My 5 Rules For Keeping Up With Comics On A Budget

As a man who has read comic books longer than I can remember I’ve always had the same problem; too many comics, not enough money. In this economy it can be hard to buy all the comics you actually want to read. I mean there several titles for every character/team. I myself have a budget cap each month that I try to stick too. Sometimes I go a little over, sometimes a little under.

With over half of the film blockbusters that come out now-a-days being based on comic books it’s hard not getting excited to read the material they’re based on. I know walking into a comic book store can be an overwhelming experience for some people who are not “in the game” but if you want to keep up with the titles you sort of enjoy but can’t afford to collect here a few rules that may help.

RULE #1- KNOW WHAT WRITERS YOU LIKE

Just like some people have favorite novel writers like John Grisham or Stephen King, you can follow whom you like. In 2004, Geoff Johns came onto Green Lantern and has made it DC’s biggest selling title ever since. When Johns was on Teen Titans I loved it, but once he left I dropped the book. Johns is currently writing Aquaman, which I have never read until now and I love it.

These days it’s almost better to follow a writer you like, such as Grant Morrison, Frank Miller, or Ed Brubaker because you can be 90% sure your money will be well spent based on the fact that you like the writers previous work. The only problem with this is a writer can take over a book on issue #225 and some readers feel like they need to get the first 224 issues just to understand what’s going on. In some cases this is true, but when a new writer jumps onto a title they try to keep it fresh for people who follow them and not the title. After collecting comics for 20 odd years I’m almost to this point.

RULE #2- THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IS YOUR BEST FRIEND

The other week I was watching Daredevil the director’s cut, which is way better than the theatrical version, and I decided I wanted to read more abut Daredevil. I had never really been a fan, but now I feel like at this point in my life he’s a character I can like/relate too. So I jumped online, got a list of what order Daredevil graphic novels should be read (you can find these for any character/title, trust me), and then I went to my local library’s website and reserved a bunch of Daredevil graphic novel’s starting with the first one on my list they had.

Public libraries have EVERYTHING today FOR FREE!! You can get CD’s, movies, TV series, audio books, and of course graphic novels. Every few weeks I jump on the library’s site and type in my favorite writers names, or characters I like. And when there is something I haven’t read I reserve it. Depending on how big your library is will determine their selection, and in a big city like Austin,TX that has several branches I can get quite a lot. I just have to wait for it. The library doesn’t have every Daredevil graphic novel, but enough for me to know the major events.

RULE #3- LEARN TO SKIM READ

If you want to keep up with a comic but can’t afford to buy it skim reading is my best advice. When I go to the comic book store I grab my pull list from the employee at the front and then I head back to the comics to see what I didn’t grab. I no longer collect Superman, but I want to see what’s going on. I flip through it, kind of get an idea of what is going on based on pictures, and if I see Lois and Clark/Superman talking I’ll quickly read the conversation. Not a lot of important info is said during action scenes, so know what relationships are important. But my key rule for this method is no matter how many comics I skim through I always walk out having bought something.

Once a month, I like to go to a book store chain that I know carries comic book issues. They don’t have them all, mainly DC and Marvel, but enough to where I can sit and read an issue somewhat quickly, and know what is going on. It’s not pretty, but beggers can’t be choosers.

RULE #4- THE BUDDY SYSTEM

When I was younger, my brother and I lived under one roof, and we both collected comic books. We would read each other’s comics and years later, whenever we text or got together, he would fill me in on Spider-man and Hulk while I filled him in on X-Men and Superman.

Now my brother and I live thousands of miles away and I want him to move to Austin so we can go back to the buddy system. He would collect certain books, and so would I, and the ones we both enjoyed we would swap. So if we both bought 12 comic books a month that’s really 24 comic books that we get to read a month. If only I could find someone in Austin I could trust, but like swimming, you have to be able to trust you buddy with you comic books, and your life.

