“I’m waiting on the trade” has become almost as familiar a part of the comic-reader lexicon as “I’m Batman.” Now that costs for single issues have begun to jump from $2.99 to $3.99 per issue for the Big Two, it’s almost certain that we’ll hear that song with greater frequency. However, that begs one larger question: when you wait for the trade, do you ever actually get the trade?
I know quite a few people that are trade loyalists. They’ll get Fables, they’ll get the recently-departed 100 Bullets . . . they’ll get a number of titles. And yet, they’re content to take the several months between installments so that they can get a larger chunk of story at once.
Nevertheless, there’s a flipside to that. Some weekly shop-goers will move some of their ongoings to “trade wait” status, and never go back. Sure, the intention is there. But other weekly books supplant it, budget concerns creep in, and that trade-waited series gets remaindered to the “don’t read” category.
So, here are my questions: when you trade-wait, do you actually go back? Is there one that you’ve been meaning to get in all good faith, but just never get back to? If you try both, which works better for you: the weekly shop visit, or waiting for the trade? Let’s hear ‘em all.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
A few years ago, when Powers was getting later each issue, I decided if I was going to have to wait 8 months or longer I’d darn well wait until I had a full story. Then I forgot to keep track of the trades.
I finally picked up the latest trade a few weeks ago (FCBD, actually). After taking a quick look at the first few pages, I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting. So now I need to go back and fill in the stuff I missed.
May 29th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I would love to “wait for the trade” on all my books, but I think I have to wait until comic book culture shifts to that method, and trades become more frequent. As it stands, one-shots get thrown in with books you probably didn’t want, and sometimes a trade that you expect to come out doesn’t. Also, everybody’s already talking about a single issue the week it comes out, so I would have nothing to discuss at the shops, and be left out of the loop.
Having said that, its much more enjoyable to read a 6-issue arc all at one time, and I wish I could.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
The few titles that I do buy, nowdays. I almost always wait on the trade. Since almost no comic company out there can meet a monthly deadline anymore. I dont like waiting three months for an installment on a story. The first run of the Ultimates broke me of buying monthly titles.
The only book I bought and didnt wait on the trade for resently was Trinity. After seeing how DC broke up Countdown and 52 into a bizzilion different trades. I just bought every issue of 52, but didnt read them. When I am done typing this, I am sitting down to read them.
I was almost tempted to start reading the Old Man Logan issues when that run first started. Now, I am so glad I listened to my insticts and didnt. Especially after hearing about the mythical Giant Sized wrapup issue that might never come.
And lets not even get started on RIP and Final Crisis… lol
May 29th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I wait for the trades, because I do not have enough space and money to buy single comic issues each week. I like trades because if the story sucks I can always sell it on amazon lol
May 29th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
More and more, I’m waiting for the trades… Sometimes it’s because I’m joining a book late (Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run, and Vaughan’s Y and Ex Machina both), but now it’s more a case of dropping stuff and waiting to see if the story is really any decent or not. I’m down to just a small handful of floppies, and even those might give way to trades soon. Is Bru’s Captain America going up to $3.99? That’s probably heading to the trade route then. Same with Green Lantern, soon enough.
I’m passing on Blackest Night (the main title, that is) and waiting to see how it turns out. If it’s honestly as good as Sinestro Corps War was, I’ll buy it in trade (which will probably be 2011, given how DC will likely have the hardcover out for over a year first).
May 29th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
raverbane, 52 and countdown were collected into 4 trades each. that’s very far from a bizzilion and pretty decent sized books for a 52 issue series.
i read trades for everything. i probably read about 20 different titles (at least) and i don’t read any of them monthly. monthlies are for suckers.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I tend to be really bad about this. Especially with Marvel, which is not my preferred superhero universe, I’ll ignore a lot of monthlies with the intention of eventually getting caught up in trade. But then I forget all about them until some big event is going to happen, or I need to cover them for Comic Related, at which point I hurriedly buy all of the trades at once and read through a whole series in a weekend, thus catching me up and (as long as the book is any good at all) reinvigorating my interest in the title or characters because I’ve been so immersed in their world.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
In my current efforts to cut back costs instead of cutting back quantities, I’ve only just started my trade-waiting. I’ll buy three or four things in singles still, but everything else is going on the trade list. It’s like smoking two packs a day and then switching to a cigar once a week, but I’ma gonna give it my best effort. I just don’t have any bloody room left for the singles, and the trades are handsomer packages. It’s time to toss the nostalgia but keep the entertainment.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I’m at about 1/3 trades, 2/3 monthlies. I ten dto stick to trades where the continuity won’t affect other books, like SCALPED, or DAREDEVIL. I definitely like reading those more as trades in 1 or two sittings instead of over 7 or 8 months.
Where I tend to wait for the trade and then not follow through is on mini-series, which seem like something I want to read when solicited, then seem very skipable when the trade finally comes out.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I’m in the middle of switching over to trades, mainly just waiting for storylines or series to wrap up so that there is a clean break between the two and no overlap or gaps.
The cost is a huge factor. $4 for an unknown quantity, likely only one part of a larger story is too much to ask. It’s a much safer bet to hang back, gauge the reaction to a story online and pick it up in collected format once it is released. Plus with the discounts available on Amazon and In Stock Trades you are likely paying less than you would for the single issues anyway, without all the ads. It’s just a better overall reading experience.
That said, there are definitely series that I was getting monthly that I now have no intention of picking up in trade because I found I was buying them more out of habit than anything else. I had every intention of following them in trades but found out I just didn’t miss them that much and had other titles that were more deserving of my money. That’s one of the risks of switching over to trades, but if you like a series enough you’ll keep following it after the trade switch.
(And I haven’t even touched the space issue. It’s sooooooo much easier to load trades onto a bookshelf than it is to find room for yet another long box.)
May 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I do a little bit of both but mostly I wait a while between books. I just bought both volumes of GL: Sinestro War, waiting for them to be out in paperback. I refuse to pay for the hardcover.
All trades, no floppies.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I now tradewait on almost ALL of my titles, except of course for indy titles where I prefer to support them on monthly schedule, and maybe buy the trades as well if they offer neat extras or look cool (i.e. the recent LOCAL omnibus, Casanova, etc)
as for the titles from the Big Four, i do wait for the trade, or for the hardcover (i.e. the beautiful Walking Dead collections, or Invincible, or the Omnibus and Absolute editions of other stuff), which i buy off Amazon (for their 34% discount) or on eBay for up to 50-80% savings. Meanwhile, I’m really bad at waiting months for some stories, especially the big crossovers or stuff like Fraction’s Uncanny Xmen etc, so I do end up reading those as they come out by downloading all of the weekly scans from the torrent sites, to get my weekly fix.
Factors that would break my trade-waiting are mostly creator-loyalty (i’ll still buy anything Jason Aaron does in floppies, or Gail Simone, Mike Carey, Fraction), interconnecting covers (i.e. Xmen Legacy, which simply doesn’t show as well in trade) or simply cant-resist-beautiful covers (the Unwritten, Fables)
May 29th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Besides Star Trek’s Countdown, any non-DC book is a trade for me. Even Buffy Season 8! Same goes for Y and Ex Machina.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Unless Tales Designed to Thrizzle goes trade only, I will only have one monthly to pick up Power Girl, unless the Doom Patrol/Metal Men book takes more than 15 minutes to read, and given that Young Liars is about to be cancelled, I will be going the trade route on that as well. Monthly prices are too crazy for too little content. Reading the essential collections from both Marvel and DC and remembering how much more content they used to put into as little as 17 pages, I can’t justify spending the equivalent of 16-20 an hour to be entertained.
