what are you reading? (if anything)

As of late I have been reading a lot of comics. I noticed some of you are into comics as well. It's cheap and they're fun! Kinda. Well, I've always enjoyed a good comic and have always read them from time to time. Lately though it has gotten a little more serious.

Allow me to explain.

Way back in 1992, my family and I were driving home from the beach. We had a house down there and frequented the area in the summer. One fine (probably a Sunday) afternoon on our way home, we passed a small comic shop. I begged my father to turn around so we could check it out. He did. Now, when I say small, I mean SMALL. Think a 20x20 foot area and you have the idea. Size was not the issue though, he crammed as much in there as he could. Tons of comics, sports cards and non-sports cards everywhere. To my 10 year old eyes, it was a dream. This was actually the first comic/card store I had ever been to, so it was quite the treat for me. My cousin had spoke of these "Marvel cards", and I wanted to see if I could get my hands on some. I picked up a few packs of Marvel Universe series 3. They look like this:

See? You remember them, no? I certainly do. I built that 200 card set over what seemed like forever. I still have that set right now. One of the few things I've managed to keep over the years. I was missing one card (that very X-Factor card) to finish and finally got it in a pack (and there was much rejoycing).

Anyway. I used to go to the shop all the time. It helped greatly that it wasn't far from my house. I was hooked. Comics. Cards. You name it, I wanted it. With an allowance that I got weekly, much, if not all of it, went to him and his little shop. This carried on until around 1994, when he decided to move downtown. Still not too far from my house, but not as close. Didn't stop me though. I was there just as often, if not more due to me picking up a new hobby; Magic: the Gathering in about 1995. Those unfamiliar with the game let me sum it up for you: Take one 52 card deck of playing cards, add some fantasy elements like Dungeons and Dragons, make the rules fun, simple and collecting addicting, and you've got a hit on your hands. I met most of my friends through that game. I played on and off until about 6 years ago. Way before then though, around 1999, I ended up getting a job at this very same comic store. I knew the owner and he knew me and he needed some help so I said I'm good to go.

I worked there for about a year then moved on to a 'real job', at a local Hess (it was awesome, don't let the silliness of a gas station get you wrong). As the years passed, I slowly scaled back my visits to the shop but still made it there at least once a week. It had become a hang out for me and my friends, hence the frequency. Then come 2006, he had sold the store to one of his customers, and the new guy changed the name, and made a refocus on comics. About a month ago, the owner announced a sale on all comics and I had tried to make a note to stop in to see what I could find. I went in on a Sunday and sadly, the owner informed me that it was his final day of business. After 21 years, a piece of my childhood had been shut for the final time. I did manage to pick up a few books though, namely some trade paper backs I had been meaning to get around to.

This led to something though. I wanted to finish certain runs of comics and stories that I had missed through the years. The death of that store is what got me back into comics, ironically enough. I wanted the complete runs for Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Fantastic Four. I would like to read Ultimate X-Men someday too. I get a few monthly comics at the other comic shop in town (I think they opened in 2005...). I've never gotten monthly books. I always liked waiting for the TPB to come out so I can catch the whole story. Right now, I get these on a monthly basis:

Amazing Spider-man (which is bi-weekly now)
Avengers
Batman: The Dark Knight (the only Batman book that has Bruce Wayne as Batman)
Ultimate Spider-Man

I'm also catching the 'Fear Itself' story line, which is this years 'event', by Marvel. Batman will always be my favorite and Spider-man isn't too far behind. I have plenty of Batman books though, collected throughout the years, so now it's time to give Marvel a try. The company I stuck with as an awestruck kid in that comic shop for the first time.

So if you've stayed with me up to this point, thanks and I apologize for the lengthy post here about anything except baseball cards. My question is: What do you read? For those into comics, what do you get on a monthly basis? What are some of your favorites? I'm curious to see what some of you say.