Do you buy volumes or issues? Why?

[batGRRRl4ever]

I have a three tiered system. For the best of the best I buy the monthly issues, but then also get the HC when six issues are collected. Next there are some books I enjoy and just keep the monthlies, and last there are some titles I just read and then throw away after I've read them.

[JasonTodd428]

Double shipping at Marvel has caused me to become a trade waiter on most of their books (minus Hawkeye) but I still do monthlies for all the DC and IDW titles I read.

[Jolly Mon]

....considering the relative value of the purchase in providing customer behaviour....
I buy Batwing in issues primarily because it is important to demonstrate consumer interest in diversity in comics, but also because I hope it might actually be good at some point. Batwoman I get in issues because, although it has sometimes been less satisfactory than desired, it has real quality and - again - better I show an issue purchase on Batwoman than, say, Batman & Robin.

This is something I don't understand. Your desire is apparently to support diversity in comics, but you admit what you're buying isn't good. Supporting diversity is a fine thing, but what DC is seeing is that people will shell out money for bad comics. In the end, the main thing you're doing is encouraging them to produce bad comics.

[glennsim]

This is something I don't understand. Your desire is apparently to support diversity in comics, but you admit what you're buying isn't good. Supporting diversity is a fine thing, but what DC is seeing is that people will shell out money for bad comics. In the end, the main thing you're doing is encouraging them to produce bad comics.

I disagree. DC doesn't recognize the quality of their comics, only the demographics of them. Whether or not the comics is good is a subjective notion - DC thinks all of their comics are good. On the other hand, whether or not the lead character is a minority is something they would recognize.

If Blackwing's sales drop and they cancel it, they are not going to say "oops, we should have gotten a better writer", they are going to say "I guess people didn't want to read about a black super-hero."

[aaronghunter]

This is something I don't understand. Your desire is apparently to support diversity in comics, but you admit what you're buying isn't good. Supporting diversity is a fine thing, but what DC is seeing is that people will shell out money for bad comics. In the end, the main thing you're doing is encouraging them to produce bad comics.

DC editorial has demonstrated no capacity for critical evaluation of quality outside of the Vertigo imprint, for nearly twenty years. It clearly isn't even a factor, any inspection of a year of editorial decisions will confirm this. What DC is acutely aware of, according to their many press releases and interviews, is the concept of a work and the demographics of the expected audience. They seldom state a title was poor, but they always say it didn't capture an audience. The concepts and the numbers are the only tangibles they consistently refer to.

I should clarify, however; diversity is a factor I consider, but it is not an overriding one. I did not pull Static Shock, Blue Beetle or Mr. Terrific after the first issue. I cancelled my pulls of Voodoo and Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Queen, each following the second issue. Batwoman is, despite many flaws, one of the best drawn ongoings on the stand and better than about ninety percent of the titles in the direct market. Batwing is middling and I will probably drop it soon, but it had various sparks of promise. I made a bad call on keeping Batwing, just as I made a bad call on dropping Dominique Laveau and Justice League Dark when I did. Nobody is perfect.

[FanboyStranger]

It depends on the sales for the book. For example, Action Comics is doing well enough that I don't have to worry about picking it up every month. I'll wait for the collected edition on that.

I, Vampire, on the other hand, needed every sale it could get. If I wanted it to continue, I needed to my part and pick up the monthly issues. (It didn't work, but at least I supported a quality book.) I will also pick up the collected edition so I can grab it off my bookshelf anytime I want to read it rather than hunt through thousands of individual issues I have.

[Jolly Mon]

I disagree. DC doesn't recognize the quality of their comics, only the demographics of them. Whether or not the comics is good is a subjective notion - DC thinks all of their comics are good. On the other hand, whether or not the lead character is a minority is something they would recognize.

If Blackwing's sales drop and they cancel it, they are not going to say "oops, we should have gotten a better writer", they are going to say "I guess people didn't want to read about a black super-hero."

I would rephrase what you said to "DC doesn't recognize the quality of their comics, only the sales of them." If bad comics sell, diverse or not, they'll pump out bad comics. For example, the '90s.

Yes, if sales are bad on Batwing (not "Blackwing"), they'll probably blame it on the black character. But if the sales are good for a bad comic, diverse or not, they'll figure they can keep making bad comics because people are buying them.

DC editorial has demonstrated no capacity for critical evaluation of quality outside of the Vertigo imprint, for nearly twenty years. It clearly isn't even a factor, any inspection of a year of editorial decisions will confirm this. OMAC, What DC is acutely aware of, according to their many press releases and interviews, is the concept of a work and the demographics of the expected audience. They seldom state a title was poor, but they always say it didn't capture an audience. The concepts and the numbers are the only tangibles they consistently refer to.

I should clarify, however; diversity is a factor I consider, but it is not an overriding one. I did not pull Static Shock, Blue Beetle or Mr. Terrific after the first issue. I cancelled my pulls of Voodoo and Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Queen, each following the second issue. Batwoman is, despite many flaws, one of the best drawn ongoings on the stand and better than about ninety percent of the titles in the direct market. Batwing is middling and I will probably drop it soon, but it had various sparks of promise. I made a bad call on keeping Batwing, just as I made a bad call on dropping Dominique Laveau and Justice League Dark when I did. Nobody is perfect.

You are correct that they never say "a title was poor", because that would mean admitting they published crap. Saying it "didn't capture an audience" is corporate double-talk (ie. lies). Whether they refer to it or not, they are a business out to make a profit, and sales are the biggest thing they're looking at. Don't believe their press releases and interviews, it's all geared towards sales, not honesty or critical evaluation. Your $3 that is meant to support diversity looks exactly the same as the $3 from the person who thinks the comic is great literature.

[Richard Bishop]

I buy issues almost entirely, but on a two-tiered schedule.

