Comic Book Collecting.

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Pubert, Aug 13, 2015.

  1. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    Well, neither is all that expensive. Compare it to cable :p
    I can usually read at least 10 comics a week that way (I'm trying to burn through old classics like Walter Simonson's Thor). At that price, it's about 25 cents a comic. You don't get to keep them, but it's still much cheaper than buying all those comics.
     
  2. Pubert

    Pubert Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Wow I always though you keep the digital comics you buy. If we buy them digitally how long do we have to read them before they delete them? Do they deleted them once they are read?
     
  3. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    In the lap of squalor I assure you.
    You have login details, that act as an account on their website, and then you can only view your/their comics with their software, when it is connected to the internet. Although there are special narrow conditions within which they let you download some of their comics.
     
  4. Mike Farley

    Mike Farley Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Marvel's digital service isn't really a download deal. It's more like a Netflix style streaming service. You're reading the books on their servers. Although you do have the ability to download a few (10 I think) for offline reading.

    For that $69 you pretty much get to real Marvel's entire line--just 6 months behind. Plus there's an enormous (and growing) back catalog reaching back to the beginning or Marvel.

    I you want to buy books and have them stored on your computer then you have to use a service like Comixology.
     
  5. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Which can work out to be $69 a week if you have no self control.
     
  6. Pubert

    Pubert Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ah so you can read the comics as long as you have the service. So I can read Amazing Fantasy #15 as many times as I want.:)
     
  7. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Or pay $700,000 for a scuffed up physical copy.
     
  8. zakkrusz

    zakkrusz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    ...and then find a cheap copy in better condition has sprouted up from the ether of internet a week later and kick yourself, such is usually my experience. Isn't out of print media fun? :klingon:
     
  9. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    Yeah, pretty much. Amazing Fantasy 15 is available.

    Although a word of caution, Amazing Fantasy 1-14 is not available. Availability seems related to demand so some of the most obscure things aren't around.
     
  10. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The pre-Spider-Man issues were your typical monster/alien comics. Not worth it unless you are a Marvel writer trying to mine continuity.
     
  11. EnriqueH

    EnriqueH Commodore Commodore

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    Comic book reading is like being addicted to drugs.

    You take the drug (your favorite comic), you enjoy the drug (reading your character's life and adventures), you take your drug again (keep reading), then you need more drugs (your favorite character has a special cross-over series with another title that is getting a TON of great pre-hype for its storyline), and that means investing more money that you committed to not spend in yet another title. All the while your dealer/pusher is laughing all the way to the bank, selling you variant covers, shitty storylines, and then "cross overs" so that, if you've made a decision to follow ONE and ONLY ONE character, you're still obligated to pick up other titles to follow your favorite character's adventures.

    Addiction takes hold and you soon realize drugs are now controlling you.

    There are a lot of drugs out there and not just the usual ones like cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine, cocaine, weed, etc. There is also shopping. (Retail therapy? It's called that for a reason. To get you "high" on shopping and make the pain go away...before buyers remorse if you get that.

    There are also anti-anxiety meds, anti-depression meds, and yes the most notorious drug of all...sugar.

    I've come to the conclusion that the comic book industry is just as bad as cigarettes, except it's not your lungs and arteries taking a beating, it's your wallet.

    They hook you on, say, Iron Man.

    Life is good. You're only spending about $5 or less on this exciting title and it's really good! It's like a great series. Breaking Bad or Mad Men with Tony Stark.

    And before you know it, Iron Man is crossing over into a ton of Marvel titles for several issues for a big mega-cool slugfest storyline. It's a big, badass battle royale crossing over into Fantastic Four, X-Men, Amazing Spiderman, Blade, Namor, Avengers, Captain America, and the whole gang! "Holy shit, I don't want to miss that! That sounds awesome!"

    Ok, yeah, it's a few extra bucks for several weeks, but that sounds good. Once that storyline is over, I can go back to my one Iron Man comic.

    Yeah, sure.

    You fork over the extra money, expecting it to be akin to "Enter the Dragon" with Bruce Lee in all his nunchaku, ass-kicking glory.

    I mean, shit...Iron Man has such great writing right now, this cross-over special has to be great. Hey, wait, my Iron Man title is usually $3, but this cross-over has some special glossy cover that's like $7. Oh, it's the only cover, ok, I'll buy it, I want to read the story.

