Lower Decks

This week’s column discusses Marvel’s Reborn, which is still a mystery to me, the Marvel OverPower card game and the problem of rereading comics.

Reborn Revealed; Captain America #600

Although the news is all over the Internet (I even saw a headline at CNN.com) I have thus far been able to keep away from any articles spoiling either Marvel’s upcoming Reborn series or Captain America #600, which came out today. I’ll probably get my copy of #600 next week through Marvel subscriptions. If I’m lucky. Can I stay away from spoilers for that long?

There’s always the possibility that the rumors and speculation I’ve read over the past few months was completely accurate and I’ve already been spoiled, in which case it doesn’t matter one way or the other. Still, I think I’ll try to read as little as possible. That does mean I’m not going to be able to keep up on how “big” this story is in the mainstream press. Is it Death of Captain America big or what?

Remember Marvel OverPower?

I recently found my six decks of Marvel OverPower hidden in my closet. Remember that game, first released in 1995? I don’t know why I ever thought I needed six decks. I think five are from the original release and one is Powersurge. I may also have some Mission Control cards. I don’t remember every actually playing OverPower all that much although the boxes for my decks are in really rough shape.

Unlike the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game, OverPower wasn’t even all that collectible. At least, I never felt like collecting it. The cards were drawn well enough, I suppose, but they weren’t “cool” the way the Star Trek CCG cards were. Were any OverPower cards ever considered rare the way certain Star Trek CCG cards were?

I’ve thought about trying to sell my OverPower cards on eBay but they don’t seem to be worth anything. The cards themselves might be near mint but the boxes certainly aren’t. You can buy entire boxes, still sealed, for under $10.

Rereading Comic Books

Here’s something that’s been bothering me lately. I don’t have a huge collection of comics but I have quite a few short boxes filled with bagged and boarded books. Many I haven’t had a chance to read once, let alone twice. Do people often reread comic books? I occasionally reread novels, especially if they’re part of a series and the gap between installments has been long. But comics?

I can’t remember actually rereading more than one or two issues and again only if I needed to catch up on past events before starting a new book. The few trade paperbacks I have may wind up being read more than once simply because they are easier to read. I don’t have to pull out a pile of books and take them out of their bags whenever I want to read a miniseries or a storyline.

What do other people do with their comics? Do they reread them every so often or just let them sit in their bags and boards, hopefully never gathering dust?