Starting sometime last year, I've rediscovered comic books as a form of entertainment. It started with Stephen King's Dark Tower comics, which were not only well-written,but well-illustrated as well. Its brought me back into the world of comic books again.

Previously, my interest was only intermittent due to a few reasons. First, the social stigma that was attached to comic book collecting- images of the pimpley 30 year old with no life living with his parents come to mind. Second, there was the fact that comic book series were ongoing series that never seemed to end. To me, there was no percieved beginning and ending- they just kept going and going. I couldn't get interested in buying Issue #492 if I haven't read 1 through 491 first.

When I had heard that my favorite book series(The Dark Tower) was going to transition to a comic book series, I decided to pick it up. I was so delighted at the quality of both the writing and artwork, I decided to try other comics as well. It was then that I realized that the barriers that kept me from buying comics regularly was about to break down.

First and formost, there has been a trend among comic companies, and that is to compartmentalize their stories. I now see plenty of series that have a beginning and an end- series are limited in size and I don't need to hunt for back issues and then I can say I have them all- I don't need to keep buying and buying.

Second, the social stigma seems to be breaking down. I purchase new comics at a particular store and I met a fine gentleman in a business suit and tie and he was buying Spiderman. Turns out it was something he did as a kid, and still enjoyed collecting comics. There are still some of the nerdy types, and quite a few other enthusiastic characters, but it was great to see that the social stigma is starting to fade.

So what kind of comics do I buy these days? Well I've become a big fan of Hellboy. The artwork and story is always interesting. I also like to pick up illustrated versions of some of my favorite books. Right now Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are both being rewritten for the comic book medium. Stephen King's The Dark Tower comics are not retellings of the original books, but they are covering a lot of Roland's history and how he became the man he is in the books. There is also a version of The Stand being printed as well. I never read the book but I've seen the miniseries and references to it is replete within The Dark Tower.

From time to time I'll pick up a short series of some of the more popular characters- Spiderman, Silver Surfer, Wolverine and Batman- but overall I avoid them because they're not as interesting anymore. Also, while I do buy new releases from the comic shop, I tend to buy some of the older series from mycomicshop.com because I can usually get them much cheaper, which leads me to another point.

I don't collect comics because I expect them to go up in value, like some people do. I collect them for the stories. It is very much like picking up a novel at Barnes and Noble for me. Some people tell me that the comics I have are not in the best condition and tell me what they'd be worth had I kept in better condition, but personally I care little for that. I'd rather have them in good enough condition to read again, or even let my kids read them when they're old enough.

So that is where my current interest has been going, and I especially like the idea of limited series because it's easier on my limited budget too.