{"id":882,"date":"2009-04-23T05:50:24","date_gmt":"2009-04-23T09:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=882"},"modified":"2009-04-23T05:44:24","modified_gmt":"2009-04-23T09:44:24","slug":"the-decision-to-quit-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2009\/04\/23\/the-decision-to-quit-comics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Decision to Quit Comics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"For the past few days, I’ve been haunted by the same thought over and over.\u00a0 Should I quit buying comics?<\/p>\n

It all started when I was in a used bookstore on Saturday.\u00a0 This was one of those rare occasions when the children were with a babysitter and I could really take my time looking through the selection.\u00a0 As I took in all the various science fiction novels, I found myself wishing I had more time to read books.\u00a0 As it stands right now, the only books I really make time for are the occasional TV\/movie tie-in, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who.\u00a0 When I was younger I used to read a much wider range of science fiction novels.\u00a0 Unfortunately, my free time has really diminished as I’ve gotten older and I’ve been forced to be very selective with that time.\u00a0 I started to wonder – in order to have more free time to read novels, what would I need to change about my life?<\/p>\n

I’ve got several hobbies, each competing for my free time.\u00a0 Activities such as reading comic books, role-playing, reading a few novels, surfing the web, and blogging are what I focus on mostly.\u00a0 That is, of course, outside the time I spend with my wife, two children, doing my share of the housework, and at my job.\u00a0 In order to make more time for novel reading, I would need to cut back on another existing hobby.\u00a0 On Saturday, comics seemed like they might be a good choice to cut back on.\u00a0 After all, I’ve been complaining quite a bit about comics for a few years.\u00a0 I’ve got concerns with the price of single issues, as well as the direction DC has been following.\u00a0 Hmmm… that many concerns are worth thinking about.<\/p>\n

If I were to quit buying new comics, I’d still hold onto my old comics.\u00a0 Anytime I got a hankerin’ for comics, I could just bust-out some back issues.\u00a0 Also, I’ve got tons of comics I’ve bought that I haven’t gotten the chance to read yet.\u00a0 Between reading novels and back issues, I wouldn’t be lacking for reading material for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n

Would quitting new comics really give me enough time back?\u00a0 To be frank, blogging is what eats up the majority of my free time nowadays.\u00a0 While I enjoy it tremendously, it really is a time-sink.\u00a0 I love y’all, but if I quit blogging I’d get back a bunch of free time.\u00a0 Now the question is, would I have to give up both new comics and blogging in order to make time for more frequent novel reading?<\/p>\n

Could I quit new comics if I wanted to?\u00a0 I’ve done it before, but obviously got dragged back in.\u00a0 Also, there are certain characters I don’t really want to lose touch with.\u00a0 For example, I’m really anxious to see what happens to Ronnie Raymond (Firestorm) during Blackest Night<\/em>.\u00a0 So there are certain challenges for me with quitting.<\/p>\n

Also, I really enjoy blogging.\u00a0 I like putting my thoughts down in pixels and sharing them with the world.\u00a0 I’ve made some new friends through blogging and I’ve reconnected with some old ones.\u00a0 I like my little corner of the blogosphere and would really miss it.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

After great consideration, I’ve resolved to continue buying new comics and blogging for now.\u00a0 I’m just going to cut further back on the number of comics I get, so I’m only buying titles that I’m totally jazzed about.\u00a0 I’m also going to work on ways to streamline my blogging, so it doesn’t take as much time.\u00a0 I gotta say though, the idea of walking away from it all is pretty tempting.\u00a0 I’m sure I’ll be considering this again in the future.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

By the way, that noise you hear is my wife cursing.\u00a0 I’m sure she started reading this blog entry and was over-the-moon happy about the prospect of me no longer buying comics. More than likely, she’d already formulated plans to redecorate my home office by the third paragraph.\u00a0 Sorry dear.<\/p>\n

\n

Tell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>