Amph Comic Books or TPBs?

I'm doing a report on the medium of entertainment and how it is adapting. I don't know how to do a poll, so just answers will be fine:

which do you collect more (for instance for a long but oft-reprinted series like X-Men), comic books or graphic novels/TPBs?

 

I think you have to be a moderator to create a poll.

 

Okay, then just answers will be fine.

 

Right now, no one can post a poll, unless the mods change this forum's settings.

But to answer your question... I have hundreds of single issues, but I only have around 10 or so TPBs. I need my weekly fix and the wait for a collected story is often too much for me.

 

I don't mind waiting for the TPBs. I find them more convienent,as you can put them on your bookshelf,and they're cheaper in the long run. I think the industry's future lays in this direction.

 

Yup. That's me exactly. I like TPB's, I just don't have the paitence to wait for them. If they would come out quickly I may go to them, but there's just a fun feeling on new comic day. A geeky high, as it were.

 

For someone who's been in the comic world for a few months now, TPBs are great for catching up on what your favorite super hero was doing 4-5 years ago while still buying singles to see what he's doing today. And, with the singles, you're not 6 months behind everyone else when they're chatting about whats going on...

 

I browse through issues at the store and buy the TPB later

I've only just got into comics though (other than the SW ones, in which I have exclusively TPBs), and I'll probably get the singles of Civil War.

 

I like the actual books better, although TBPs are fine. There's just something cool about a regular comic though.

 

During the heyday of my collecting, I mostly did it monthly. I would only pick up TPB's if it saved me the trouble of finding and paying for every back issue. Occassionally I would pick up an issue that wasn't collected, but for the most part, I went with TPB's as they were easier to find and get all at once for one set price.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much how most fans do it I think--use the TPBs for back issues (especially stuff like Marvel Essentials or Masterworks), while collecting the newer ones.

I try to do that as much as possible, but X-men just has so much stuff every month. I finally gave up on the extras and just buy the three main books and Ultimate.

 

Or reprints. Back when Marvel had Marvel Tales, I got a number of Spider-Man issues for the same price I'd pay for the current title. The only down side to TPB's is that they cut out subplots from other books. I looked at Contagion and saw how they cut off the final part's ending. Course, it wouldn't have worked. But I was disappointed in how they edited KnightsEnd. And Transformed for Superman, you miss out on the Metallo storyarc.

Nowadays, there's the written for the trade format which allows subplots to exist. Though stand alone issues like with Superman/Batman are left out. Star Wars works with TPB's.

 

I think the X-titles do as well because the only thing you may miss is the villain's origin if it was in another book.

 

Generally, I get comics that I think are interesting enough to be worth reading; I get trades if the comics were worth rereading.

 

I collect both about equally. There are a few series I collect monthly because I have since I was young, but I mostly pick up new series that have interesting arcs through TPB, or for big events where it's easier to grab them in one go rather than having to chase up what is and isn't important to the storyline.

 

Aah...I'm thinking House of M and Civil War.

 

And Identity/Infinite Crisis. And No Man's Land.

 

True.

I wonder why Maximum Security never got one? Oh, maybe because it sucked.

 

TPB have a critical strike advantage for many reasons.

 

What do you mean?

 

I usually buy singles for current stories(I hate waiting), and buy TPBs for past stories or if my comics get torn for some reason.

 

Do you sell your comics or something? If I want to read a past story, I can go back and read the comic books. I usually only spend money on TPBs like the Essential series. I don't really want to buy X-Men #1, call me crazy.

 

I don't sell. I see no need to do so. As to buying the number issue thing, here's a few facts. While number one issues are popular in terms of money for collectors, it's generally not going to be as expensive as the older stuff. Stuff like Action Comics #1, Detective Comics #27 and the like. This is because of the lack of back issue bins, the days before comic book stores and the fact that there were paper shortages during WWII. X-Men #1 (1991), first printing will fetch a nice price. But there were large numbers in print, all seven times it was printed. X-Men #1 (1963) will cost more in it's first printing, mint condition, due to it's rarity. Prices do fluctuate on the market, but it often has to do with something going on in the present. Back issues of Crisis On Infinite Earths went up in price, because of the return of several characters from the original series. Readers will want to see Superboy-Prime's introduction or one of the last appearences of Kal-L, before the Crisis. Other times the price will go down, for whatever reason.

TPB, as was said, saves you the trouble. Marvel's Essential series and DC's Showcase saves you a lot of hassle. X number of issues for one low price, with it only being in black & white and printed on regular paper. So the stuff from the 60's and 70's that are in collected form, it's better to pick those up. If you're going into comics for the monetary gain, you're more or less wasting your time and dollars. You can sell if you have lost interest and opt to clean house, rather than keep them or pass them on to your children. Just don't expect to retire on that.

 

They'll say issue sales fund TPB costs, that sales indicate buyer interest. I'd rather cut to the chase and bag the varmit right off---give 'em the TPB first. This would result in fewer comic stories per year, and could be risky if you decide you didn't in fact like the varmit burger after all. You could saving throw this by offering, say, an online previewable first issue. You like it, you buy it.

But like I said: the producer must have more arcs ready for launch to compensate---a great backlog of planning. The seller would conceivably sell less per unit short term.

And in the scorpian pits of publishing, the power lies with the store sellers. They'll want issue units to sell more often. Cashflow reasons. If you're large enough---and I won't reveal names---you can conceivably even impact on whether a book becomes hardcover, if you think you can sell softcover better.

 

I prefer TPBs. Individual comics are easy to lose and can get damaged.

Yeah the waiting sucks, but it's worth it in the end.