Why I Still Love Comics:
I've got too many comics to ever review, and the state of mainstream superheroes and what's selling is remarkably depressing. Infinite Crisis #1 came out yesterday and it didn't piss me off like Identity Crisis #1 did. Instead, it BORED THE SHIT OUT OF ME. I'd say House of M is doing the same, but I only read issues one through three before getting so bored I stopped reading it, save the occasional skim for the highlights, so it's maybe not fair to use the present tense.

And one thing that pisses me off more than the stupid darkening of the DCU that began in Identity Crisis is how some of the same creators who participated in it are now trying to take credit for fixing it. Guess what, guys? If you hadn't *created* the fucking problem, you wouldn't have to fix it!

Mostly, though, I'm in an "oh well, don't care" place with much of DC and Marvel, and that's OK. Seriously, even if you ignore all the popular shit (depressing as it is to realize that what sells and what's good seems to be more diametrically opposed than ever), there's so much out there to read. Most of Vertigo is *great*, the smaller Marvel projects are remarkable (Gravity, New Warriors, Runaways, She-Hulk, etc.), Image, Oni and Dark Horse are kicking much ass and every few months we get a beauty of a graphic novel from guys like NBM, Top Shelf, etc. That's off the top of my head. Doesn't count the mini-comics and self-publisher guys putting their heart and soul into the medium for no money or even money flowing out of their pocket, or the numerous other smaller publishers. Doesn't count the promising news about mainstream bookhouses picking up on graphic novels like Flight or creators like Craig Thompson. Doesn't count Tokyopop and their intriguing line of OEL and ever-expanding line of manga, which seems to offer genre and style to every taste.

Last week, I read The Quitter, Mary Jane Vol. 2 and True Porn 2. This week I hauled in Beg The Question, Essential Spider-Man Vol. 7 and the Livewires digest. That's not bad at all, and that's skipping all the monthly doses of goodness like Fables, Godland and Fell.

It's not always easy to recognize, but it's a good time to be reading comics. Now if only I could get off my ass and start getting more reviewing of them done, so I can get these comp piles down to less suicide-inducing size as well.