Comic Books Or Tpbs?

[jabbatheridge]

Which do you prefer?

Do you have to get down to your local comic shop every week and pick up the latest issues or do you wait for them to be collected into a TPB and read the whole story. When I was younger I used to go to the comic book shop every week and pick up the latest issues, but even then I still waited until I'd got all the parts to the story before I read them. These days as I don't live near a comic book store, I prefer to go every once in a while and pick up a couple of TPB's mainly from local bookstores and online. The only problem is it might take a year for a story in the comics to be collected into a trade, by which time the plot can be old news. But going to the comic shop every week is too tying and time consuming. So which do you prefer comics or TPB's?

 

[Mrh7448]

I prefer TPB's. First of all you don't have to worry about forgetting or missing an issue it's all right there. They also tend to be cheaper in the end rather than buying individual issues. Also a lot of times you get little bonuses in them, sketchbook work, concepts or whatever, which I find just as interesting as the story itself.

 

[steelio2006]

i use to be into TPB's. but lately i've been getting into buying the individuals now.

 

[Dark Victory]

Tpb

 

[JTStarkiller]

I prefer the original comics.

--I just like physically reading them, where I can open and spread one out on a table, so I can take my time and appreciate all the details. I don't like how TPB's have that stiff binding.

-- I love being in the moment while reading new ones. Hard to explain, but when a new issue of an arc comes out, it feels like it's happening now, and everyone is experiencing it with me. It's just like watching a television show every week.

-- I love collecting really cool covers. Every once in a while, I'll get something I'm not so interested in just to have the cover.

 

[jabbatheridge]

I must admit I like the fact that both Marvel and DC now do hardcover versions before the TPB is released down the line. I like the fact TPB's fit all the story together in one place (which is why I buy them) but the binding glue can be a little unreliable and come loose after one or two reads, even if someone has flicked through it whilst it's still in the store. This doesn't happen with the hardbacks. So that's a good thing.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

i only buy TPB's because there is a sense of FULL STORY there & I dunno IT'S EASIER TO FIND RARE STORIES/CHARACTERS IN TPB's than in single issues...

Example: The Shadow
Lee Falk's The Phantom
The Green Hornet etc.

 

[Dark Victory]

To be honest I buy both but I prefer TPB's. Over the years I have lost a few issues which can range to 10 years where for TPB's, all the issues for that arc are collected.

 

[Mladen]

tpbs. My comic budget is limited, and in Australia we get all of our comics and trades shipped in from the US, so they end up costing me double what you guys pay for them. Trade just ends up being more economical, and I prefer to have the whole story at once.

but jtstarkiller makes a good point with the way you can spread issues flat on a table. Thats definately an advantage when the art is good and you just want to stop and admire it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Individual issues. There's no way in hell I could wait for TPBs to come out on certain comics, plus the feeling of reading a single comic is much more satisfying to me than reading a trade. It takes me back to my childhood; reading a trade just feels like I'm reading a book.

 

[Hellstormer]

I mostly buy tpbs for budgetary reasons. I prefer issues, but like other have said its cheaper to buy trades and they have cool bonuses. Unfortunately they can be easily damaged (folds, bends, and spines) and they sometimes don't collect EVERYTHING (back-up stories in Invincible come to mind). Lately I've stopped buying trades (especially after I got a ****load for $5 a pop) and began looking for back issues at cons and such. Also if I began a series in trades I'll stay like that especially if they have consistent and uniform covers(Invincible, Hellboy).

 

[jabbatheridge]

I must admit that's the downside of TPB's, they are put together rather weakly. I've had books I've read two or three times and the binding glue starts to fall apart and pages come out etc. Some of them don't seem to hold up to repeat readings too well.

That's why if possible I usually get the hardback edition. I quite like the fact Marvel and DC seem to be doing regular sized hardcover versions of most of their more popular comic books. Though it was a pain to read the original over sized versions of Ultimate Spider-Man that Marvel brought out.

Those things were heavyt:

 

[Dope Nose]

depends on how interested I am in the storyline.

 

[Addendum]

The only TPB that has almost fallen off the binding was Volume 1 of Rex Mundi. All the other 3 volumes I bought haven't done that, nor has the One Volume version of Bone which some people complained about (not on here, but in reviews I read online).

I have trades that I bought 10+ years ago, and have read several times over and the binding is still holding.

But back to the topic of the thread, I only buy TPBs or the Hardcover version, if I hadn't already bought the trade.

The only series I have in the individual issues is the complete run of Babylon 5 by DC, including a 3 issue series they published in 1998. I don't read them that often because it's so damn annoying having to open the bag, take the comic out, then put it back in a few minutes later, replace the tape that was torn while opening it, and continue on for each comic.

However, reading a trade or hardcover is a much easier process. Take the book off the shelf, grab a drink, set it down on my coffee table, plop down on my couch, and read. The reading process is much longer than an individual issue and more enjoyable since there's no ads.

Plus, there's the aesthetic value trades and hardcovers have in a bookshelf. Individual issues can't compete on a bookshelf, though I will give them some dap when they're framed.

 

[Gilpesh]

For collecting: Comics

For reading a full story: TPB

 

[Metallx]

Always individual comics for me. For multiple reasons. I do not like waiting for a full trade to come out of a particular series for one. I enjoy the short read of one issue. I also enjoy have long runs of series. I like looking at my collection and knowing I have every GL issue.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Individual issues, I have no real reason, I guess habit more than anything.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It's a good habit if you can find storage space.

 

[yenaled]

I have a tower of comics next to my bed that I'm afraid might collapse in the night and kill me.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I've got a box that's half-full of comics set up so I can toss recently read issues in there in order to avoid just that. Before I moved out of my last apartment, I had like 4 really high piles of comics accumulating next to my bed, so I was determined not to let that happen again. They were all dusty and gross by the time I finally started shifting them around to move.

 

[yenaled]

Haha I moved into a new place back in January and bought longboxes for the move and packed everything away (before that I would just have random piles of comics about the place).

Once I filled my longboxes and moved I haven't got round to buying anymore and I've just started the ultra-pile.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Storage is definitely a b**** for any periodical, especially if you can't just toss them out like magazines.

 

[jabbatheridge]

Ok a question for the guys who collect comic books. Say you're collecting a six part story, do you read the issues each month as they come out or wait until you've got all six issues and then read them together in one go?

 

[Cosmic]

I don't choose to buy comics based on whatever individual stories are being told at the time. If I'm interested enough to put a title on my pull list and keep it there, then I'll read whatever stories come along the way, as long as I'm satisfied with the quality. And I generally read them on the day they come thru the mail, after I get off work...unless I have other plans.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Ok a question for the guys who collect comic books. Say you're collecting a six part story, do you read the issues each month as they come out or wait until you've got all six issues and then read them together in one go?

I buy them and read them week to week. If I were gonna wait to read the whole story at once, I might as well just wait for the trade. They come out like a couple weeks after the last issue of most major stories now anyway.