D&Q, Fantagraphics, and Top Shelf have made my overall decision on trades easier as they publish a minimal to no floppies anymore. Given how few of today’s Marvel and DC comics hold up to even a short test of time I go trade only, and usually wait until a creators arc has concluded or the series has several trades to begin picking them up.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I have heavily considered switching over to waiting for the trades. I am mainly a DC man. I already buy Fables in TPB form.
I buy several monthly comics though. I’d switch to trades but there are a number of factors that prevent me from doing so:
1) The number one reason is Hardcover trades. I don’t like them. I don’t like the feel of reading comic books in something with a hardcover. I can’t really explain it, but it just feels wrong. Plus is it really necessary when your collecting, what? Five issues in the book?
Worst of all, DC has begun to put out only Hardcover trades now, eventually coming out with softcover like half a year after or something. I can’t wait that long.
2) Oftentimes, they will leave things out, or change the order or something. A Prime example (pun intended) is the Sinestro Corps War. It is all there, but then they put the Tales of the Sinestro Corps specials in a separate trade. Some of these issues actually revealed key points and events in the war. I’d like to read them in the place they were intended to be, not as a separate thing. Hopefully in the inevitable Complete Sinestro Corps edition, they are inserted in the place they are supposed to be.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I’m slowly starting to move to trades especially limited/mini series. Kevin Smith’s next Batman, the new Animal Series, JLA_Cry for Justice are just a few titles I normally would pick up monthly, but in an attempt to cut costs I’m considering moving to trades.
Same thing for “new” series like Red Robin and Streets of Gotham.
Up to now, I’ve stuck to trades for series that have been/are on going, but I’m late to the party. I’ve just started Y and have Fables and Astro City on the shelf waiting to be read. 100 Bullets will be there soon. But more and more, trades seem to be the more economical (though less entertaining) option. As odd as it may sound, half the appeal of reading monthly is the community, even if just on line. To be able to share notes/thoughts about the books week to week.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I’ll buy first issues to get a taste of something, particularly at a discounted price, but it’s rare that I’ll stay on afterwards. To collect a full story, I almost always wait for the trade. They’re practical, handsome, tell a complete story, and are easy to store on a bookshelf without special bags and boards, and they aren’t packed with obnoxious advertising pages.
I do miss some stories this way, but not the ones I want. To a large degree I tend to trade surprise for insurance of quality, so I read preview pages and reviews of any series I’m interested in. It often happens that an artist will be replaced mid-way, in which case I’ll usually drop my plans to buy the trade. Or sometimes the plot will go south, in which case I’ll rethink my plans. Lately price has become an issue, as Marvel is publishing its premiere titles in thin hardcovers at higher prices, so that a book collecting 3 to 4 issues of a lead title costs the same as book collecting 6 of a less popular title. At that point, I pass.
At the end of the day, I don’t much care about the practical realities of producing serial comics on time. Not my problem, and I’m not going to subsidize rushed or amateurish work. I want well-written and well-drawn stories by people who do the job at the top of their game, and I want it at a reasonable price. Generally, I get all of that simply by being patient and selective.
Do I end up buying less comics because I “wait”? For me the reverse is true. I stopped buying floppies in Jr. High, and having readily available trades helped get me back into comics many years later. Frankly single issues are overpriced, a headache to constantly shop for (put me on your pull list, oh no I missed an issue, I’ll order it and pay a higher price and shipping from an online vendor, I want it but there’s only one left and the cover’s bent), and a pain to keep in decent condition. A bother.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
For me waiting for the trade is just like going to my local comics shop every month; I buy titles regularly, just in trade format. It’s the same to scan Previews and mark the trades I want as it was to scan and mark the single issues.
With rising prices, I’ve put aside some books like Y: The Last Man and Fables; at this point, I’m likely to wait until all the volumes are out in deluxe format before I get them. Then there’s titles like Birds of Prey and Blue Beetle that I’ve started asking for as holiday gifts instead of buying, or like Detective Comics that I’m waiting until the hardcovers come out as softcovers.
These days trades are so expensive that a publisher really has to make a story important for me to buy it right away, and even more important for me to get it in hardcover. Otherwise it may not make the monthly cut.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
To answer your questions, Troy:
I started phasing out the weekly/monthly grind about ten years ago. Books with established trade programs (Usagi Yojimbo, Bone) were dropped basically instantly. Books with massive delays between issues (Berlin, Age of Bronze, Love & Rockets, A Distant Soil) were dropped also with the hope that they’d eventually be collected (L&R falls into the “established trades” list also, but the delay was a big factor).
With Vertigo stuff and superhero comics, I cut stuff that seemed highly likely to be collected (Vertigo) right away, and simply refused to start reading a new series when one launched. If a series didn’t get collected, too bad for that comic became my attitude. So I miss a good comic book series; I certainly won’t have enough time in my life to read every great piece of prose literature, so I can live with missing a few good comics. Besides, it’s the publisher’s job to put out material that the consumer wants; it’s not my job to support the industry or to buy formats that I don’t want in some vague hope that I’ll later get the format I do want (for those who’d argue that a series might never get a collection if I don’t buy it monthly).
As creative teams changed or series were cancelled, my pull-list of monthlies quickly diminished. I think I was 100% trades within two years. The last Abnett/Lanning LEGION issue was my last monthly.
Yes, yes, there are definitely books I intend to get back to reading, but never do. I see that as one of the GREAT benefits of trade-waiting. When a monthly comic cost me $2 or so, it was easy to throw down my $2 and hope that this was the issue when a series would pick up. At $15-20 a pop, I’m much more discerning about what I’ll spend my comics budget on now. I still have occasional mis-steps, but by and large, I enjoy comics now more than ever.
Going to the shop every week was always a chore to me, and reading longer storylines in chunks never seemed an ideal storytelling method. Trades are still not my ideal; you still have artificial cliffhangers jammed in ever 20 or so pages, so the pacing becomes more a reflection of the format than the story’s actual demands.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I’ll agree with most of the people here, and say that I made the full transition to trades, but I know what Troy is talking about. When I started focusing on trades for budgetary reasons, I had every intention of collecting The Flash (the end of the Johns run) in trade, but never got around to it.
It’s a trade-off. You lose the immediacy of reading a story as each installment comes out. But in return you gain the ability to find out what the general consensus of the story is as it comes out, so you know ahead of time if a story is worth it. For example, I know that I’m not going to buy Final Crisis in collected form, unless it’s super-cheap. But hopefully, when the new Metal Men series is collected, it’ll be worth picking up.
Plus, there’s the added benefit that a collected edition is a lot easier to find and buy two years after its published than an individual issue is.
May 29th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I tend wait for the trade but what is up with the Big 2 coming out in hardback (standard or “Premiere) first and then softcover way later. I prefer the oversized hardcovers from Marvel but there’s less and less of that.
Being in Canada somewhat sucks because I still think Marvel’s price on the trades are still a bit higher than DC’s.
I prefer Vertigo’s trades for Volume 1s because it’s at a good price point for people interested.
So far, Vertigo hasn’t really screwed fans over because they release on softcover first.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I prefer “floppies”, and currently have about 15 monthlies on my pull list.
Honestly, on the occasions I’ve said I’d wait for the trade, I either wait to borrow someone else’s copy, or I forget, or the interest fades by the time it comes out.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I do 50/50.
