Sifting Through The Garbage

At my job,I get a pretty nice chunk of time during the day to do what I want.All of the "action" at my job is at the beginning and end of they day.As I've stated in the past, I spend much of that surfing the internet.I go to a lot of comic websites and blogs as that is probably my top interest right now.Anyone who's been on the internet knows(If you're reading this and still not sure....Congrats!You are on the internet!)it can be a frustrating experience as a veil of anonimity(as well as a healthy amount of pure assholery)tends to taint every conversation with an ugly layer of hate.It's distressing to see that many people in so much anguish all in one place.The internet comic community is,if you take everything you read at face value, full of shattered childhoods and faced with cold-hearted comic company bureaucrats out to taint everyone's favorite characters and teams all in the name of money and their own blind greed and ambition. All of this grief,caused by comic books.Or so sayeth the fans.

But I'm never one to paint everyone with the same wide brush.Lost amidst the shouting matches are those of us who just want to have fun with our pasttime and find cool new shit to read.That's why I'm here.And I'm developing a system to focus on that task.It's a work in progress,but I'm still here to share it between myself and the one guy who wandered here by accident and read this far before realizing that there's no porn here.I find I enjoy the list format,so here's my system(so far) in list form:

1)Ignore all negative comments.I don't get mad at negative comments because they are dissing something I like.Hey,it's their right to have an opinion that's different than mine.My taste in comics does not need to be held up as a template for everyone else.I hate negative comments because they waste my time.I'm not interested in what you DON'T like.Tell me what you DO like.Tell me what's good.I'm always looking for something new and interesting.If you know of something I might love I would really appreciate you pointing me in its direction.If you continue to buy books you hate it's your own fault and no one else's.The hate can be fun to read...as entertainment.Comic book fans are too cynical to be taken seriously all the time.

2)You just have to try the mainstream books.Trust no one's opinion.For every person who loves a story,there's one who hates it.For every person who's entertained now, there's one who liked the book better 20 years ago.The only way you'll know for sure is to try it for an issue or two.It's not a huge investment and you might find your next favorite book.Conversations about niche books tend to be a little more positive.It's usually a smaller crowd just pushing for their book to be successful.The few haters are mostly just people who bought the book once or just looked at it and went "Huh?"They never have much to add.They can't wait to go talk about Countdown or New Avengers so they can REALLY go vent.

3)Accept your failures/loses.So you went and bought all seven issues of Civil War,even though it lost you at Spider-Man's unmasking.Too bad.No one told you to buy all of those.If you even fancy yourself only halfway intelligent,you can take 5 or 6 months off from a book and jump right back in.Nowadays,you're only missing one story arc in that time.With delays, it might not even be one whole arc.And you can read the spoilers on the internet on any one of hundreds of sites!There's no excuse for falling behind unless you have the reading comprehension of a slice of toast.If you're buying it to complete the set you started,or to have an unbroken run then you are a collector.Having the full run is your ultimate reward.It's why you're spending your hard earned dollars.Loving the stories is pure gravy.Stop poisoning the message boards because you can't curb your spending.

4)Look for consensus opinions.This one can be tricky,since popular doesn't always equal good.(ex.Top 40 Radio.If it's something you'll be ashamed to admit you liked five years from now,it's crap.Revel in now it if you like,but just remember I told you so when you're erasing it from your ipod to make room for the next flavor-of-the-month.)I mean keep an ear to the ground.When I saw my 100th message about how great Fables was, I though it might be worth looking at.I was right.And so was everyone who recommended it or praised it.If you have a friend who has similar taste to yours and you trust them then, by all means, go with their suggestion.But if you're like me and know almost no one else who likes comics,the consensus method works pretty well.Remember,if you don't like it...you don't have to buy it again.

That's all I have now.Like I said,it's a work in progress.I do not make any claims that this will work for anyone but me.Do not take this advice with large amounts of alcohol as irrationality and rage may result.Do not take this advice while operating heavy machinery because you should be paying attention to the heavy machinery and not surfing the internet.People can get hurt...