Do you prefer individual comics or getting them collected? We have a comments section please let me know which do you prefer? I like to get my individual issues instead of the collections. I have two main reasons for this. One of them is my fault and the other is either the comic industries or every other comic reader in the country.
The first reason if my own impatience. I hate waiting after a cliff hanger to see what happens next. Especially with comics that are known to leave us with cliffhangers. 'Y: The Last Man' and 'Invincible'. So I'll take the blame on this one. I just can't wait long enough for the stories that I want to read.
The other problem is not my fault. You can't be certain what will come out. Some are a given. 'Final Crisis' will be collected in a trade paper back, probably a nice hard cover to. But a lot of comics I get aren't likely to have it happen right away if at all. I bought every issue of of 'Joker: Last Laugh'. I can't say I enjoyed it that much, but if I didn't collect it I might be out of luck.
What's always fun is seeing which comics are going to be collected for us to read. Some are a complete given, like the latest volume of 'Avengers' and the latest 'Batman' mini series. But when looking at the archives, what makes one series more deserving than another?
I always figured it's either a writer or artist that is popular at the time or character/ series resurgence. Jeph Loeb suddenly becomes popular again so its time to collect an obscure series they worked on years before (Emperor Joker).
I do still consider trades a great resource, but not with any real regularity. I think they're great for catching up on series you recently discovered. It's usually cheaper getting the collection than buying the individual back issues. They are also supremely easier to find rather than going from shop to shop looking for the one issue your missing. There are a lot of other reasons but these are the two that matter to me the most.
So if you prefer to wait for trades instead of getting the issues, good for you if you have the patience. It just seems like missing out on any short series that doesn't get the support to reach tradehood.
Comments
UnshavenMarc Thu, Feb 18th, 2010 at 10:37 AM "Waiting for the trade" as you say can be a crap shoot... But as individual issues inch closer and closer to 5 bucks, I'm more and more likely to opt for a trade... series dependent. Those who wait for the trades also miss out on the "band wagon" effect when big things happen. Case in point, I'm quite far behind in my reading of Invincible. Do I know what the "impending war" is coming up? No. So, I'll have to wait. As with most things, it's a matter of my level of interest.
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