Monthly must haves:
Flash
Green Lantern
Tiny Titans
Trades:
Captain America
Fables
May 29th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I have a few titles that are monthly. Those are JSA, JLA, Titans, and Brave and Bold. To me trades are a cost savings. It is less expensive to buy a trade than each issue. I discovered Birds of Prey through trades and have all the trades. I like Green Lantern/ Corps and I am collecting the trades. I want Blackest Night, but I am waiting for the trade. I can wait and save the money. Besides when there is a storyline going on why am I going to collect each individual issue when I can collect the whole thing in trades. An example of this would be Batman WarGames. No way would I spend on all those titles for that story, but I collected it all in trades. Trades also give me a way to try something out like Captain America. No way would I do it in monthly when I can enjoy it more in trades, save money, and not have to look at all the stupid adds that we pay for. Sorry DC and Marvel. Well I am not sorry. They did this to themselves. Give us better writting, more for our money, and maybe we will do the monthlies. And Dan Didio I can wait for the trades no matter how much excitement you think is being created by the monthly. Get a reality check.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
DC I still get primarily monthly but only because their trades take so long to come out. Marvel I am almost completely TPB or premier hardcover.
Image I am about 50/50. Walking Dead I get in TPB, but only because I feel it reads better in that format. Savage Dragon I get monthly for the same reason.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I still buy single issues on my core titles that I’ve collected faithfully over the years. For newer titles, I wait.
Some TPB’s I buy: Walking Dead, Superman/Batman, Invincible, Planet Hulk/Hulk
Some I have also not gone back for: Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy, Annhilation, 1985, X-Force, Daredevil, Ms. Marvel, Ant-Man, Legion.
May 29th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
The only books I buy monthly are the ones that I feel need my support, like Jack Staff, Madman, Echo, and The Goon; Daredevil which I’ve been collecting forever, so might as well stick with it; those with creators whom I dig too much to trade for (i.e. Morrison and Quitely on anything, JH Williams on anything, Kyle Hotz on anything). Books I’m determined to trade wait and been successful with so far: Walking Dead, Invincible, Astonishing Wolf-Man, X-Factor, Booster Gold, JSA, DMZ, Scalped, BPRD, and Hellboy.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I’ve always been far too much of an “instant gratification” type to “wait for the trade”. The first time I ever read a significant chunk of a series (at the time) in trade was Ultimate Spider-Man, which I was introduced to about a year and a half into its run–but after enjoying the first trade, I started picking up current issues (and a couple of back issues) as well as the other trades so that I could jump into the ongoing without waiting. I’ve wanted to do the same with Fables, but I started out way behind (picked up the first collection about a year ago), and my disposable income isn’t sufficient (especially nowadays) to catch up, so I guess in that case, I’m waiting for the trade by default.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Its been 4 years or so that I have only bought TPB or HC; I just go to the comic book shop once a month to get the Previews magazine, I then make a list of everything that interests me (mostly non-superhero, mature stories, Marvel Max, Avatar, Dark Horse, Image, etc) I then look for reviews or previews of whats new on the list I made and then order from Amazon.ca ang get free delivery with a 37% rebate.
It might be tought at first because from the time you see something solicited in Previews to the time it comes out in TPB, it can be about 10 months or so for a 6 issue mini series, but when you do that for everything, you get a nice rotation going on, and I actually get a few TPB every 4-6 weeks or so.
Works out great for me, but if you mainly buy superheroes, it can be hard if you are not sure if the stuff is going to get collected.
I cannot go back to monthlies; it does not make sense, it feels cheap, theres ads, it reads so much better as a whole, the way the story was intended for anyway !
May 29th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
I am a stricky trade guy. In fact I buy more in TPB than I could if I would buy just issues.
Most companies seems to write for the TPBs now anyways which just encourages it anyways. Comic prices were too high at 2.99, but 3.99. This could literally be a matter of having lunch or getting one comic for people.
What I don’t like about waiting for TPBs is the Hardcover versions. Marvel generally releases all popular or high selling series in a Premire Hardcover then six months later releases the soft cover. I’ve learned to wait that six months. And I think it is worth it. TPBs are cheaper, lighter, and take up less space than the Hardcovers.
What I really hate is Oversized Hardcovers that come out first. For example, this week Marvel released X-Men: World’s Apart (which already bugs me that they won’t just call it a Storm mini) as a Oversized Hardcover. Why does this four issue mini that is not a flagship title, critically acclaimed, or a high seller given this treatment? Nothing against this title, I’m slightly bitter because I really want to get it. But for HCs I have to wait six months to a year. Or the Uncanny/X-Men: Manifest Destiny Hardcovers… a thirty dollar hard cover that has about 6-7 issues each. X-Men: Messiah Complex and most other Oversized Hardcovers generally contain 13 issues for the SAME PRICE! So now I have to wait for a TPB that I most likely won’t get because the TPB will also be overpriced as well. Am I going to get the single issues? No, like I said I stick to TPBs. So I’ll but them during a bargin sale, if at all.
Now we have digests. Marvel Adventures: Avengers started at seven dollars for volumes 1 through 4. Volume 5 was eight. Volume 6 was nine. And now I believe they are 10 dollars. Four issues… ten dollars. I stopped buying the series. Then we have Runaways… a series which was saved because of digest sales. Joss Whedon becomes writer and the upgrade it to a Premire Hardcover. Six months later gets a TPB (which doesn’t fit with the rest of my Runaways digests). Which I end up buying thinking that was it. Then six months after that its announced they are releasing it as a digest.
So the prices have gone up and I have wait longer. That makes me drop titles I would have gotten had they were reasonably priced and kept my interest.
With money being tight as it is I buy most of my TPBs at Borders with coupons and I try and hold out for 30% off or higher.
X-Men is really the series that keeps into comics and the quality is lacking lately and has be considering dropping anyways. Emma’s involvement in Dark Reign is what is keeping me going for now.
End fanboy rant.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Some of these books I end up waiting so long for (usually because they get done in the unnecessarily expensive “Premiere hardcover” format first) that I wind up losing interest completely. In some cases Marvel in particular puts the paperback edition at such a time that if you did wait for it, you would end up being a whole year behind the original issues. By which time the story might well have been spoiled to you by someone who blurted it out in the comic shop or on the internet somewhere, or you might be more interested in whatever the current thing is, or you’ve forgotten you were waiting for this and already spent all your money on a lifetime supply of Doritos. They just need to speed the whole process up! Does anyone really buy those Premiere Hardcovers (I frequently see a few in each comic shop but they never seem to get sold), and if so why?!!
May 29th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
I love going to the store each week. i do not buy any crossovers at all…i get the trades if they look interesting, but while they are happening, i just ignore the entire lines…which leaves me buying mostly smaller comic book company titles…and if they look cool, i get the singles.
i haven’t bought a crossover comic since the 90′s…not kidding. they are book killers for me on every level. i know…its just me.
May 29th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I trade-wait for ongoings I’d like to buy on a monthly basis but don’t always have the money for. Daredevil & Fables are the big ones, but Daredevil will stop once Ed Brubaker leaves the book. It gives me the option of getting an ongoing I’d like to read while also letting me buy it at my leisure, as I always feel obligated to buy everything in my box when I go in to my LCS
May 29th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I buy HC and TPBs exclusively (except for a select few comics like Savage Dragon). I have a trade pull list with my local store (Ultimate Comics) and they pull my trades just like they pulled my monthly comics.
May 29th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I have titles I buy as trades and other titles I buy as singles.
If I am late to pick-up a series, such as Ultimate Spider-Man when it was on issue 102, I go the trade route. I can pick up a trade whenever I have a slow week of monthlies and rarely be stuck waiting for the next trade since it takes a while to catch up.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Personally I still go to the comic shop every week, I just buy one to two trades instead of 4-8 issues. I tend to spend less and get more in the long run. The other nice thing about it is that since I have friends who religiously buy weekly singles, I get my reviews from trusted sources. I always check to see who’s making a series I’m hearing about and if it’s doing well. If it is and I’m reasonably likely to see a trade later, it’ll go into my memory and I’ll grab it then. That’s why I just now started picking up the Fraction run on Iron Fist. It only took a couple of weeks to catch up on the trades, and it’s a nice break while I’m waiting for other stuff.
