When does 'lots of comics' become 'too many comics'?

A couple of weeks back (as of the time I wrote this) my wife and I were having a conversation about space when she pointed that my comic book collection was both taking up space and getting slightly in the way (although I may be under-estimating the 'slightly) within our dining room.

Seven boxes. Now my entire single issue collection after much has been sold off.

Sadly, she is very much right there.

Since having our second child, the amount of 'stuff' in our house seems to have grown exponentially, with every room now seemingly filled from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Now, my comics don't take up much space in comparison to some I know. One of the owners of my local comic shop has enough that he rents two other rooms from his parents in which to hold them. Then, there is a gentleman I know in the states who is a Guinness World Record holder for having the biggest comic collection in the world.

But, as I went back through these boxes to get an idea if there was anything further I could cull as a way to appease my better half. However, as I sifted through the many issues still in my possession I realised that many of these comics I rarely think about, with two of the series I held I did not actually remember having.

Therefore, it brought to my mind a question; When does 'lots of comics' within a comic collection become 'too many comics'?

My comic collection over multiple versions consists of;

• 464 titles on Comixology (Not including those I have archived because I don't like them)
• Approx. 700 single issues (the majority of which consist of Fantastic Four and Daredevil)
• Approx. 30 Paperback Graphic Novels
• Approx. 15 Hardcover Graphic Novels

While not a massive collection in comparison to some around the world, I have come to realise that it is a lot!

Too many perhaps as, while pouring over the fruits of my 17 year odyssey into the comics world, I found comics which I had only read once and even some which I had never read at all.

I, like almost everyone else I know, considers these comics to be collectors items as we read them upon release, bag them, board them and then file them away amongst all the others.

Like a smaller, maybe less powerful Ark of the Covenant.

But why do we do this? Modern comics aren't really worth anything as any issue can be found in any bargain box in comics around the world and even if they can't, everyone owns a tablet and so can easily find whatever they look for in the digital realms.

What's more, how often do some of these comics get read? I own the entire Sharpe series of novels by Bernard Cornwall as well as all the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin, which I've been buying since I was 13 years old. However, for a great deal of these I have only ever read them from cover to cover once, with the two most recent Rebus novels having not been cracked open (yet).

The same goes with my comics. I've read (almost) all of them once but what point is there in keeping them beyond this point if I don't read them regularly.

An example (or two) come in the vein of Fraction and Aja's Immortal Iron Fist and Remender and Ribic's Uncanny X-Force. Both of these series are runs that I love, with artwork (particularly in the early half of the series) which is spectacular. However, I own both of these runs in single issues and, thus, find it a little taxing to re-read the entire series with the routine of get out, read, put away, next, repeat. Therefore, I'm currently pondering on digitizing both runs so that I can continue to have them without such a struggle.

That said, with over 460 separate comics on Comixology, what are the odds that I will ever read them again if I get those issues online? An example here comes in Alex + Ada, which is a series I nigh on lauded over upon it's release. However, since then I've never re-read, opting to spend money I don't have on other things. Will I ever re-read Alex + Ada? Hopefully, but then I could say the same thing about Dead Body Road, The Legend of Wonder Woman, Gotham Central and on and on and on.

I fear I'm just waffling now and talking myself in circles, but I guess what I'm trying to say is have I reached that limit in terms of a total number of comics I can conceivably read in my lifetime? If I were to stop buying now, would I be happy re-reading the same comics over and over again?

I guess those are the ultimate questions because, if I couldn't read them over and over again, then what is the point in having bought them in the first place.

You know, that kind of answers my own question.

Thanks, good talk.