Too Many Comics

There are, I think, too many comics these days.

By that I don't mean that there's just too many in raw number of titles, although a look through the massive Previews tome that comes out each month shows that is a problem as well.

No, I mean that there are too many comics that I want to read. Too many original graphic novels. Too many manga paperbacks. Too many super-hero comics that serve as 'comfort food'.

This is ably illustrated by my growing Too Be Read pile, which now takes up three short boxes of comics and well over 100 graphic novels, manga & collections sitting on bookshelves. (Not to mention all the comics in the library that I could read if I had the time!)

It didn't use to be this way. Back in my college days I'd buy maybe 8-10 comics a week, and over the course of one or two evenings get them read. But today there are not only comics to buy--and more of them--but also a plethora of comics in book format.

I think it's a combination of several factors: the increase in the number of formats; a general increase in the amount of quality items available; too many other options for my time (including blogging about comics instead of reading them); and an increase in disposable income, so I can buy more comics than I have time to read.

Does anybody else have this problem, or is it just me?