If it’s a limited series through an indie publisher let’s say, something that stands a good chance of not getting traded, I’ll pick up the monthlies (provided it’s worth the extra cost and copious amounts of adds etc). Even then I’m only picking up one or two singles a month tops.
What I’ve noticed is that I’ll get a nice cycle going. I’ll start collecting one book in trade format weekly, and by the time I’ve caught up to it or finished the series (as I’m about to with 100 Bullets) I’ll have another series that I’ve been waiting to dive into. I’ll finish that one, and by then another trade or three for a series I was collecting has come out, or I’ll have heard about another book that I want to pick up, and so the cycle continues.
I’m buying about a trade a week right now and I will say this if nothing else: they look better on a shelf, they last longer structurally than singles, and the BS of adds and higher paper costs is hitting me much less. If i’m a few months behind on continuity, well, that’s a trade (no pun intended) I’m willing to make.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
“Yes, yes, there are definitely books I intend to get back to reading, but never do. I see that as one of the GREAT benefits of trade-waiting. When a monthly comic cost me $2 or so, it was easy to throw down my $2 and hope that this was the issue when a series would pick up. At $15-20 a pop, I’m much more discerning about what I’ll spend my comics budget on now. I still have occasional mis-steps, but by and large, I enjoy comics now more than ever.”
This is an amazingly insightful thing to say, and I agree wholeheartedly. Going to trades will make you MUCH more discerning a reader, and frankly I think comics could benefit from that kind of shift. It makes creators more creative, and publishers more concerned with good storytelling over flashy storytelling.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I go to the store each week, and usually get the super hero type books as they come out. But more and more, I’ve been moving my Vertigos and a few other things to trade. For example, I had been getting Fables monthly, but Jack of Fables in trade. But with the Great Fables Crossover, I figured it was time to move Fables to trade, as I was pretty sure it would be collected all together.
There have been titles I decided to stop getting monthly, and then never got around to getting the trades (I also lost track of where I was in the Powers collections, and then figured I just didn’t really need to keep getting them). But then, there’s also a bunch of trades I’ve picked up that I never would have gotten the monthlies of, because I found them on sale (like Blue Beetle). And when I’ve picked up some series on a monthly basis, it’s been helpful to get the back issues in trade (like Green Lantern Corps).
May 29th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
it is about half and half for me but more and more I have dropping monthly books for trades…although I do collect a lot in monthlies..changes in quality and price forced me to drop a lot of books so now I am just collecting 14 books on a reg. basis with Fables, Astro City, X-books and possibly Thor being the series I’ll trade wait on.
May 29th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Actually, I found that since I’ve switched to trades, I’ve actually have bought more comics that I wouldn’t have bought in the past when I was buying the singles. Because I used to buy the singles and then get the trades when they came out and dump the singles at a place like Half Price Books. But with going just to trades, it freed up money to try other books.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
NewMutant has some really good points about how inconsistent Marvel and DC are about collecting their material. Most of it does get collected now, but you never know what format it’s going to appear in. I waited for Cap America: Winter Soldier in a one-volume hardcover (ala Ultimates) and that never happened, and I eventually fell far enough behind on Cap that I won’t bother trying to catch up now. Four+ years of stories, longer than I’d probably have stuck with it if I had picked up Winter Soldier, so I guess that worked out for me in the long run.
Jimmy, even when I went to the shop weekly, crossovers were a huge turn-off for me. There were a few exceptions (if I had to buy one extra book and I’d heard good things about it anyway), but I remember reading Chuck Dixon’s Robin and Nightwing runs, but I’d have 4-6 month gaps in my collection every year because I wouldn’t buy every single Bat-title to follow the annual crossover.
Crossovers in trade, a pain in the ass, too. I skip them. I’m lucky to find more than a handful of titles at Marvel or DC that match a writer, an artist and a character that appeal to me. Adding extra creators and characters to the mix rarely ends well.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I buy series I want to really support on a monthly basis. The others (major series that sell well and won’t be cancelled) on TPBs.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Man, why don’t people ever intend puns? You’re just wasting golden opportunities.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
i’ve waited for the trade for years with most of my Vertigo, Oni, Dark Horse and other more independent or creator owned type stuff, books that are a little more literary and closed ended. i’ll also occasionally do it with mini series that i can’t fit into my budget. though with the price hike, i’m moving more and more of my books into the “wait for trade” category. the rest of my Vertigo reading list, the new Ultimate titles, Icon books (except Criminal…i love the back up features too much to give them up right now). and once the prices go up line wide for Marvel and DC, i’ll probably start doing everything in trade. that’s about the only way i’ll still be able to afford the stuff i like without making drastic cuts. though i’ll miss getting new issues on Wednesdays and being on top of stories as they’re happening…sigh…
May 29th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Well, I’ve just started to drop monthly titles in favor of trades, and have found that I must be growing more patient in my old age– I barely flinched when I saw the latest Echo and Air on the stands without picking them up.
Right now, I’m moving towards getting the trades of things I’ll want on my shelf for years to come– that mostly means my indie and creator-owned titles. I’m still figuring out where this leaves most of my superhero stuff. I’m holding off on buying most minis that tempt me, but then I usually forget to buy the trade when they come out.
May 29th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I was getting increasingly mad when I would read my 22 pages of story and there were 4 pages in a row of ads. When I finished the comic I thought, “That’s it?!?” There was barely any story. I missed the boat on books like Invincible and Walking Dead so I started those in trade and thought why would I want to go to monthly for such little story? Not those books exactly but you get my meaning. I also was into Hellboy and BPRD on a monthly basis but switched over to trades. Some of the trades are for books that you can’t get for any where near the price of the hardcover or trade like Bone or Mage. Sure, it’s hard to wait eight months for something to finish and then another month or three to solicit and then sometimes they don’t come out on time but I have found it much more satisfying to read a whole story in a sitting or a few sittings. I didn’t like having to wait three months in between issues to complete a story(Yes, I am talking to you, Powers!) I have even bought some of the big hardcover Absolutes, Omnibuses and collections like Walking Dead, Hush, Invincible and others. Use Amazon or Ebay for this big purchases!! You get 35% or more off and if you gang a couple together, Free Shipping! My mouth still waters when I walk into the comic book store and see something like the Fables cross over knowing that I will have to wait for 9 issues to come out and then a few more months for the book but I know it’s worth the wait because of the story. I have been dropping books because of the story or art lacking but I know I can pick up a trade if there is a good arc or a good artist on a book. Like Planet Hulk, Sinestro Wars and such. It is a pretty good feeling holding a substantial book in your hands while reading rather than a flimsy little comic. I find that if you really want to read the story you will remember the book six months later when it comes out in trade. You just get in the habit of looking through the trade section.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
all i do is wait for Hardcovers and Trade’s, i dont have the storage space for single’s anymore and i’m getting tired off all the adspaces in the singles so all i have is Harcovers and Trade’s.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
I only buy titles that I simply can’t wait to read, like Secret Six, but if it’s not a title that I like a lot I wait to see what the buzz looks like for the arc that’ll be collected; if I was curious about a book and the arc is getting good word-of-mouth then I’ll pick up the trade when it comes out.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
I’ve just started buying all my comics online new and old.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
ah,, the singel issues, is should say.
May 29th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Do to budget there are some things I wait for the trade. Mainly because I work at Barnes & Noble and get an employee discount. But there are some title that I only get monthly.