    You buy the series, and by the time it's over, you realize you've been had. $50 later, instead of "Enter the Dragon" you got "Bruce Lee Comes Back From the Grave with imitator Bruce Le as the lead. Instead of the real deal, you got Bruceploitation.

    No big deal, you move on, that cross-over sucked. Hey, waitaminute, the cross-over sucked, but I really did like that ONE plot-point with the Fantastic Four crew, and they said something about exploring Delta quadrant because an alien named V'Ger was heading towards earth and they were going to explore it. I better have a look at that.

    You pick up FF issues and enjoy the writing too, and now you're reading Iron Man and FF.

    And it wont' be long until another gimmick, variant cover, or some industry scheme tries to fool you into spending the extra dough.

    Now you might say, "That's your fault for not controlling yourself."

    True. They're not forcing me literally to buy extra comics. But if you're engrossed in Star Trek TNG and there's a DS9 crossover, you just have to make sure you watch the other show.

    It's not so much that they're leading me to buy other comics, it's that what they're leading me to isn't very good. If you're going to lead readers to buy into the cross-overs, fine. Is it too much to ask that the writing quality is good?

    At least the Marvel Cinematic Universe is CONSISTENTLY awesome. I would venture to say that if comics were that consistently great, the industry would be in better shape.

    These days, I *stay away* from ALL comics. And if there's a storyline I want to read, great. I'll pick up the TPB, thank you very much.

    I got into comics heavily in the mid 90s when the industry were like drug pushers with all their cross-overs, variant covers, and poly-bagged titles. I kept trusting that the titles would get better, but after a few months, I got burned out once I felt like I was taken advantage of and QUIT.

    I got into comics again in the early 00's, when the Ultimate universe came into play. Again, lots of good stories, and then the cross-overs and new titles began and the glut came rolling its ugly head AGAIN. And pretty soon, quality writing gave way to title saturation and bad writing.

    I QUIT...again.

    And haven't been suckered back since.

    I love comics, I love superheroes, and I love reading good stories. But I've had enough.

    Trade paperbacks ONLY for me.

    Oh, and by the way, just to be fair: I was using Marvel comics only as an example. All the comics companies are guilty. In fact, in the mid 90s, my favorite characters were Superman, Batman and Spiderman. So I was reading more DC than Marvel at the time.
     
  12. Hound of UIster

    Hound of UIster Vice Admiral Admiral

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    That is true. Some people just traded their drug addiction with comic book collecting instead.
     
  13. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, there is a lot old stuff that's not on Comixology. Most of the big stuff is available, and they add old comics a couple times a week usually.
     
  14. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    Comixology is pretty good too. But there's one story line I'm looking for that's not very practical on comixology and sadly not on Marvel Unlimited, which is the Panther's Quest storyline that was a secondary story on Marvel Comics Presents issues 16 to 37. It's not worth paying for that many out of print issues for a story that's only a small part of it.
     
  15. Vanyel

    Vanyel The Imperious Leader Premium Member

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    The endless cross overs = using my money to buy a new car instead.
     
  16. C.E. Evans

    C.E. Evans Admiral Admiral

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    I'm so over crossovers and big events (skipped Convergence, skipping Secret Wars, and anything else multi-book that might come along). I rid myself of the "completist mentality" quite awhile ago and it did wonders for my wallet. I also don't have a problem dropping books that can't survive for very long without going into a crossover with sister titles.
     
  17. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    That's what I like about Marvel Unlimited. I'll catch up on the whole thing about six months later without the need to spend money.
     
  18. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

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    I said out, dammit!
    Yeah, the crossover and big event fad Marvel has been on is part of what killed my interest and made me go (almost) cold turkey. That and their insane habit of restarting a series at #1 every 25 or 30 issues. When I was cataloging my collection to sell, I'd have to specify a year next to a lot of #1s, just to be clear.
     
  19. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Howard the Duck got a new number one 6 months ago.

    Howard the Human # 1 came out last week.
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Are the series that are continuing on from where they left off pre-Secret Wars, like Ms. Marvel and Howard the Duck, all going to be renumber afterwards or will they just pick up the numbering where they left off?