comic, and I understood why Kirkman wanted to end the way he ended. The story featured Carl, Rick Grimes’ son, about fifteen years after Rick had died. Things in the Walking Dead universe have changed, evolved, and there is a generation of people whom do not know the dangers of the dead. The story is very interesting, and does bring things to a somewhat satisfactory ending. Kirkman addressed the possible anger fans would feel at his ending the series in a letter at the end of the comic.

Talking to the owner of the store I purchase my comics from, he was surprised. Kirkman addressed the sudden ending and not giving warning in his letter as well. Keep in mind, the comic came out a few weeks ago, I finally picked it up, I got an issue because I have a pull list with the comic book store. The owner informed me that the comic was selling for $20 on eBay the day it came out. Am I lucky? No. Grateful I was buying the series regularly, and had it on my pull list.

Once word got out that Walking Dead was ending, owners of comic shops were inundated with speculators. People wanting to buy ten copies to sell on eBay. This is capitalism. Many owners limited purchases to one copy. The few extras owners had purchased sold out quickly. People whom were on pull lists had been guaranteed a copy. This is how true collectors get their comics. People whom speculate are viewed as jerks in comic collector circles. I could use harsh words, but jerk suffices.

With Walking Dead ending, I am now at a conundrum. The one other series I have on my pull list is on hiatus or may not come out anymore due to problems the creator is experiencing. Do I quit comic collecting altogether. Maybe it is time. Many companies are looking at going completely digital. Marvel, owned by Disney, makes more on an opening day at the movies than comic book sales. Many people do not even know that the character they see on screen was inspired by a comic book, and there is a comic book based on the character.

Comic books average $3.99 an issue. Which is sad. Print is becoming very expensive, and the costs fluctuate wildly. Gone are the days when I could buy everything Marvel produced in a month, and spend at most $20. I do not even want to do the math for collecting everything Marvel produces in a month. I do not even buy anything from Marvel anymore.

Maybe it is time to just pull the plug on comic collecting, move on to other things. The end of the Walking Dead is the end of my comic collecting hobby.

Thanks for stopping by.