I only read TPB's anymore. Am I common in that regard?

When I was growing up in the 80's, I collected comic books, and by collect, I mean in the old school sense of reading them and hanging on to them, not "collecting them". While I have kept most of them and they would be worth something in their mint condition, they have been read and re-re-read to pulp by me, and now my son, so are only valuable for their content (and the awesome ads).

When COH came out, I started playing on release day (this forum account, for some reason is not my first, I can't remember what happened, this one is "only" from April 2005) and was totally geeked for it. While I have played other MMO's and what not, I always come back to COH for a vacation, like a summer home.

Nowadays, however, I can't get around buying an actual comic book. They are such quick reads, and the story arcs are so all over the place from taking in such a small slice (not to mention the retconning, rebooting and alternate universes) that it's hard to get context unless you are very regular and purchase a wide variety of titles.

What I do enjoy are TPB's, which allow me to capture the essence of what I felt as a kid, and I feel like I really connect with the story and characters. It's very nice to take in an arc all at once like that.

Am I alone in this regard, and is this a pattern of behavior that is catching on? Would it mean that sales of individual comic books would start to be depressed to the point that the TPB's would start to lose their source material, or is there still plenty of interest in comic books as stand alone purchases?

Thanks for any insight.

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Nope. I only get TPB's. Individual comics cost more, (depending on the price of the TPB and how long the story arc was), have ads all throughout, and generally are of lesser quality paper. Also, I don't like to read part of an arc, then wait another month to see the next part. Nor do I enjoy hunting down all the different pieces if it's some big cross-over event.

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We often sit and think of you,
We often speak your name;
There is nothing left to answer,
But your photo in the frame.
-Anon.

I feel the same way anymore. I can't bring myself to buy single issues since the big companies feel a need to reinvent themselves every other year. I'm a huge fan of continuity, and I no longer care to even try to keep up with all the big changes that will just get retconned anyway. Nope, I'll stick to back issues and TPBs of the stuff that I know I like. If something fairly new looks like it might be interesting, I'll wait for the local library to get a copy and read it for free.

I know I'm an old fart and tend to wax nostalgic, but I really feel that comics have catered far too much to the collector market. They put so much into making a high quality work of art that gets bagged away and never read, and the prices have gotten out of control. I just can't bring myself to pay 3-4 dollars for 22 pages plus ads that I will read in 10 minutes, when I can get a actual book for just a little more that will keep me entertained for a couple of days.

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I'm the same. I might occasionally stop in a comic shop and dig through old worn back issues in their 25 cent bin, but that's about it.

Comics are ridiculously overpriced. Plus the multi-title crossovers are so ridiculous it's like going to a movie and needing to see every movie in the theater in order to understand what is going on in the one movie you want to see.

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Don't count your weasels before they pop dink!

I prefer to have a full story in front of me, or at the very least a large enough chunk that I feel satisfied having read it. Individual comic book issues tend to be frustratingly short, not to mention a bit pricey for the amount of entertainment they provide.

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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound

Another TPB only buyer here. Think the last actual comics I bought were the Avengers/JLA teamup series because it had been heralded for so long (decades). Other than that I just peruse the TPBs for teams I like and pick one up occasionally. I must say I've been getting ones I don't like much more often than ones I do like of late, and may well give up. Just my opinion, but I've found the quality of writing to be dropping.

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Too many alts to list.

I'm with you. I still subscribe to one comic at my shop, because I've been going there for almost 20 years and I feel guilty about dropping my former 20+ titles.

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The City of Heroes Community is a special one and I will always look fondly on my times arguing, discussing and playing with you all. Thanks and thanks to the developers for a special experience.

I am the same. Reading issue-by-issue means that I tend to lose my place in the story. Further, like the individual episodes of a soap opera, not much happens in any individual issue of most comics. You need to see several at once in order see anything happen in a coherent fashion.

Further, as someone else pointed out, individual comics are expensive for what you get, and unless you like reading them on electronic readers (which I don't), finding them often requires a trip to specialty retailer, which may be a major endeavor, depending on where you live.

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"Bombarding the CoH/V fora with verbosity since January, 2006"

Djinniman, level 50 inv/fire tanker, on Victory
-and 40 others on various servers

A CoH Comic: Kid Eros in "One Light"

It's a mixed bag for me. If I catch on to a series later in its run, I'll just by TPBs of it. Notable examples of this include:

Y: The Last Man
Walking Dead
Elephantmen


On the other hand, if I hear about a series that intrigues at the outset, I will pick up individual issues rather than wait for a TBP. Recent examples of this include:

Rachel Rising
The Manhattan Projects
Fairest


And on the third hand, if I like a series, and I've read enough of the TPBs to catch up to the monthly run, I'll start buying the comic monthly. I've done this with Irredeemable and Incorruptible, and I'm about to make the switch on Walking Dead.

While I agree that comic books are WAY overpriced these days, I do still enjoy them and the way I look at it is if enough people stop buying individual issues and wait instead for TPBs then eventually comics will cease to exist.

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(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon

I was a collector back in the day and followed all my favorite titles month to month, sniffing through the new arrivals looking for good new stuff to add. Now, too much life going on. It's all I can do to lay back and cherry pick the best stuff in TPB form as determined by my pal who owns a shop.


Sad, when you reach a point in life that you have to out-source your good taste to professionals.

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The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.

My City Was Gone

I'm the same. I started collecting in the 90's and stopped around 2000. When I started having the expendable income for COH it got me back into my old favs, but instead of picking up the individuals, I'd just get a few TPB's at a time. It also got my wife into stuff like Y: The Last Man, Astro City, Squee and others. I did try to collect certain issue, though, and still have a few dozen from my little forray into individuals. As other said though, I prefer to have a whole arc in front of me, no ads.
Also it seemed most of the chain book stores always had some sort of deal like Buy 2 get 1 free, or 50% select TPB's.

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@Sylver Bayne

Pinnacle Server

I was a TPB-only reader for quite a while, until tablets/Comixology started making it easy to get (and re-read) individual issues. I don't buy the issues at full-price, but when they hit the $0.99 or $1.99 mark then buying six individual issues makes them even cheaper than buying a TPB. And I can typically get caught up faster than if I waited for a compilation to be printed. Plus, I was running out of shelf space.

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You're not super until you put on The Cape!
Attercap.Net

I'm the same, too.

Let's put it another way; Anyone buy comics one issue at a time?

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Goodbye. Not to the game, but the players. Goodbye. Everyone, remember to have fun. That's all I can say.

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Global name: @k26dp

I don't buy anything new off the rack as a single issue. I generally wait for something to become recognized as good enough to reprint before I'll take any interest in it. The horrible truth is, most comics are trash and a waste of money. There are sometimes indie comics that never get the TPB treatment that I do scrounge for, but only after they're old and cheap.

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The Nethergoat Archive: all my memories, all my characters, all my thoughts on CoH...eventually.

My City Was Gone

Yeah, Sturgeon's Law and all that.

I got started on comics with TPBs from a regular bookstore, so they've always dominated my collection. Single issues seem too easy to damage or lose (considering that the few I've bought have all ended up damaged and/or lost).

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