RULE #5- KNOW WHEN TO LET GO OF A TITLE

The hardest part of being comic book collector in today’s world is staying faithful to a title. X-Men has been the one title that I’ve collected longer than any other. The most recent storyline of X-Men I bought the first two issues of and then dropped it because I wasn’t going to spend $3 a month for another four months on a story I didn’t like. I’ve dropped and picked up a lot of comic in my life. There are a dozen X-Men titles, but I’ve narrowed it down to two or three that I stick with. A person has to utilize the first four rules in order to make sure they’re not wasting their money.

I like Superman, but I hate the way the New 52 has gone with him. So I grabbed the first issues of Superman and Action Comics and haven’t bought another in months. Maybe one day I’ll pick it back up again, but until then my money should be spent on what I enjoy reading, not what I buy just out of habit.

I often think about going to my Emergency Comic Plan. It’s something I thought of just in case I had to stop collecting comics for economic purposes. I would no longer go to the comic book store, but instead wait for a graphic novel to come to the library, or I might skim through it at the bookstore. If I like it I would buy it. In this case I might only buy one graphic novel a month, which is about $20. But then I would be giving up the best part about collecting comics; the comic book store.

I like going to comic book store each week not only because I’m excited to read the next issue of Aquaman, but to see what else is happening in comics. I get to see what’s hot and what new t-shirts and action figures are being made. I get to talk about comics with other people, and maybe find out about a local convention or celebrity that may be coming to town. It’s the comic book culture that keeps me wanting to collect issues every week as opposed to just going to graphic novels. It’s one of the few things in this world I can say I truly love, but if I ever have to give it up there are ways to keep the love alive. One of the best pieces of advice I feel like I ever got was from Q in a James Bond movie, “always have an escape plan.” Which I took as “always have a plan B, for everything.”

Casting Call: Astonishing X-Men

As everyone knows I’m a life-long X-Men fan, and in this last week it seems I’ve been on an X-Men kick. I watched the Astonishing X-Men motion comic on instant Netflix, read the storylines The Curse of the Mutants and Second Coming, and also watched the first two X-Men movies. But yesterday morning I woke up to find X-Men: The Last Stand on television. Seeing how I only had The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on my DVR to watch I decided to stick with the Marvel mutants. And of course, just like all the other times I try to watch this film, I turned it off twenty minutes in and demanded Brett Ratner be hung in a public forum.

The film can barely be called an X-Men film due to how wrong the characters were portrayed and the mockery made of two great X-Men storylines. Chris Claremont’s The Dark Phoenix Saga and Joss Whedon’s Gifted were raped in order to make this horrible, horrible film. When Whedon is done with The Avengers I would love to see him make a live action, and true-to-story, adaptation to his Gifted comic book. If that dream ever becomes a reality here are my casting picks for Astonishing X-Men.

Joshua Jackson as Scott Summers/Cyclops

I’ve followed Joshua Jackson’s career ever since he played Charlie in The Mighty Ducks trilogy. From there he went on to play Pacey Witter for six seasons on the teen drama Dawson’s Creek. But it wasn’t until his current role as Peter Bishop on the Fox show Fringe that I thought he could pull of the current Scott Summers.

At the beginning of Astonishing X-Men Cyclops has just lost the love of his life, Jean Grey, and is currently dating Emma Frost, the woman he technically cheated on his wife with. It wasn’t physical though, only psychological. Scott has a bit of an edge to him in the comics these days which I love! He’s leading an entire species on the brink of extinction and with the edge that Jackson brings to Fringe every week I think these two would go together like peanut butter and jelly.

January Jones as Emma Frost/the White Queen

When I first heard that January Jones was playing The White Queen in this summer’s X-Men: First Class I thought it seemed like a great casting so why change it. Jones’s role on Mad Men shows she has the acting chops to play a woman who used to be a villain and is now running a school for the hope of all mutant kind.

Emma Frost is as cunning and bitchy as she is knock-out gorgeous. Her only soft spot seems to be for the late Mr. Summers. In Astonishing X-Men you’re never quite sure where Emma stands with everyone, which makes her a great character. Did I mention she once tortured most of her current teammates?

Sam Worthington as Logan/Wolverine

He’s the best he is at what he does, and what he doesn’t isn’t very nice. Wolverine is the most famous X-Men character, so much that he has been the center of four X-Men films. He’s great and all, but I’m so glad we’re getting at least one X-Men film without him this summer.