Now on some of the monthly titles I will get the trade later if it’s a story I really like. And the truth of the matter some stories just read better in trade format.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:47 am
I’ve decided to grab trades only for a few things:
1) miniseries that really aren’t part of anything like the recent Doom mini from Marvel. I’m grabbing the trade. Only exceptions will be events and select tie ins and Marvel Zombies, i really can’t do without that.
2) Series that are done or I arrived late to like Strangers in Paradise, Exiles and Sandman as examples of completed series and Walking Dead for arriving late example.
3) Due to cost and the fact I’m sick of IDW spewing out monthly Obama Comics, I’ve dropped Transformers Generation One books in favor of trades for the minis but still grab the Spotlight books.
3) Essentials. I love ‘em.
But when it comes to things like Amazing Spider-Man or Fables and Jack of Fables I would never be able to drop them in favor of trades. I much prefer getting the regular monthly releases but have gotten used to sacrificing them in favor of money for other things.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:58 am
I trade wait(ed) on 100 bullets, Fables, the Walking dead and Preacher. I intended to trade wait on Y the last man but ended up reading a friend’s instead so i only have the first 4 volumes and will wait for good offers. Like books, I want to be able to proudly display a complete collection on my shelves which can’t be done with Batman, Avengers etc.
I don’t trade wait on Marvel/DC as it is impossible to get a self-contained trade, which is why I’m a vertigo/image/indie collector. When I think about it, the trade waits are my favourite titles too.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:15 am
I find it funny that the two options listed are “weekly store runs” or “wait for the trade”. I think that pretty much explains what happens to most folks, as we dont have a local store to visit weekly, we have to wait for the trade (or subscribe or use a mail order – pay in advance subscription service).
May 30th, 2009 at 4:20 am
I am moving a lot of my monthly titles to trade at the minute. The rapidly increasing cost of floppies is forcing this issue at a time when my disposable income is at it’s lowest level ever. Companies who bemoan the trade-waiting stance need to reassess these price increases. At the moment it takes a lot for something to be added to my pull list.
Fables and 100 Bullets are not very good examples in this article as everyone would agree that they work much much better in trade format. I personally buy 100 Bullets in both formats.
May 30th, 2009 at 4:52 am
As a devoted comic reader, I feel you should balance them out. It’s like a big movie – it won’t come out on DVD if it never makes the theaters, and the theater experience makes a difference.
I didn’t read every response, but Russ’ own stuck out because I’m pretty much the same…I’ll ignore certain monthlies then forget the series altogether because of the next big story. I can’t begin to say how many times I’d say: “I’ll buy that Nightwing story in trade,” and my shelf is Grayson-less.
So although my monthlies are down to less than 10 (couldn’t imagine this two years ago), which includes a few miniseries, I still buy my monthlies. I hate sounding all nostalgic, but after 23 (gasp!) years of collecting, one of my greatest joys is buying a stack of books – since I only make it to the shop every 2-3 weeks now – and sitting down and reading. It’s so relaxing. I can’t do that w/trades cause I’ll want to read the whole thing. And with trades, I like to serialize the parts of them especially since they cost so much.
That said, I will be picking up the El Diablo trade since my shop always ran out of the single issues but the story was so compelling. I like Vertigo trades too, so I may pick up a Fables one at the same time since I never get to read that. Or maybe even Y the Last Man.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:24 am
I still get my core Monthlies but get the GN as well. Eventually I’ll sell the comics as I’ll have the stories in collected editions. Sort of like Tivoing my TV shows but then getting the DVD set.
I do feel that Digital distribution monthly and collected editions are the future of the industry.
I’m a little baffled by everyone’s complaining about the HC editions. This is standard in the Book Industry as the HC comes out first and usually a year later the PB so six months isn’t really that long.
I personally LOVE the HC editions and have been buying the Omnibus’ coming out lately.
I’m really excited about the upcoming Green Lantern/Green Arrow Absolute Edition coming out next year.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Michael said: “I waited for Cap America: Winter Soldier in a one-volume hardcover (ala Ultimates) and that never happened, and I eventually fell far enough behind on Cap that I won’t bother trying to catch up now. Four+ years of stories, longer than I’d probably have stuck with it if I had picked up Winter Soldier, so I guess that worked out for me in the long run.”
I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you this, Michael, but you’re missing out on one of the best comic reads out there. Bru’s run has been nothing short of excellence. So I bought the two-volume TPBs of the Winter Soldier story arc awhile back (which I think has been replaced by a one-volume HC now? That’s been the Marvel trend of late) and it was great stuff. Probably about the same price as one HC would’ve been. It wouldn’t take you that long to catch up.
May 30th, 2009 at 7:04 am
space, money, time… I’m a big Hawkeye/Mockingbird fan. Got excited when the New Avengers: Reunion L.S. was announced, after issue 2, My thoughts were literally This story would be soo much better read in as a TPB. every issue it feels like the story gets rolling, you catch up to what happened with Mockingbird with the Skrulls, get into the present day spysh/counterterrorism angle and stop. end issue. Especially with the Limited Seieses if they are writing/creating them with the tradepaperback format in mind, why shouldn’t I be buying them that way?
May 30th, 2009 at 8:06 am
TPB’s (I still sometimes call them ‘compilations’) work when you miss a specific set of comics and don’t have the time, patience or cash to search for evey last issue. They also work as a gift from a non-comic collector to one who is for the same reason.
They do increase in value if you get at least one signature from one of the artists or writers of said set.
Right now, it’s easier for me to pick up the individual issues of The Dark Tower series (for my GF) than to wait until the HC collection hits (when I don’t have the cash to lay out). She decided to just pick up the HC collections of The Stand series’ when they hit.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:26 am
I used to “trade wait” before Dark Reign exploded for Marvel and the killing of Bruce Wayne. Now its just look at a couple of single issues of whatever little’s out there that interests me. Its getting smaller and smaller by the week.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I stopped buying almost all books, and just go for the trades. The european way (complete stories, published when they are ready) makes more sense to me — you get a whole unit of storytelling, which you can enjoy at your pleasure, instead of doing it over several months, a bit at a time.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:13 am
If I switch to the trade from the monthly it might take me a year or to 2 to pull through and get the trade… I usually stick to the format I initially pick it up in, for example: Invincible, Walking Dead, DMZ and Northlanders I get in trades and Go monthly for everything else I buy. I’ve also dropped some titles cause of the price raise but I’ll most probably just leave them at that.
Then again $4 for “Locke and Key” from IDW is so worth it!!!
May 30th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Back in 99 when I really got in to comics, I was a trade man, for everything, Ultimate Spidey in 00 and Later on into Superman/Batman I kept that up until Infinite Crisis because I couldn’t wait. But now I am slowly going back to trade this past year, I’m just getting to the point were I decide that it’s easier for me to read all in one sitting, and what ones I really want on my shelf to make an awesome library.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Almost every customer that tells me they’re “waiting for the trade” don’t pick up the trade when it comes out.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:45 am
I do buy minis in trade nowdays or books i am only midly intrested in
May 30th, 2009 at 11:32 am
I buy a lot of stories in Hardcover, so I do actually “wait for the trade” and then purchase it. I just like the look of the hardcover on my shelves, the complete story aspect, the lack of delay between issues, and the ease of care. I probably buy as many “comics” now as ever, I just get them in 2 different formats.
May 30th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I think true comic book fans don’t buy trades. People who buy trades are trade paperback fans, not comic fans. I live in the SF Bay Area and we have about 3-4 really good conventions here every year, so I am a wait for the convention guy. I buy a minimum number of books every month that I know will be super hard to find in back issue bins. Then, when ever a convention rolls around I pick up large runs of books for way under cover price. Not only do I get to read a complete story, but I can pay 1-2 bucks tax free for a 2.99-3.99 book. Plus, what real comic book fan doesn’t love the hunt of digging and diggin thru boxes all day to fnd that one last book to complete a run of something?
