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Ah, the curse of the completist! I've already got two sets of all 14 Super DC comics, two copies of the single Bumper Book, and now the Giant Superman Album, which is naught but a collection (think Double Double Comics) of several various issues of Super DC (sans covers) with a new cover based on that of its first ish. (Cop a gander at Batman - he needs to go on a diet, pronto! No need for a detective to figure out who ate all the pies.)
I only learned of this book's existence around a year or so ago, and now it's part of my vast collection, having recently acquired it on eBay. Is there anything you've bought, Crivvies, that you don't really need (in the case of a comic, already having another version of it), and if so, can you remember why you purchased it? The comments section awaits.
14 comments:
Oh my it is the very essence of my problem. I'm constantly buying new versions of old stories because I like the format or the ease of reading them. I cannot say how many versions of Conan the Barbarian #1 I own, at least a dozen if not more. Those Jim Starlin annuals with Thanos taking on Warlock, Spider-Man and the Avengers are in my collection several times as well. I just bought another one some weeks ago in the Gamora reprint book. Likewise I'm a sucker for Fourth World stuff in its many formats. I have drawn the line at the more recent very expensive books, but who knows what the future will dictate?
Rip Off
I've got the original Kirby Jimmy Olsen issues, a two volume softcover set, a collected edition, and reprints of them in Jack Kirby Omnibus volumes. I just can't stop myself, RJ, when it comes to Kirby Jimmy Olsen tales. And that goes for just about every other comic mags I like. As for Conan #1 - got it in various forms around 26 times over. One day I'll have to make decisions about which ones I can bear to part with.
Is there anything I've bought that I don't really need?
Yes, almost everything - which is why I've gotten rid of most of it.
Only a handful of books left, no comics, no DVDs and only two CDs.
Yeah, but you were never a completist anyway, CJ. I have to say, your life sounds really miserable if all you live for is to eat, drink, sleep, and sh*t. Surely there has to be more to life?
I'm not really a completist I
only try to collect some ( not all) comics from 1967 to 1975 ( maybe a few from 1980s) that i missed or used to have and follow certain artist Robbins, early Neal Adams, Alex Toth etc. I bought the Neal Adams/Green Lantern/Arrow and Deadman baxter reprints of the 1990s while I had most of the originals which was a waste of money as I didn't like the new colouring. I also bought those new Marvel smaller sized Marvel reprints and I have various copies of those early first 10 Ditko Spidey comics so I'm not sure why I bought these as I have them in other books, comics .
I suspect that when something makes a big impression on us when we first experience it, McS, we try and re-create that experience by buying things again that we already have, even if in a slightly different format. Take Spider-Man for example. I have the Omnibus volume of the Lee & Ditko tales, the Marvel Masterworks editions, the Epic Collections, Marvel Tales reprints (both times), the Spider-Man Classics issues, and various other presentations of them. Don't really need them all, but there's just something soooo enticing about them. I'm probably just trying to re-create a moment though, which is probably a bit sad.
My main reason for buying comics is exactly that ad well but for me it mostly has to be the original comic not a collection to get that wee "hit". Strange thing is I only really get that nostalgic hit for comics I bought when I was a kid until around 17 years old, after that it is largely dilluted.
I suppose nothing gives that hit apart from the original comic, McS, but Marvel's Facsimile Edition mags come pretty close I think. Collected reprints might dilute the effect, but they create a moment of their own (as well as hark back to an earlier one), which is why I tend to buy the same stories over and over again in whatever new form they're published.
Kid, I don't criticise you for acquiring your collection and I enjoy reading about what you've bought so I don't know why you have to be so unpleasant, using a word like sh*t. You asked a question and I answered honestly. I've simply reached a stage in life where I no longer need so much physical stuff that takes up space. But I couldn't live without my laptop, phone, tablets and two radios so I haven't become a hermit in a cave just yet!
I wasn't being unpleasant, CJ, and I used the word sh*t 'cos it's what we all do - as well as eat, drink, and sleep. (Some of us even sh*g.) I was merely describing the basic functions. No comics, no books, no telly, no fridge, just doesn't sound like a bundle of laughs to be honest. However, I'm glad to hear you're enjoying your life, but it just didn't sound like you had much to enjoy. (Apart from my brilliant blog, obviously.)
