The Batlord

Just got a few graphic novels/trade paper backs recently.




Now, the reason I'm mentioning this, aside from just being happy about showing off my new comic porn, is that I feel good about myself for supporting the comic industry. I've actually already read those Hawkeye comics, and "have" The Black Mirror, but I still just had to have them for real. I really am just a truly grand and wonderful person. But in all seriousness, I think it really is even more important to spend my money on real comics than music albums, even though the vast majority of what I'm reading is... shall we say, creatively obtained with electronic assistance of a dubious nature. It's like listening to music on the internet. Sure, I'm technically ripping someone off, but without access to these resources, I'd probably never be giving things like Thor: God of Thunder, Hawkeye, or Uncanny Avengers the time of day, yet now I'm lusting after books I never would have otherwise, which means a net gain for my local comic book store (and yes, even Barnes & Noble).

A rationalization? Certainly. But it's still true. The reason I feel it's even more important to buy comics than CDs though, is that buying an album puts a lot less money in the pockets of an artist than if I go to one of their shows and buy a t-shirt, whereas comic book creators actually have a lot more ownership, and get more money from their works than music artists, not to mention that, so far as I know, there aren't any other ways to support them. And it's not just the artists and writers either. The local comic book stores are the backbone of the industry in a way that independent record stores no longer are for the music industry. Most of my albums are bought from soulless chain stores who I could give a **** about. Borderless Comics though (holla for free advertising!), not to mention the many other places in the area, are a much bigger component of their respective industry, and so are even more important to contribute to, so it would be far more unconscionable to stiff them as far as I'm concerned.

So, rationalizing, self-righteous thief or not, I still feel a legitimate responsibility to spend money on comics that I don't feel towards music, or at least not quite as much, since I definitely make a point to buy actual albums too. I doubt that anyone else here is as prolific as I am about the less honest ways of obtaining comics (and if you are then you desperately need a life), but I still like to put all this out there.

/End douchey diatribe.

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