Comics Archives - Behind the Lens

So last night Terra and I went over to the comic shop to play Galaxy Truckers with a few friends of ours. To my surprise I found myself NOT playing as it was a four player game, and somehow I ended up as rule boy, or bank boy, or piece boy, depending on what the players needed at the time. This quickly got old and I decided I wanted to buy myself a nice comic trade, and read. After a moments consideration on what comic I wanted to buy I decided to go with a nice Batman comic.

Quick Back Story: When I was a kid I was very much a fan of comics, and I had several large collections. Most were of the Spider Man variety, but there were others including X-Men, Superman, etc. When we moved from Texas to NC my box of comics mysteriously didn’t make it onto the truck, and for some strange reason I didn’t pick comics back up till I moved out to WA.

Part of the reason I didn’t pick up comics for so long was the longer I didn’t read comics the harder it got to know where to pick the story back up. Keep in mind most of the comics I was familiar with were over 15-20 years ago. The story has come a long way since then.

When I moved to WA I met Gabi who owned and operated Olympic Cards and Comics. She was one of the main reasons I picked comics back up. When she heard why I had not picked up comics in so long she started to make a few suggestions, and before I knew it I was driving home with a stack of trade comics ready to get back into the stories.

And Now Back To Our Main Story: As I said I decided to pick up Batman, so I sauntered across the store and found Gabi.

Gabi: Whats Up?
Me: Whats a good Batman Trade to start with if I want to get back into reading that story?
Gabi: (after a few brief moments of staring at her giant wall of trades) This one.
Me: Ill take it.

So far Gabi has not steered me wrong when selecting a trade. After making my selection I proudly walked back to the table my friends were gaming at and sat down to read my new possession. Suddenly I hear from across the table in a not so pleasant tone
Corinne: What is that your reading?
Me: Batman
Corinne: Your dead to me.
Me: Why?
Corinne: Because you cant read both DC and Marvel its wrong, its bad, its not right.
Me: Why?
Corinne: Because you have to pick a side.

Authors Note: I should mention that Corinne was just kidding overall, but she is a HUGE X-Men nut, so I imagine there was a small amount of truth to what she was saying.

So my question is to all the geek nerds and dorks out there…Is there a line, and must sides be chosen? If so what side have you chosen, and why?