Let me preface this by saying that I’m not, strictly speaking, a “comic book person.” I’m only passingly aware of what transpires in the Marvel Comic Universe and couldn’t even pretend to hold my own in a discussion of the virtues of Marvel over DC or vice versa. There are a lot of bits of pop culture I enjoy, but the standard superhero story isn’t generally one of them.

Buffy, of course, is the exception. It’s a universe I really just can’t get enough of. I like to think it’s one of the more interesting, quirky elements in the vast array of things I choose to care about. I mean I’m allowed a bit of whimsy among the long list of captains of industry and warrior poets that otherwise fill so many of my shelves, right?

I only bring it up because today I won an online auction that will bring me up to date with the last three volumes of the “Library Edition” version of the venerable Dark Horse Buffy comic. Sure, there’s a good chance I overpaid a bit if you value such things in simple dollar terms… but getting Season 10 on the shelf is entirely worth it in terms of having the whole run of these delightfully illustrated, weighty books all together at last. Or at least it means I’ll have the whole run until Boom Studios releases their “library” treatment of the short Season 11 in a few months. I’ve already pre-ordered that, so no ruthless bidding war next time.

Being a completist collector in the universe of Buffy comics is probably cost prohibitive at this point. There are too many back issues, too many spin offs, too many cover variants. I should be satisfied with the Buffy-focused “special” edition collection I’ve put together and concentrate a bit more on digging up the Season 4-7 novels I still need to round out that collection… although there’s a very nice set of Angel and Faith library editions still in their plastic on offer that I’ve had my eye on for a while now… of course then I’d be chasing another set to completion, so I’d best brace myself to let that one pass for the time being.

If you’ve ever wondered exactly how the shelves I talked about yesterday get filled up so damned fast, consider this post nothing more than a brief glimpse into where my head goes when the bug is biting.