So, I have a confession to make. I am quickly becoming a comic book geek! It all started when Joss Whedon decided that it was time to write a Season 8 of my favorite TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in comic book form. How could I resist. Joss. Check. Buffy. Check. Comic Book. Check Check. Ever since comics have been my vice much like carmen’s unhealthy addiction to fiber products, mine come in the form of 24 +/- page comics and collections of comics printed in graphic novels.

At this point some of you may be asking, why the hell is lea writing about HER addiction on the main LT site instead of her own? Well, I’ll tell you. Comic books, for the most part, are sadly not green. They are usually made with non-recycled paper, and *wonderfully shiney* ink full of chemicals. Granted, most comic aficionados keep their comics and read them over and over again, comics aren’t like magazines and they’re not usually thrown away after one read, and they spend the rest of their glorious lives in little plastic sleeves. Oops, there’s hit number three- my comic books live in plastic *boo hiss* but, really, they need it!

Ok, so if you’re keeping points the score is as follows:
Non-Recycled Paper 1 point
*Glorious* Chemical Ink 1 point
Plastic Sleeves 1 point

So it’s green movement zero, kill the planet three. Sigh, I’m a bad greenie…

But here’s the thing, like almost everything else on the planet comic books can be green too!

Maxeem Konrady found a way to make comic books eco friendly whereas the process used to make the materials necessary to make a traditional comic are pretty painful.

Here are some facts from the article linked above:

Paper Production

• Consumes an enormous consumer of energy and resources
• Is the number one industrial process water user in the country
• Is the third-worst contributor of air emissions among all industries
• Is the fourth worst in discharges to streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
• Is the fourth-largest producer of carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming as it depletes the very trees that stave it off.

Green Comic Possibilities

• Vegetable-based inks
• 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper bleached with oxygen instead of chlorine

According to the article “the impact of using alternative materials is significant: using recycled paper not only saves trees, it also conserves energy and natural resources, using only 60 percent as much energy, reducing water pollution by 35 percent, and air pollution by 74 percent . Not to mention keeping paper products out of landfills, where they account for almost 40 percent of all municipal solid waste.” Very cool.

Why don’t comic publishers use green technology and recycled products? It costs them more, which in turn will raise the $3 price of a comic book which could decrease profits and potentially kill the comic industry.

What can we do? I want to do some more research and see what can be done. More to come on the ‘greening your hobbies’ series.