The Old Order Changeth!

My very first short box circa 1984... and yes I was the person who actually 

bought DC's Guy Gardner Warrior!

Some comic book collectors have spinner racks (lucky!) while others have beautifully designed shelving to display their collections. I am old school, and no carpenter, so even 40 years into my fandom, I still use long, and as I have become more "seasoned", primarily short, boxes for storing and organizing my collection. This requires quite a bit of space and, fortunately, we have a sort-of finished third floor attic where I read and store them with other collectibles.

Shazam! #1 variant 

cover by Gary Frank. 

It is during these winter months when we are "trapped" inside for the majority of the day that I will shift the organization of my collection. Often it is a change in publication the prompts a change, For example, DC's recently introduced Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham joint, Shazam! (2019, $4.99 per) title necessitates the movement of Jerry Ordway's incredible The Power of Shazam (1995-99, cover price $1.50 per issue) series into an active box. Though represents a significant departure from the characters as depicted in Power, with all pre-New 52 continuity erased, I like having access to previous narratives.

Conversely, the conclusion of the most recent Suicide Squad (Volume 5, 2016-19, Issue #1 was $2.99 and the final issue, $4.99) series means that title will shift to an "inactive" box, stored in the back part of the attic, until the teams eventual return to action. Then, once again, the old order will changeth!

Local comic book shops organize titles on the "New Releases" table, as well as on "Recent Releases" racks and their own "Back Issues" long boxes, first by publisher (Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, etc.) and then alphabetically by title (Action Comics, Aquaman and so on). Decisions regarding the specific organization of titles in collections are more personal. When it comes to "Big Two" titles (DC and Marvel for the uninitiated), putting these titles by character families (Wolverine alongside Uncanny X-Men or Justice League Dark next to Justice League Odyssey). There are families in the smaller publishers as well, most notably (and expansive) the "Mignola-verse" titles from Dark Horse. These are comic books set in the world of Hellboy, a universe of titles created by Mike Mignola that includes Abe Sapien, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder and many others.

Zeke Deadwood: Zombie Lawman 

cover by Thomas Boatwright.

Those smaller publishers beyond the Big Two, though given quality and quantity of titles it's past time to start thinking of Image Publishing as a "Big Three", are much more willing to take creative risks with creator owned titles, especially those in the Horror, Western and Science-Fiction genres. Because of this, many of my shorts boxes are organized alphabetically by genre families rather than publisher or creator.

For example, I currently have five boxes which are organized as "Westerns" that include a wide variety of characters from large and small publishers. This means that DC's Jonah Hex extended series (2005-10, 70 issues) is organized with the now-defunct Topps Comics Lone Ranger and Tonto miniseries (1994, 4 issues), IDW's 3 Devils (2016, 4 issues) and SLG Publishing's Zeke Deadwood: Zombie Lawman (2009-11, 2 issues) series of one-shots in my short boxes.

Interestingly enough, this brief post about organizing my comic books also has me organizing y thoughts. The inclusion of Zeke Deadwood among more traditional Westerns alone has me considering my next reorganization project to further disaggregating Westerns into a Horror-Western Mash-up section. That project, however, will have to wait for the next snowstorm...