Dear Comic Books, It’s not you, it’s me. You assembled a talented pool of writers, artists, inkers (aka tracers) and collaborators that create a tapestry of heroics, drama and entertaining moments. I always respected this about you and find no fault in the quality of work that you are producing today. I’m just tired of going through the same motions and routines. In my heart, I knew that I was staying with you out of habit instead of actual enjoyment, and that wasn’t fair to either of us. When we first met, in the 90’s, you were at an all time low. Splash pages, hologram covers, EXTREME characters and convoluted continuity problems were everywhere. I still fell in love. I am the one person who actually enjoyed The Close Saga, maybe I just didn’t know better. We grew up together from those harsh times to find a relationship built on trust. I would read you cover to cover, tell my friends, come back each week and you would entertain me for hours. The stories were self contained, for the most part. I could read Sensational Spider-Man without reading Spectacular Spider-Man and still understand what was going on. There were always event books, Onslaught, Bruce Wayne: Murderer, Our Worlds at War, Heroes Return and others but they weren’t the focus of your existence. Then, Civil War happened. It felt like a shift within the time vortex. Instead of books being about characters, they were about events. One after another hit store shelves, with crossovers, banner logos and a slew of web-only tie ins. Sometimes I needed to read all of these to understand what was going on, other times only the main story. The logic was changing and the rules that we had agreed upon seemed out of place. I don’t blame you for this. This was and will always be your nature. Ever since Crisis on Infinite Earths and Secret Wars this was in your DNA. But I’m tired of this relationship. It feels like things just happen with little or no context. You want Dr. Doom to be a hero with the powers of 1,000,000 exploding suns, it happens. You wake up one day and decide that Arrow makes a better Green Arrow story than Green Arrow and everything changes. I still don’t understand how Nick Fury Jr. came into existence…but he’s here now. I don’t have the patience to go through this song and dance every month, picking up hundreds of dollars worth of books to only find one or two worth my time. I think some distance will do us both some good. I’m still going to check up on you every now and then, through websites, friends, blogs and previews (It’s not as stalkerish as it sounds…). If there is overwhelming praise, I might pick up a trade here and there. You will see me with movies, videogames and television. I am not leaving you for them and I don’t want you to take any hostility out on me towards them. You guys work great together, such as Guardians of the Galaxy. I still look forward to what you guys will do together. Maybe one day things will be different and I’ll find my way back to you. I still wish you the best, I just don’t feel anything anymore. I’ll remember you fondly and the good times we had. I hope we can still be friends. Your friend, in this and every Multiverse, Christopher
