My 30-Day Comic Book Challenge

I thought I would try something new for the month of November. Awhile back I did a 30-Day Film Challenge, and thought it was kind of fun. The “challenge” part of it was that the movie had to be a certain type, like “A film that put you in deep thoughts” or “A film you dozed off in.” I should have done more research on this thing, because I didn’t realize that most people who do this challenge actually watch the movies. I just relied on my vast knowledge of movies to write a post every day that fit the prompt. I don’t know if writing a post about a movie every day for a month was harder than watching a movie every day for a month, but I know it would have been a pain to do both. If you happen to be interested, you can head over to mattdurisn.com and read all 30, but if that’s too much work (I know it is for me), here’s the post from Day 30 here on Substack:

Anyway, recently, I had been a little lackidaisical in my comic book reading. Maybe because my local comic stores closed andthe weekly trips are no more. Maybe because the books aren’t as fun. Maybe because I started to read an actual book. It’s probably a little bit of all three, but the point is, I have a stack of comics that I paid too much money for and I need to get them read.

So, for the month of November, I’m going to challenge myself to read a comic a day. I’m not going to use prompts, because not too many comics put me in deep thoughts or whatever, but I am going to actually read them. Hopefully. I mean, Thanksgiving may throw my schedule off, but it’s a just a comic, so I can probably work it in.

And that’s the thing that some of you may be thinking. “It’s only a comic book. What does it take? 10 minutes to read?” And you would not be wrong. I usually read my comic over a bowl of cereal in the morning before work. It’s a nice start to the day. But the hang-up is that I feel like comics have started to get a little wordy over the last few years, and also the dialogue of a lot of characters have been given their own fonts, which are sometimes smaller and harder for my 48 year-old eyes, especially that early in the morning (That’s probably a whole other kettle of fish, but still…) Point is, sometimes I can’t finish a whole comic before it is time to go to work. So then I have to leave it for another time and remember what was going on and where I left off, and put it in the “Not Read” pile. And since most covers are now just pin-ups of the main character, the cover doesn’t really help me when the question inevitably arises, “Did I read this one yet?”

It’s cool, but what the Hell happens in this thing?

Obviously, I could be more organized, but really, this is a hobby, not my whole life. And that is what this challenge is all abou. If I can get that Not-Read pile down, and maybe rekindle my love for the genre, then it will be a success.

So, here I am, day one. I’m not going to post every day for 30 days and flood your Inbokes, because that would be cruel, and also, I don’t always have a lot to say about one comic. But I will tell you that the above comic, Wolverine: Revenge #2 was the one I read this monring over a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. And it was a fun romp by Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo, so i recommend picking it up (It’s only a 5-issue series). Sadly, that link does not go to the actual comic because I guess my online vendor is sold out, but it does take you to a red band, polybagged version of issue #1 that is probably a little more violent, and if you buy it from that link, I will get about a 36 cent kickback. So, that that information and do with it what you will.

Actually, I get a kickback if you buy anything from the link, so if you need any comics, toys, manga, what have you, click, click, click away! You can also check out my comic, which would take up 5 of your 30 days if you want to do a challenge, or just send some money over this way. Or become a paid subscriber and I’ll think of something to give you. No matter what, I appreciate you reading and following along. Now I got some reading to do!