For books I really care about (X-Factor, Iron Man, Captain America), I have my LCS pull them for me and I pick them up when they come out.

For books that I don't "care" about, but am interested in reading (before the NOW relaunch, things like Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Dark Avengers, FF, Journey Into Mystery), I wait until this little tiny LCS puts them out on the $1 racks, which generally is 3-4 months after release date. My reasoning is that it wouldn't bother me if those books weren't published any more, and if he doesn't put them out, I either go without them, find them in the $1 bins at a later date, or spend some of my disposable income on buying the issues I'm missing.

The only book I buy in volumes is Fables, because I feel it reads better that way, and also because I got a great deal on eBay on the first 8 TPBs and figured I would collect that series in that manner rather than mixing floppies and TPBs.

[toddx77]

Pre August 2011 I would always buy monthlies but buy the trades to catch up or just buy the trades or HC in general because I did not care to read the monthlies. After Aug 2011 and digital comics coming with a physical release I still buy monthlies because I like to support the titles, DC takes forever with trades, and I am running out of shelf space so for a lot of newer series or anything I never had a trade for I buy digital. Current series that I always get in HC or trade are Earth One since that is how they come and The Walking Dead because I don't think I can handle going to monthlies after being so used to graphic novels and I don't want to have part of the series physically and then the rest digitally. Maybe with some other series I wouldn't care but with walking did I do. Overall I buy monthlies because I don't want to wait too long and I enjoy talking online about each issue.

Before discovering digital I would buy a lot more back issues in trades or try to get all the trades right before the first monthly I bought but I am literally running out of shelf space and digital helps so much with that. Also digital is cheaper and I can buy at a better pace. I got into Grim Fairy Tales because of the digital price and I could buy each issue when I wanted. Also with digital I can not only take my comics with me anywhere but if I want to re read something, let a friend read something, or look something up I don't have to go searching through boxes but rather just open comixology and find it in seconds. I rarely buy anything new digital though as I refuse to pay retail price for a digital only comic. I always buy the combo pack with DC so I get both and with Marvel I would just buy everything in print but read what ever came with a code on my tablet. Now though if a comic does not come with a code I either wait for a price drop for digital or just don't read it for now since I am living in another country. I will say though that as nice as digital is having trades on your shelf looks a lot nicer especially HC.

[glennsim]

I would rephrase what you said to "DC doesn't recognize the quality of their comics, only the sales of them." If bad comics sell, diverse or not, they'll pump out bad comics. For example, the '90s.

Yes, if sales are bad on Batwing (not "Blackwing"), they'll probably blame it on the black character. But if the sales are good for a bad comic, diverse or not, they'll figure they can keep making bad comics because people are buying them.



You are correct that they never say "a title was poor", because that would mean admitting they published crap. Saying it "didn't capture an audience" is corporate double-talk (ie. lies). Whether they refer to it or not, they are a business out to make a profit, and sales are the biggest thing they're looking at. Don't believe their press releases and interviews, it's all geared towards sales, not honesty or critical evaluation. Your $3 that is meant to support diversity looks exactly the same as the $3 from the person who thinks the comic is great literature.

(wow, "Blackwing" kinda makes it sound like I was mocking the book in a racist way, doesn't it? Wasn't intentional.)

At the end of the day, DC is indeed going to publish more books that are like the ones that already sell well, yes. So you can buy the bad book featuring the minority which will result in more books about minorities (which could end up being good or bad) or you can not buy the bad book featuring the minority which will result in new books not featuring minorities, some of which will be good and some of which will be bad.

DC doesn't acknowledge and/or isn't aware of whatever elements you consider to be bad about the book, so sales aren't going to change those elements. The fact that a book where they did not have as much editorial interference sells really well is not going to make them say "hey, we need to do less editorial interference." I just don't think they see it that way.

[DracoDracul]

Volumes, they are slightly cheaper per issue and most comics these days are written for the trade anyway.

[Jolly Mon]

(wow, "Blackwing" kinda makes it sound like I was mocking the book in a racist way, doesn't it? Wasn't intentional.)

I didn't go there because it was obviously not what you meant.

At the end of the day, DC is indeed going to publish more books that are like the ones that already sell well, yes. So you can buy the bad book featuring the minority which will result in more books about minorities (which could end up being good or bad) or you can not buy the bad book featuring the minority which will result in new books not featuring minorities, some of which will be good and some of which will be bad.

DC doesn't acknowledge and/or isn't aware of whatever elements you consider to be bad about the book, so sales aren't going to change those elements. The fact that a book where they did not have as much editorial interference sells really well is not going to make them say "hey, we need to do less editorial interference." I just don't think they see it that way.

I think we're saying similar things, but from different perspectives. You're saying buying the bad, but diverse, book encourages them to produce more diverse books, which may or may not be bad. I'm saying buying the bad, but diverse, book encourages them to produce more bad books, which may or may not be diverse. Without inside knowledge, either (or neither) may be true, we just don't know.

But to me, the bottom line is you/we bought a bad book, and I can't afford to pay for a bad book in the hope the publisher interprets it the way I mean for them to.

[This]

I buy new single comics each week.

I buy soft and hard cover trades to get reprinted older material.

[dupersuper]

I have a three tiered system. For the best of the best I buy the monthly issues, but then also get the HC when six issues are collected. Next there are some books I enjoy and just keep the monthlies, and last there are some titles I just read and then throw away after I've read them.

Throw out? Surely you mean give away or sell...?

[RockyIII]

I buy my ongoing DC titles digitally, waiting a month to get the $1 saving. I also collect Vertigo, Dark Horse and Image titles in hardcover trades, except for Saga which I also buy monthly digitally...it's just too good. I am not buying any Marvel titles in any format for several reasons.