I have tried to write this post at least three or four times. Each time, I ended up abandoning the post altogether. One project I have been working on is editing my previous blog posts. Throughout this process, I have been taking note of things I wrote about several years ago. I used to write a lot about comics. There were posts where I was reviewing three or four different comic book series. To say that I’m in a comics-reading slump would be an understatement. It saddens me because reading comics brings me so much joy, yet I don’t feel compelled to pick up a comic to read. Why is that?

When I think about what started this reading slump, a few things come to mind. The first is the expense of reading comics. When my husband and I bought our house, we had to review our budget. One of the easiest ways for me to save money was to cut out going to the comic book store. While a single issue comic on its own isn’t all that expensive, I would end up buying several trade paperbacks on top of that. It wouldn’t be uncommon for me to spend $50 every time I go. That may not seem like a lot, but if it’s $50 every week or every other week, that can add up. As much as I want to go visit my local comic book store, I have so many graphic novels on my shelf that I want to read first. I’d rather prioritize my reading and then stock up on more comics when I’m ready.

The second reason for this comics reading slump is feeling out of the loop. Unlike other hobbies, with comics, I don’t have any good comic podcasts or YouTube channels to watch. I don’t know what’s being released or which comic series are ongoing. As a side note, I’d love any comics podcast or YouTube recommendations. I used to follow a few accounts, but they stopped posting regularly. Several years ago, I was a part of a local comics Facebook group. This was great! It felt like I had a place to talk about comics that I didn’t have in the past. I ended up leaving the group due to an increase in posts where people felt comics were getting “too woke”. Leaving a Facebook group isn’t an airport; there’s no need to announce your departure. I believe comics are for everyone, and diversity in comics is a great thing. I don’t want to be a part of a community that doesn’t echo that.

The final contributor to my comics reading slump is prioritizing my Goodreads TBR. While I have made substantial progress with reading books, comics got left behind. Once I finish my TBR, I’m going to approach reading differently in the future. I’ll write about that later, I’m sure, but this approach will be more focused on incorporating comics into my monthly TBRs.

Where do I go from here? One thing that has helped is to start over. I have thought about why I love comics so much and what series mean a lot to me. I pulled off all my old Calvin & Hobbes comics to re-read in the coming months. I have started digging into all the graphic novels I bought in April, and decided to re-read The Manhattan Projects. This is one of my favorite comic series, and I finally found the missing volumes I needed. It’s surprising how much I remember about the series since it’s been years since I last read them. To get out of this slump, I want to reconnect with why I got into comics to begin with.