I’m down in New Zealand though so it is all a bit academic as any discount I’d get by ordering through Amazon or DCBS would be eaten up by shipping costs anyway.

TPB collections of monthly comics are nevertheless still often cheaper than buying ghe monthly comics, but I both lke the serial format and enjoy my weekly LCS ritual :-)

Another point to note, is that Vertigo’s TPBs in particular are sometimes worse printing quality wise than the monthly books are,(or at least they definitely appear that way).

Craig, it’s not just about price: some products may be worth more, because of excellent service or an intangible like prestige. But if your store doesn’t offer something worth the extra price, yeah, shopping there doesn’t make sense.

Chris: That’s the collectible aspect. People used to not mind buying comics so much because they could console themselves that they had resale value, if they changed their mind. But the bottom’s fallen out of that market, so now, the price seems higher because there’s no chance of any money back.

I have been on both sides of this fence, when I first got back into comics I wanted to read a bunch of trades to get caught up, but the only place I could find them was Amazon. The more I bought, the more I caught up and the more issues I started buying. I found a great LCS met some cool people there and then started coming in once a week to browse, chat and pick up some recommends. Now I’m spending too much money, somethings gotta go, and I’m back to ordering only from amazon. gotta pay the rent.

I’m not sure what I’d do if I didn’t have such good resources.

As an example, I’ve bought all four Absolute Sandman editions (I love the Absolute editions and have an unhealthy number of them). I bought them online from Canadian retailer Chapters. Total cost, including tax (5% GST), was $300.26 (each book is $71.48). Which don’t get me wrong, is still a lot of money.

If I had bought them from a comic store in Ontario (I live in the arctic, no comic stores nearby) then the cost would have been $515.28 ($456 for the books, the rest is at Ontario’s much higher tax rate). I saved more than $200 buying them from Chapters.

Like I said, not an idiot. This is an extreme example, but it happens to lesser degrees every month. I buy books that retail at close to US cover price, plus anywhere from an additional 20-40% off. Why would I go to a comic book store and pay cover when I’m saving that much money?

I’m hurting companies and stores doing this….no, I’m not. They’re hurting themselves by not being able to provide what I’m looking for at the best price. Welcome to capitalism. If they can’t do it, don’t blame me if I go looking elsewhere and find people who can.

And I was wondering if he had gotten a King-Sized tantrum thrown at him yet as he does what is in his best interest as a shopper.

Bill

“I visit my local shop as often as the comics accumulate to a tipping point of making it worth the trip (it’s about 30 miles away, much of it over a winding mountain road).”

Then I said:

“ADD–Your trip would take less time in you didn’t stop every week to play a duet with that banjo player on the porch.”

Then Johanna said:

“Alan,…play nice. ”

To which I now respond:

Sorry, Johanna, I was making a joke, not attacking ADD. When he mentioned traveling 30 miles over a winding mountain road, I flashed on the movie Deliverance, and the opening musical duet. Perhaps I should have included a smilie. ;-)

And I wouldn’t take the trouble to go on my own–I have lots of comics as it is. But it’s a nice adjunct to lunch with friends.

[...] column sparks discussion at the Pipeline Forum and at Comics Worth Reading, where de Blieck admits the email he’s received on the topic is “hilarious — it’s [...]

[...] (Caught it: Johanna Draper Carlson.) [...]

I do tend to buy trades through Amazon though, on account of the cheapness.

I hope people don’t freak out at Augie too hard for simply stating something kind of obvious like that though. If the industry is pushing people toward buying trades instead of singles, then weekly visits (or ANY visits) to comic shops become less imperative.

But a company charging readers $3.99 for a $2.99 comic book is basically asking them all to quit reading singles in favor of trades, and it’s those companies that would seem to desrve more ire than Augie (or anyone else reminding people that the Internet’s a pretty nice way to get trades).

I am enjoying comics, trades at least, though I only buy online with Amazon.

Right now I’m reading:

Captain America
Iron Fist – Brubaker has just made these books so relevant.

Incredible Hercules – I’ve only read the trade that picks up right after whatever that Hulk crossover was called. It was fun, but with strong hints of pathos.

Angel After The Fall – This came about because I’d just watched the last 2 seasons after years of them sitting on my shelf. So it picking up right then was good timing.

Scott Pilgrim, Nana, and many others.

Dang I just realized, there is still a comic I read in regular comic format. Love in Capes, though I wait for a few issues to be made before ordering them directly from the creator.

Despite the fact that we all have large stacks of reading material at home, we usually find something we haven’t seen before or that we just have to recommend to the others. I usually come away with a bag of new comics and some ideas for next time, although I have to admit that on our last trip (Wagamama in Harvard Square, followed by The Million Year Picnic) I was feeling the pinch and only bought a couple of books to be reviewed.

I just don’t have that weekly desire anymore, since so much of the stuff out there is just… well honestly, crap.

I’m constantly amazed that anyone actually goes in every week to a comic shop these days. I mean really, why?

I laugh when I see publishers talk about wanting to instill that weekly fever in fans. Yet even the good, or supposedly important stuff, always seems so delayed.

If you have to wait 10 months or more to read a 4 issue miniseries. Why exactly was I supposed to be so excited to go to a shop every week? And why exactly shouldn’t I just wait on the collection? (you know, if its one of those rare few that isn’t crap)

Alan, why should I care if DC or Marvel go out of business? They cancel the books I like from them anyway. If they’re not putting out material I want to buy, it doesn’t matter to me if they continue to exist or not.

I found it easy to switch to collections once I realized I wasn’t reading comics when they came out anyway. :)