May 30th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
For me the biggest draw in the whole comic medium is the use of serial story telling. As much as I enjoy a nice one-and-done, for me the real draw is the big picture story of the characters. Because of this I really enjoy trade-waiting. I really do buy my trades. I currently follow well over a dozen titles and pick up the trades as soon as they are available. (The Big Two need to get better about cranking trades out sooner…)
Also from a collector’s standpoint, trades just look better on a bookshelf than monthly floppies. I love the look of my shelves with all my titles collected and organized. And finally one of the biggest plusses in the trade column are the lack of ads. It is why I enjoy buying tv shows on DVD. I am not pulled out of my story by some advertisment on every other page. Trades feel better. Trades feel more complete. Trades just feel right.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Marvel are amazingly fast and fairly cheap at getting trades out in terms of cost, DC on the other hand a little more expensive and take forever to do them. Spiderman trades work out better for me than the comic book (given its 3 times a week status), but my fave characters at dc rarely have theirs appear untill at least a year later! dc ae really missing a revenue shceme here.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hey – I don’t just trade wait, I actually wait for the nice hardcover books on Walking Dead. It is killer to wait, but the story is great.
I trade wait on HAWAIIAN DICK (where is volume 3), OKKO, REX MUNDI, SEAGUY, SCALPED, and DMZ. By writing these down, I just noticed that I only trade wait on either limited series or Vertigo! Probably the Vertigo ones because I just don’t know if they are going to last. I don’t want to put in an emotional investment if they are not going to last, so I will wait for a complete story. All others I just can’t do it.
I think the monthly format rocks, especially for the books that impact the status quo of the characters that I love. Why wait 6 months to find out Vigilante plucked out the eyes of Jericho!?!
May 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
As far as trades go, 9 times out of 10 I buy trades of previous series or runs I’ve enjoyed so I can have a collected story on my book shelf. In other words, If I really enjoyed something I’ll end up paying for it ‘twice.’ If I’m into a series, I’ll usually limp along with a procrastinating artist despite the fact that I loathe late books. Hypocritical but true. Lateness completely ruined most of the excitement of Ultimates for me but I ended up enjoying the series so much as a whole that i did end buying the collected trades anyway. Trades for me are really about just having an easily accessible collection of the story rather than a dozen loose issues. Occasionally I will pick up trades of series I hadn’t previously followed. But most of my trades comprise recent (LoEG, All Star Supes, Justice, Y, Astonishing) runs and classic runs from the past (Watchmen, DKR, Byrne FF, Clarmemont/Byrne FF, FF Ominbus, Morrison’s JLA & DP, World’s Finest or early Lee/Ditko Spiderman, etc…
May 30th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
The only book I buy in trade is Usagi Yojimbo. And I’ve done so since 1989.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Long-time fan here. With rising prices of the monthly “pamphlets”, in addition to the current culture of decompressed storytelling and “writing for the trades” – I’m quickly being pushed into collecting the trades.
The problem therein lies in that both DC and Marvel do not have a consistent “trade scheme” vis-a-vis pricing and format ( and timing ). Putting out hardcovers quickly, and trades much, much later – is just a scam as far as I’m concerned. Knowing how inconsistent DC and Marvel is in releasing “soft” trades – a lot of fans will give up and buy the hardcover because they don’t want to take that chance of waiting for something that will either never come out or take forever to get out. The pricing on 6-issue hardcovers is also way out of line with the amount of content you’re getting ( as opposed to 12-issue collections ). Even if you’re just considering trades- the pricing for the same amount of content can sometimes DOUBLE.
DC and Marvel could both take a long look at how smaller companies such as Image and Dark Horse are doing their trades/hardcovers – with the smaller companies the goal seems to be to introduce the fan to the material ( or even medium ). For example- Image put out both 1000 page compilations of their WALKING DEAD and RISING STARS ( in colour even ) series, both for about $ 50. Dark Horse regularily puts out hardcover trades at the same price that their competition charges for soft. Surely, the bigger companies can follow.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Usually I’ll wait for the trade on mini-series. If it’s going to be a 6-12 month series and I know it’s something I’ll like, then I’ll just wait. Avengers/Invaders is a good example.
Another time is when I don’t normally buy a title but that title has a good storyline I like. The current Superman/Krypton series is an example of that. I love Mon-el as a character so I’ll probably buy the current storyline as a trade later on.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I definitely wait for the trade, because everytime I’ve bought a pamphlet, I was always disappointed with the experience. The trade is the only way to go with the actual reading experience. Do I go back? Probably more like 7 out of 10 if I am being honest, but generally if if it’s something I cherish, then I won’t miss it.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
I don’t get why anyone would have much of a beef with someone who buys mostly or only trades, given that they allow me to save a crapload and spend those savings on MORE COMICS. I buy the GL books in tpb because DC takes forever to put trades out. Same reason I buy Secret Six that way (and FELL, when it comes out), I can’t wait.
Everything else goes on the backburner, because I’m patient enough to wait on what happens in the other 20 or 30 series that I buy every year.
May 30th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
My public library carries a lot of older trades like Preacher and all of the DC/Marvel superhero titles, which is nice so that I can purchase newer trades like DMZ and Scalped now. I used to be a monthly buyer but the cost is outrageous. Just my two cents. I highly suggest you check out your library you might be surprised.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
Some books like the big events pretty much require being bought monthly lest they be spoiled. There are other books that I like that I feel need the monthly support to survive (like Young Liars). I’ve never stopped buying a monthly to wait for the trade. In the case of most of the big 2 books, I either like it enough to buy monthly or I won’t buy it. There are others that I know I’ll like the story but want to read big chunks(like Strangers in Paradise and now Echo and Rasl). There are some books (like Marvel’s Oz and Dark Tower) that I know I’ll like and would like them in the best format. Their stories don’t demand being read monthly so I wait for the hardbacks.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
As a weekly comic book guy (for years) I’m starting to buy less single issues. Instead I am going to my local library and reading Trade Paperback for FREE! (I totally agree with Fenris1979) With single issue prices on the rise, I can see myself not buying anything, waiting for the Trades and reading them for free. My local library will also order Trades that I recommend. If you haven’t visited your local library give them a try. Its a great way to read a series (i.e Civil War, Infinite Crisis) without have to fork over $3.00 an issue.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Trade = Syndication. It’s the same thing I told my buddies I would do with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I’ll wait until I can enjoy them without the long wait in between.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:26 am
Two points:
1) The “savings” from buying a trade over a group of issues are largely a mirage. Consider: 5 issues at $2.99 is $15.00. Most trades now collect five books. For about $12.99 to $14.99. So you save as much as $2.00 to as little as a penny. And you have to wait five to six months for that privilege. Not worth it. The equation tips the other way in the case of a hardback where the cover price is higher than the individual issues, and even more so for a prestige edition.
2) If enough fans cease to support the monthlies, the titles will disappear and the trades will therefore by definition disappear as well, because there won;t be anything to collect. Do not assume that companies that are having enough trouble getting monthlies out on time will be able to do original material trades on time. And so there goes the market….a slow, steady circulation decline into oblivion. We collectively need to reverse this extremely dangerous trend. And very, very quickly.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:34 am
I generally only buy trade as they are more economical (money wise) and easier to store. Plus ads irritate me. Trades often feature the alternative covers as well, and sometimes bonus extras. It’s annoying, though, when certain stories aren’t reprinted in trades, so you have to seek out individual issues.
I collect a lot of series, so i can be patient in waiting for trades to come out (however erratically). if i bought individual issues i wouldn’t be able to buy as many titles.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:44 am
I used to trade wait with Ultimate Spiderman up until clone saga started.I also waited on Green Lantern but then following buying Sinestro corps I back tracked and got issues after that so I could buy it monthly.
