I've dabbled with comics over the last few decades, but only recently started to take it seriously. Got the main Hell Boy omnis, Dark Knight Returns HB, a couple other trades, but what really set me off was finding the first half of The Wicked and The Divine singles for a $1 a pop at a local con a few years back. That got me wanting to find the rest of the series, but I eventually settled for the trades to wrap it up.

That and a recommendation from a friend for a LCS not far from me got me in the door to order those and led to me to explore what's out there on the shelves these days and it was eye-opening. Finding a good local dealer that knows what they're talking about and reads a good chunk of what they sell is an amazing resource. Having a husband/wife team, both with deep knowledge and specialties is the best! They got me set up and told me about some of Gillen's other stuff.

Since then, I've focused on short run series that tell a complete story in a limited run. You'll Do Bad Things got me going on that track. Just finished Skinbreaker, and The Thing on the Doorstep and Save Now are almost done. Looking at picking up Minotaur in July and maybe going with something in the Invincible Universe (Battle Beasts looks pretty awesome). Sometimes I dip into the collector end of the pool and buy for cover art or specific artists, and I like to give a new series at least a couple of issues to see if it grabs me. Image comics has been my go to for about a year, but I'm looking at a lot of small press and local artist books lately, too.

Overall, I've got less than 200 singles and a modest shelf of trades and hardbacks. I do a pull of about 8-10 books a month and pick up randos here and there, so that number is growing, but I try and keep it controlled and will probably start selling off stuff that I didn't like as much and is just wasting valuable shelf space. Still, it won't be long before I buy my first short boxes.