Throwback Experiment

After I finished Rose Red, I realized that I don't like how fast I have to hustle through trade paperbacks of new comics if I want to get them back to the library in time.  There was so much going on in this volume--transitions from one storyline to another, backstory for Snow and Rose, politics among the witches and the Fabletown factions--that I was frustrated at being rushed.

And so, I have reached a decision.  I'm going to experience comics as they were meant to be experienced--issue by issue.  Instead of waiting for the next trade paperback, I'm going to be buying issues of Fables going forward.

Everyone I've mentioned this to has responded instantly with distress.  "Why would you want to do that?" was pretty much the universal reaction.  Mike pointed out that I could just buy the trade paperbacks when they come out, so I can linger over them.  Why would I set myself up for the agony of waiting? 

But isn't this a core part of the comic book experience?  I've never had to wait for a chapter, been left with a cliffhanger, been irritated by a half-baked filler issue.  Shouldn't I have that experience?

Since I'm switching from the trade cycle to the single issue cycle, I'm a bit behind, so we've bought a handful of issues and Mike is doling them out to me every couple of weeks.  It's kind of an imitation of the real experience.  I win out, though, because I'm getting them twice as fast as I would otherwise, and they're already in the house, meaning I don't have to find my way to a comic book store.

It seems sillier the further I get into it, but hey, at least I don't have to wait for the next trade.  And I get a new issue today!  Something to read in one of your favorite series every few weeks--what reader is so lucky?

Oh, right.  Comics.