May 31st, 2009 at 4:41 am
HB generally but in many of the cases I might also buy one or two of the original releases. I also pick up a lot of the trades at my local library and they often turn into purchases. Mainly only buy masterworks etc. New comics are probably about 1% of my comic buying now
May 31st, 2009 at 6:42 am
@ Doug: Who are you to judge who the “real” fans are? No that trades are more common, and the industry really does seem to be geared towards writing for, and selling, the trades, it simply makes more sense for a lot of people. “Comic” vs. “paperback”? Whatever… They’re still comics, just in a differnt format. I suppose, now that we’re in age of digital comics too that those people aren’t comics fans but simply “computer geeks,” right?
May 31st, 2009 at 6:43 am
@ Joe: I disagree with your claim that the savings on trades is simply a “mirage.” Sure, some trades might save you only a couple bucks if you’re paying FULL PRICE. But why do that? Most online retailers sell them at a discount (Amazon being the prime example, but there are others) and many of those places offer free shipping too. So I can avoid paying sales tax, and not pay for shipping as well. That sucks for the LCS, I grant you, but I think they’re a dying breed.
Further, I don’t have to wait however months to read a full story arc and I can read it all in one shot. Sure, I gotta wait for the arc to be completed and then collected (and in DC’s case, wait a small eternity for the paperback too), but I’m OK with that. There are other, older titles I can read or catch up on, or I can simply do other stuff with my time. Summer’s here. Hell, I can even read books without pictures! OK, now I’m being a smartass. Sorry. But you see my point.
Oh, and one my favorite parts about trades? NO STUPID ADS! I don’t even know who most of the ads are geared towards anymore, seeing as it’s not kids reading the comics.
Further, with many floppies now going up to $3.99 the savings is even greater, unless the trades start climbing in price now too. If that happens, I’ll just start buying even fewer trades. If the industry wants to shoot itself in the foot, so be it.
May 31st, 2009 at 7:27 am
Hrm. I never thought of ‘waiting for the trade’ as having a return clause. That’s interesting!
May 31st, 2009 at 9:07 am
When it comes to Marvel, I’m old school – I’ve been reading and collecting Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, and Daredevil for over 25 years, with complete runs dating back to the mid-’70s, so everything I buy from Marvel ($50 to $75 per month) is single-issue. The exception is the creator-owned stuff: I buy Powers and Criminal in trade only.
As I never really got into DC stuff growing up, if I buy DC it’s only in trade: everything Geoff Johns does, Vertigo books like Y The Last Man and Fables, Jim Lee’s work on Batman, Superman, and ASB&R, etc.
The only other collections I buy are any Essential volumes that don’t overlap with my single-issue runs, and Marvel continues to frustrate me there by putting out Wolverine and X-Men volumes of work from the ’80s and ’90s instead of starting Sub-Mariner and Nick Fury volumes.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:11 am
I’m much more likely to actually wait for Marvel trades as they come out more frequently and closer to the end of an arc than DC trades.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:26 am
If I’m going to be expected to pay a premium for my comics, then I’m going to spend my money on something that is more durable than a single issue like a TPB or hardcover. And while I wait for the trade to come out, there are plenty of cheap back issues I can read to pass the time.
And yes, you can save more money by waiting for the trade. Amazon and instocktrades give you substatial discounts. Yes, I’m not supporting the LCS, but it’s not responsibility to support a business. As a consumer, I go where the deals are.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:17 pm
With singles you could be waiting months to get the whole story plus delays, who knows when all of OLD MAN LOGAN will be finished. I tried reading books like ultimates and lost trck of the story becasue I had to waite 2.5 years for 13 issues or something like that. So I decided to waite till the ark was over, but then I started waiting forever for some stuff. So Im 100% trades. But NO then they start screwing around with the trades. first you get the trade then the Premier HC book then maybe a few years down the line they make an oversized HC book which is sweet but then they release the OMNIBUS or ABSOLUTE and you totally feel cheated.
I waite for the OMNIBUS´ now just so I know I have everything in the best format. Singles are out. Adds suck and HC oversized or ABSOLUTE is better.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Joe, one last thought… Trades are an “extremely dangerous trend”? I suppose comics are a matter of life and death to some people, but honestly?
Here’s the thing, Joe. The industry has geared itself towards creating story arcs that make for good trades. There aren’t as many stand-alone single issues of floppies anymore, and there seems to be an abundance of 5 or 6 part story arcs. Conveniently, that’s about how many issues the trades collect. Look at the whole fiasco between how Batman RIP ended and how it fit in (or didn’t) with Final Crisis. Didn’t Didio explain it all by mentioning how it all had to fit together for trade readers? It’s the way of the industry now.
The Big Two, and the other major publishers, are all gearing their output for trades. It’s why you see “Graphic Novels” sections at Borders and Barnes & Noble when you didn’t see those sections a decade ago. The floppies are a dying breed, and so is the LCS, for better or worse. You’ll have to live with it.Soon, the floppy monthly might be a thing of the past. And that might be a good thing, given the state of the industry.
Hell, the physical book itself might disappear eventually. We have digital, downloadable comics, collections you can buy on DVD-ROM, and for prose books you can download titles to read on your iPod or devices like the Kindle. Probably not for a good long while, but just like the LP, cassette tape or VHS, the physical book might not last forever either.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I am a trade-waiter and I DO buy lots of them. In fact, I probably buy MORE things in trade than if I were buying single issues. The reason is that I’ll buy books because of a particular artist or writer. While I might grimace at having to pick up 6 issues of a series I don’t follow because XXX is writing or drawing it, I have no problem picking up a collected single volume of those issues. A current example is the Avengers:Initiative issues drawn by Humberto Ramos. Don’t read anything Avengers, but once those issue show up in trade, I’ll by ‘em ’cause I like Ramos’ art. But I also buy them because I like having the complete story in a single volume. Why keep up with 5 or 6 floppies when you can just pull one book off the shelf? I’ve whittled my monthly list down to a bare few monthly comics. Everything else is trades, either newly collected items or backlist titles.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Well, let’s address a couple of the points made in response to my first posting.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that the idea of trades was originally conceived for the portion of the public that was not regularly exposed to comic books? (By the way, since when has the term “floppies” been attached to comic books? These aren’t computer disks.) The idea was that since many venues that used to carry comic books were either (A) disappearing (ie. the corner drugstore) or (B) discontinuing those lines for margin or other reasons, then if stories could be collected into books that could be placed in mass-market outlets it might reverse the trend that the public was getting less and less exposure to the comic book medium. The theory was that this would then lead the public to seek out comic book specialty retailers and this might have a positive effect on regular comic book sales.
To the extent that mass-market bookstores have embraced this medium, that goal has been partially achieved, but the law of unforeseen consequences has kicked in and now the problem for the market as a whole is that trades and collections are now cannibalizing regular issue sales. THAT is the dangerous trend I referred to earlier. This is because the only thing driving the production of the trades is the production of the regular issues, and if that becomes unprofitable, the trades will cease to exist if the regular books cease to be produced.
Which brings me to another point: A few remarks made above really irk me. They refer to the perceived value of the products and in fact to the perceived value of having unique specialty venues in which to have those products available. Sure gang: you can go and get all the books you want at on-line retailers for a discount. Who cares if the LCS survives? The books aren’t worth what’s being asked for them anyway, right? (I wonder how some creators feel about that? They’re being sent the message that their creative effort has little if any value. Ouch!)
Too bad for the proprietor at the LCS who beats his or her head against the wall trying to make ends meet by competing with on-line discounters. Too bad that maybe he or she has to let an employee go because sales aren’t so hot. Too bad that maybe one day people come to the LCS and find a “Gone Out Of Business” sign hanging in the door. We could get the stuff at discount, so what do we care? Nah…..