Sam Worthington has the tough guy act down with roles in action films like Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and Terminator: Salvation. He can pull off the fight scenes, the deep tough guy voice, and as long as he can do the rage scream I think we’re in business. Of course Wolverine is pretty short and I’m not sure how tall Mr. Worthington is. That's my only complaint about Hugh Jackman.

Karl Urban as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast

At some moments he seems to be the heart of the X-Men, always trying to lead them away from a dark path by being the voice of reason. In Astonishing X-Men, Beast, however, has a hard choice to make. When a cure for mutation is found he must choose whether to use it on himself, or stay the blue, furry animal that humanity sees him as.

I cast Karl Urban for his distinctive voice and acting abilities. It was only after I started writing that I realized he already played a character named Dr. McCoy, so I knew I had the right guy. Urban is known for his roles in The Bourne Supremacy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and playing Dr. Leonard McCoy in Star Trek. Just think what would happen if they ever had a Star Trek/X-Men crossover like on the comic books. Classic!

Owain Yeoman as Peter Rasputin/ Colossus

Peter Rasputin is the tough guy on the X-Men, but his most solid muscle is his heart. He can turn his skin to steel but he has more compassion than anyone on the team. In Astonishing X-Men Colossus returns from the dead after being experimented on for quite some time. He also is reconciled with his former girlfriend, Kitty Pryde. Oh and did I mention he is prophesized to destroy an entire alien race?

Owain Yeoman is currently playing CBI agent Wayne Rigsby on CBS’s The Mentalist. To play Colossus I needed a big guy who looks very non-threatening at times, but can make you piss your pants at other times. I think Yeoman can even pull off the Russian accent.

Ashley Greene as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat

Joss Whedon’s entire run of Astonishing X-Men is centered around Kitty Pryde. This young girl returns to a place full of memories to help Scott and Emma teach young mutants. In that time though she finds her dead boyfriend alive, gets her mind royally screwed with by The Hellfire Club, and becomes the only hope for Earth. Whedon sure does love his female heroines.

Ashley Greene is most know for her role as Alice in the Twilight Saga. But she’s one of the few actors I find non-annoying in those silly films, and out in the real world she is really hot. Her upcoming film, Skateland, has her playing a girl-next-door character. I think this fits her well. She seems like a cute girl who is very approachable and down to Earth. Don't worry, there’s only one team in this franchise Ms. Greene. Unless fans are still having their Team Jean vs. Team Emma debates.

Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Patrick Stewart not only played captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise for years, but also Professor Charles Xavier for three films. He’s the only bald man I trust in cinema. It’s a shame that Brett Ratner killed him along with Cyclops in X3. Does Ratner know how many times Professor X has died and came back in the comic books? Judging from X-Men: The Last Stand I doubt he’s ever even read an X-Men comic. Damn you Brett Ratner!

Angelina Jolie as Special Agent Abigail Brand

Agent Brand is the leader of S.W.O.R.D. Don’t ask me what it stand for because I can barely get S.H.I.E.L.D. right. Brand is trying to stop an alien world from being destroyed, and also trying to make sure they don’t destroy Earth as well. Her run-ins with the X-Men are rarely nice, and over time she and Beast kind of develop a crush on each other.

Bring in the queen beotch herself. Angelina Jolie has made a career of not only being a tough girl on the screen with films like Salt and Mr. and Mrs. Smith be she also stole Brad Pitt away from one of America’s sweethearts. I think she has more than what it takes to play tough girl Brand who gives even Emma Frost a run for her money in the bitch department.

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

In main stream Marvel comics Nick Fury was a white guy. When the Ultimate universe was created they based Nick Fury off of bad-ass mother f%cker, Samuel L. Jackson. Which is now ironic since he plays Nick Fury in the current Marvel Studio films.

Fury runs S.H.I.E.L.D. and starts out as the go-between guy in Agent Brand and the X-Men's relationship. He doesn’t care much for mutant kind, but he just wants to make sure sh*t doesn't hit the fan on Earth. Roles like these are why we love you Mr. Jackson. It’s why we love you.