What is the difference between reading comics and collecting comics? Although, now that I’m asking, I realize that “difference” may be the wrong word to use. I think the better question is: “what is the relation between reading comics and collecting comics?” I think it’s a Venn diagram, with collecting in one circle, reading in another, and me in the overlapping area. Such is the sort of things reading these next few issues of Action Comics have me thinking about.
As I’ve said before, I never began reading Superman stories because I liked Superman. I read them because I was hoping that particular issue would be worth money sometime down the road. But what soon started happening—and I see it happening in these four issues—is that while I first came for the collecting, I stayed for the reading. Clark Kent revealing his secret identity to Lois—that’s a milestone that could be valuable down the line (it isn’t). All the double-sized issues celebrating the new Superman comics . . . well, that might be worth something for the Eradicator storyline (it isn’t). But buying all parts of “Panic in the Sky!”? Yeah, that one was definitely done just for the storyline.