But then, ask yourself again….what happens to the market? The LCS is the driving force behind the market. When an LCS disappears, that’s one less venue for the comic book to be sold in. Doesn’t sound like much by itself, but cumulatively it adds up, and if enough venues go, then enough volume goes, and titles get cancelled. That’s the plain, simple, hard truth. Now I’m going to go out on a limb and attack by saying this: the same folks who go “where the deals are” are likely the same ones who would scream the loudest if something drastic happened to the industry. So think about that.
Show support for the regular comic books. Show support for the LCS whose owner risks his money and sweat to bring you the terrific selection of products that is at least still currently available. Show support for the industry where it counts, and you can look forward to a long and happy future for it.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:10 pm
It means just that, That I am waiting for the trade. It’s also a protest over the high prices of comics. Prices that have gotten stupidly high. I enjoy comics and would read as many as possible, but I am tired of supporting some CEO’s mansion, yacht and girlfriend.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I wait for the trade on several titles: Jonah Hex, Captain America, Invincible, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Astounding Wolf-Man, and a few others. I buy fewer than ten monthly titles these days, but I much prefer the trades. I’m considering dropping all monthlies soon.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:36 pm
I was just thinking about how I might not be able to afford the next cross over…. at the end of each month I separate my comics into three piles 1. this is great 2. I’m looking forward to the end of this arch 3. it’s just not worth it. The price increase in titles is leading to some really tough decisions, for example which version of Spider-Man do I prefer the old but “new” Amazing Wacker version or the Ultimate and New Avengers Spider-Man that Bendis writes???? This is not exactly a dilemma for me, I stopped reading DC titles around 52, which was the beginning of what I believe is what went wrong with DC…. Honestly, the only reason that I bought 24/7 was because of Joe Quesada’s cover art…. there are actually only 12 titles that I am not having second thoughts about…. I currently purchase about 20 titles- Bendis, Brubaker, Diggle, Fraction, Hickman, Millar, Way & Wells…. all are basically Marvel or Dark Reign related. I don’t want to wait for the trades on those titles…. it’s just too bad that they are so expensive in this tough economic times because the days of picking up random or new titles that seem like they could be interesting are becoming numbered because the price is just too much. Incognito – Marvel (ICON) from Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips is $3.50 (that’s right .50) is from cover to cover creator related…. that is understandable.
May 31st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I visit my comic store weekly and read titles in single issues if I think they will tie in to larger stories, eg. I read most of the Avengers titles because they will reference each other in some way. Anything that doesn’t, like mini-series, Vertigo titles, etc, get read by me in trade. To be honest I’m only keeping up regularly with a few trade series, ‘Walking Dead’, anything by Templesmith, but I splash out 2 or 3 times a year and buy bulk trades that I’ve been meaning to get. So yeah, if I say I’m waiting for the trade I actually am.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:10 am
I got into comics through trades at my local library, so I pretty much only buy trades. I usually limit myself to one or two a week, so there are no budgetary cancerns. It’s odd to me to read things in a monthly installment
June 1st, 2009 at 8:12 am
The prices of monthlies have pretty much done me in.
As Colby says, you can get many trades at the library. I can buy the ones I want discounted at Amazon or elsewhere. Plus you can better evaluate an entire arc if you wait, rather than be disappointed with a crappy ending.
It doesn’t replace going into the comics store every week for the new arrivals. Nothing will replace that. But then I loved watching Saturday morning cartoons as a kid, and now for my kids shows on Saturday are the same as any other day.
I don’t see how comics can survive these prices. I don’t have a crystal ball. Maybe they’ll be fine. Maybe they’ll thrive. But to my mind $3.99 a pop isn’t going to expand your readership. It’s going to reduce it.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:22 am
@ Joe: If you feel that strongly about the monthly “floppy” (and people seem to use that term a lot from what I’ve seen – the books are literally floppy compared to a trade, after all, or a “floppy” computer disk) and the LCS that’s fine. I understand what you’re saying. More power to you! I’m not saying the demise of mom & pop/brick & mortar shops are a good thing, but this is hardly exclusive to the comics retailer. Independent bookshops are, sadly, dying everywhere. Milwaukee (where I live) recently lost it’s independent bookshops, a wonderful retailer that was here for over 80 years. It was a huge loss to this community, but as much as people supported them, the writing had been on the wall for years. Things change, for good or ill, and some things are just a natural evolution. So it is for the LCS, methinks.
If you want to talk about the monthly comic dying, don’t just blame trades (something the publishers themselves made a conscious decision to do) or the people who buy online to get the best deals. Blame the industry itself. They made the decision to collect storylines in trade (and it makes sense for people who want to go back and read old stories that otherwise wouldn’t be in print anymore), and why is it you can only buy the monthlies through the direct market now? Why can’t you find comics on the newsracks at the grocery/drug stores anymore? That’s how comics got in the hands of kids. Kids who love superheroes but never read comics. Why hasn’t the industry done more to capitalize on the success of many of the comic-related films that have come out in recent years?
I have nothing against people still buying monthlies/floppies. I still buy some, but few, and I may drop them entirely soon. But when you can get a trade for siginficantly less, and therefore be able to buy more titles, read an entire story arc in one sitting, have something that’s more durable and sits nicely on a bookshelf, and not have to endure any dumb ads, I’m really not seeing a reason to stick with the monthlies anymore. Especially when the monthlies are getting too pricey for what are essentially “pamphlets.”
Your argument that trade buying will kill comics is short-sighted. The monthly will still last for awhile at least, and if/when it does die the industry will make the leap to publishing complete tales in trades, or perhaps over two or three or even four parts. If anything, it might prevent the ridiculous delays many (so-called) monthlies have suffered. You can’t put out a trade that’s not finished after all. Those will, eventually, be the new comic books. I really don’t have a problem with that.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:29 am
The Zug just said it more consisely than I did… I grew up with Saturday morning cartoons and I was always up by 7am to run downstairs and turn on the tube to watch Bugs Bunny & Friends (“On with the show, this is it!”), Superfriends and whatever else was on back then… Now, Saturday morning means nothing for kids programming. The broadcast networks have mostly gotten out of that, and the cable networks show the same stuff seven days a week.
The point? EVERYTHING changes, and so will the comics industry. There will always be a Superman, Batman and Spider-Man in print form. It’s just that the format itself may, and likely will, change. So what?
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:44 am
I remember when trades were really rare and so I never got many. Then they started collecting big stories and I would get the trade b/c I didn’t have the $$$ to buy all the books I wanted. I’d put these trades on my x-mas list or ask for some for my birthday.
Then there were titles I knew I wanted to read only in trade format. Sandman, Y the Last man, 100 Bullets are examples of these kinds of books for me.
Now I get almost everything in trade. What sucks for my local store though is, I almost never get them there. I normally buy my trades off of Amazon b/c of the discount.
So this move to trades has cost my store, my weekly business and now my trade business. I feel bad but in this economy I need to save every penny.
June 8th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Hell, i will wait for an omnibus edition. i LOVE collected editions and being able to sit down and get a huge chunk of story.
i REFUSE to buy single issues anymore, especially since of decompression and the fact that arcs are WRITTEN for trade in mind.
another reason i refure to by monthly is i get sick to think how much of my timme i have spent bagging and boarding comics only to lock them away in longboxes never to see the light of day again.
ever try to read 12-20 issues of ANYTHING that has been bagged? it is annoying and aggravating. where as you can just open up a trade/omnibus/absolute edition with no problem and it looks great on a shelf.
i wish they’d just release trades and forget monthly.