Previews no more.....

 

When I returned to collecting comics around 1998 after a ten year break I originally went to the comic shop I usually did, the Forbidden Planet in Central London. A weekly trip every Saturday day to collect a pile of comics as they were released. 

After a year or so I happened to notice in Comics International that there was a comic shop, Avalon Comics just slightly off my route home after work on Lavender Hill and after making a detour there to pick up Fathom #1 I eventually made this my regular stop every Thursday. Sometimes it was a bit of a rush but with a standing order made through the use of Previews this was how I purchased comic books up until it closed.

I had occasionally used 30th Century Comics for back issues up until that point and like many of Avalon's ex-customers switched to them. Again Previews was my one stop shop every month and all I had to do was add a few back issues, especially British ones and my collecting bug was satiated for the week.

30th Century Comics took a decision some time back to stop stocking new comics and only accept standing orders. This was not a problem for me. I always ordered (perhaps too much!) via Previews and rarely if ever took anything off their shelf and was only interested in what old comics were available as extras.

Now in part because of the pandemic but mostly for business reasons 30th Century Comics are no longer taking orders for new comics and are only trading in back issues. I fully understand their reasons for doing so it did cause me to sit and think about the future of my hobby. 

Firstly I will need to make a couple of visits to the Forbidden Planet some time in late November to pick up a few stray issues simply ton end a couple of series and/or story lines. Whether I will take much interest in buying new American periodicals remains to be seen. I may turn to the occasion graphic novel/paperback collection.

One of the reasons for this is my disillusionment with the main two companies. I am primarily a DC fan and have been since I started reading. There are some gaps in my my collecting over the years due to other interest, personal problems or the nineties nonsense which led to me almost abandoning the hobby forever. Only by a chance visit to a comic shop in Croydon did I return.

Marvel pissed me off with its increasingly impossible to collect and read crossovers. After the nonsensical ending and events in Secret Invasion  I simply stopped except for the Fantastic Four.
As for DC I went with the New 52 despite some misgivings but their comics line has become a complete mess and the Future Line they are proposing in January next year is the final nail in the coffin for me.

I had already given up on Batman because the crossover were too much and retirement has meant I had to cut back to just a handful of their titles but less than envisaged as DC's Metal whatever nonsense has also meant I have lost interest in what's going on I was more interested in Archie, Sabrina, Red Sonja and Vampirella to be honest. 

It is likely that Archie and Dynamite collections will be my first choices for future collecting as I can order by post. I may make the occasional trip into the West End for a look but with my health and age it will be a bit of a trek.

That I will no longer shop by Previews is something I sort of never envisaged but times change. Retirement and ill health has inevitably led to changes. I tire easily which is why my blogging is a bit more erratic than it was. 

However I have taken a really big interest in British Comics and besides subscribing to 2000AD & Judge Dredd Megazine I have been indulging in the Small Press and albeit only for small amounts have been supporting several interesting projects via Kickstarter! I'll blog about that later.

This blog will continue! I do have some new stuff and due to delays there will be new comics up until the end of the year. Then there's always back issues! I have thousands of those so please continue to join me in my journey through the wonderful world of comics!