I’m not sure that I can add too much to the debate that has already been said, Kid. I’m very much of a like mind to McScotty on this.
I do have multiple printings of some comics, mostly those from the 1968-1975 era that excited me as a kid, and all in the quest to recreate that elusive “hit” (good term,McScotty, because it is a drug) you got as a lad in those early teenage years. My number of duplicate copies is limited to hard bound reprint books generally.
But if DC decided to start doing facsimile comic reprints of Batman starting with #217, I’d buy them all again. In fact, if they did facsimile editions of their complete line of comics from those years I’d be in serious danger of getting the lot! (I hear that DC are considering restarting the facsimiles, testing the waters with Sandman #1, upcoming).
But my buying duplicate copies extends to other media - particularly videos. My worst offender is Superman The Movie, picking up at least 8 different versions over 44 years, starting with a pirate VHS tape, through various official VHS and DVD copies of improving quality, to a 4K blu-ray today, all in the quest for a slightly better version, to more accurately recreate the impact of first seeing the film in December 1978 at the ABC Shaftesbury Ave, London.
I think it’s all wrapped up with nostalgia and a yearning to reconnect to those days, although I still have regular contact with my pals from those times, have a forbearing wife and family, and lots of other interests and pursuits outside the comic realm. I keep promising myself that I’ll have a radical clear-out of my collection of stuff, as I can’t see Mrs B having the patience to go through the long boxes selling individual comics once I’ve shuffled off this mortal coil (hopefully not just yet).
But I still seem to be in accumulation mode at the moment.
The danger is you become a slave to it. Selling the lot - comics, paperbacks - is probably the healthiest thing to do. I did that back in 1984 and it was a wise move then. It’s easier (and cheaper!) to move forward in life if you’re not pulling a lifetime of stuff with you.
No debate, B, merely a convivial chat. (CJ likely just had too much whisky and misinterpreted where I was coming from.) Actually, I'm not even a true completist, as sometimes I'll decide on my own cut-off point and as long as I have the issues I require, that'll do me. For instance, there was a 12 ish (I think) limited series of Sgt. Rock reprints sometime back in the '90s (perhaps), and I had a few issues from 1-6 with some missing. I decided I wanted to have the full first 6, but wasn't worried about having all 12, so I completed the 6 and stopped there. (Maybe one day I'll get the remaining 6, but I don't feel compelled.)
As I said (and McS agreed with me I think), when I buy another presentation of a particular comic, it's an attempt to re-create the moment (or the feeling) when I bought the first version of it. That seems to be the main reason for most of us, as you confirmed in your own case, B. By the way, well-observed last point in your comment.
I totally get what baggsey was saying in that last para as well Kid. I felt that way regarding my collecting in the 1980s and just got rid of about 70% of my collection as I had thousands of comics which was out of control. Every weekend I would pick up at least 6 comics (that was over 300 a year arghh) just to buy comics as it had become such a habit , I barely opened any of them. I still have too many comics ( about 700) but it's manageable now and I'm still moving comics to charity shops. I rarely buy any new comics now and focus only on older ones. it's quite liberating. I also get what Colin is doing although for me that's a bit to drastic.
I feel tempted every now and again, McS, to get rid of loads of stuff, but there's something that holds me back and it's this: I've done it before and regretted it - maybe not right away, but eventually a feeling of remorse creeps up on me and I feel like I've given away my children (not that I've got any real ones). In fact, I think it might be getting rid of things when I was a teenager that gradually gave birth to the compulsion in me to try and obtain everything (or near to it) I used to own again. Did the same thing as you - bought comics I never read, though I had the full intention of doing so when I got them. Just looking at the covers brings back memories of the time I bought them though, so I'm reluctant to get rid of even them.
Obviously if CJ is happy enough with his lot in life then that's what counts, but he really painted such a miserable picture that, personally, I'd hate it if I was in that situation and wasn't buying various possessions every so often. It makes my day when the postie brings me a parcel or three in the morning (sometimes afternoon). It's all I've got to look forward to 'cos I don't get out much.
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