I ocnfess that I have not read a comic in over a month and the last one was the latest of the Legion of 3 Worlds.

Back before most of you were born, I was an avid collector/reader. Literally thousands of comics filled up my house. Even turned my oldest son and grandson into comic geeks.

But, last year I had to stop due to a financial situation. And, like any addict I went through a tremendous withdrawl. However, now that I'm "clean" I wonder if I should even pick up a copy or two...

I swore off Marvel, with the exception of Thor, when all the crap started with the Civil War. But even DC with all the idocy of the "deaths" of Superman and Batman leave me cold. Now days, nobody dies in comics due to the legal ramifications. So there is nothing that is sacred.

So, what do you think? Now, that I'm financially solvent again, should I start back up?

Well, it really depends on how much you miss it.

I started reading in 1980, with lulls during 1986-1987, 1994-1997, and 2002-2007. I drift back to favorite characters from my childhood just to recapture the ol' magic and see how they're being handled. Some writers and artists tend to deliver on this premise, (Johns, Perez, Slott) while others don't (Bendis, Millar, Ennis) and a few use untried or different angles (Brubaker, JMS, Pak) that somehow work well for me.

The original Cap is returning, which might lighten the ambience at Marvel a bit. Books such as Thor don't come out on a monthly basis anymore. (Heck, look at Legion of 3 Worlds: I'm still waiting for the final issue, myself!) So you aren't missing much if you've only been gone for a year. "Event" storylines have taken up most of that time anyway.

The two biggest changes since last year are the overall price increases to four bucks per average comic and the return of a "split book" format in order to compensate a bit for the extra $$$. DC's Blackest Night "event" might or might not bring back several deceased characters that fans have been asking for such as Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Ronnie Raymond Firestorm, Earth-2 Superman, and others, while Marvel could make Captain America's own rebirth the lynchpin for a throwback to the pre-Civil War era.

I'd give it a shot just for old times' sake and see what transpires.

That being said, I'll concur that the more you stop reading comics "cold turkey," the easier it is to quit again later on.

First off it's good to hear you made it through your financial strain.

Maybe buy a few that interest you to test the waters. With the exception of Secret Six I'm pretty much done with buying monthly comics. I used to spend $100-$150 a month on comics. But then I went cold turkey with monthly comics. I was tired of following stories that turned out to be disappointing and the money being spent just because I felt I might "miss something". My new theory is: If it's worth reading, I'll buy it in trade paperback. It's far cheaper and I don't have stacks of comics laying around.

The huge catastrophic event also turned me off to comics. I hate to feel like I need to buy 10 other titles I don't normally read just to feel like I'm getting the whole story (I'm looking at you Marvel Comics!)

Anyway I say stick to a couple titles you REALLY want to read and feel better because you have broken the "Gotta get all of the monthly titles" curse.

Invincible
Walking Dead

No one is safe.

I've recently gone through a situation that sounds similar on the surface. Made some hard choices about my collection (spanning over 25 years of collecting plus all the SA stuff that I had labored to collect as well ...) and had to sell my collection to try and help maintain some financial stability.

A year later, I still have seller's remorse. Massively. I look at the space in my house where all the many boxes of books used to be and I still feel like that space just "isn't right".

I realized, though, I missed the stories more than the books themselves. Don't get me wrong, I love the feel of a comic in my hand, laying back on my bed or in the oversized "reading" chair I have. There is a tactileness that leads to a very specific pleasure when reading comics. But that was secondary to the stories.

So my compromise is to buy everything I want now in TPB/HC. Most of the titles I like(d) are available in tpb format and they seemingly stay in print for a few years at a time, meaning I can buy them as I see fit, when the finances allow for it. I am forced to read everything a few months behind everyone else, and I will buy the occasional comic book (mostly the "big event books" like Final Crisis, the upcoming Blackest Night, and I'm looking forward to getting Wed. Comics). I still visit my local shop every week, more because I like the shop owner and staff and I consider many of them to be friends.

But, I am no longer a slave to my pull list. I no longer feel like I absolutely have to be there every wed. to pick up the new releases so I can race home and read them all. I have gone from spending close to $200 a week to spending roughly $150 a month. Plus I know that if I were to stop for a month or two, all those stories would be there for me in an affordable package when I was ready for them.

Something to think about at the very least.

And if you do decide to get back in, there are many of us here that would gladly make some recommendations.

I started collecting in high school after reading my uncles old books for years before that. I have stopped and started a few times with the last stop being about 2001.

The first time I stopped I sold everything I had, and I wish I had a lot of them back. The second time, I kept them and I am glad for that.

But I won't be getting in a third time the way I previously did. I can't bring myself to spend $4 per book. I can afford it, but I am too cheap to do it. So since coming back a few month ago I have been sticking to trade paperbacks, most of which I pick up at used book stores and comic cons for cheap. I am not into "collecting" anymore as much as I am into reading and enjoying the stories like I used to when I was a kid. I am currently getting the "Chronicles" series (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and the upcoming Flash) to relive some of the stories I loved and some I never got to read. The other reason for getting those is so my newborn son can eventually read them, too.

The other thing I have been getting is random stuff by writers I like (which is pretty limited, but I like Waid, Busiek, Johns and a few others) for cheap. For example I got the first 15 issues of "Trinity" for 50 cents a piece at a comic show. I enjoyed them, but if I had paid $3 a week for them I would have been pissed at the speed of the story, but I suppose that's another rant.

Just some thoughts.

That is the one thing I can recommend.

Since you took a break- you can always hit any local comic book show and get almost all the books that are 3-6 months old for a buck at any overstock box (how I read Amazons attack) - so you can just go back every month and make it like your weekly trip to the comic shop and get everything for 25% of what Im paying to stay current--

I really should take that advice myself (I am with the new Joe series) but I just couldnt take a break for a couple of months to let this strategy pan out (and of course the one book you always really want has jumped in value.).