Crap box!

I was part of a Facebook conversation the other day which got onto the subject of crap boxes.

To clarify, a crap box (well, to me anyway) is a box which contains the dregs of a comic book collection. The unloved, under-appreciated and truly awful (in my personal opinion anyway) books which are picked up are subsequently relegated to this box.

The crap box is the one selection of any comic collection where its only destiny is to stoke the fires on a cold winter night (or cook the food on a barbeque, but whichever)!

So, reading through this conversation and seeing what everyone has in their own crap box's, I got to thinking about my own 'crap box'. Though, in truth, crap boxes is a more accurate term because I actually have THREE short boxes which I would classify as my 'crap boxes'.

Within these boxes, the contents are split into two categories. First there is the single issues, the individual comics (many being issue 1) which I have picked up and, realising I don't actually enjoy them as I thought, cut from my pull list without a second thought, though one or two may also have issues 2 and/or 3 to join them as I had wanted to give them another shot.

This box contains a fair few books from the NEW 52 (Mr Terrific, Batwing, Justice League), Marvel Now (New Avengers, Thunderbolts), All-New Marvel (Silk, Spider-Gwen and DCYOU (Martian Manhunter, Dr Fate, Black Canary) as well as indy books like The Rinse and Five Ghosts amongst many others.

As for the other two boxes, within these are the series, the multiple issues and arcs of a comic book run which, while I may have enjoyed at one time, I've since reread and realised that those particular titles just do not appeal to me.

In these boxes, there is a varied palette including the Massive, Ten Grand and Indestructible Hulk amongst others as well as the one series in there that I consider truly bad, Countdown to Final Crisis (which, to this day, I still don't understand why I picked it up. It must have been a youth thing).

No doubt, everyone's 'crap box' is different, but after thinking about what was within mine I've begun to wonder 'what the hell do I do with them all?' Because while comics are very much a trial and error hobby, picking up boxes you think you'll enjoy but realsing they aren't your thing, they are also very much a space and money consuming one. I guess the only options are to either put up with this crap or sell them off.

However, if my crap box is anything like everyone else's, I suspect no one will buy any of what I have... they'll be too busy shifting the very same comics from their own.