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Post by The Doctor on Apr 7, 2009 19:50:10 GMT
All the new IDW TF material has been printed in trades thus far. It's unlikely that will stop. Like Marvel, they seem to trade up all their single issues company wide. So GI Joe will get trades.
I've switched to trades for the stories I want as I'm confident it all gets traded anyway!
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Apr 7, 2009 20:19:05 GMT
I've switched to trades as well, as the cost of single issues has become prohibitive In theory anyway. In practice I haven't been particularly interested in what I have seen of the preview pages of IDW's Transformers output, so in practice I am likely to be skipping most of the trades as well.
But in principle I have switched to getting things I like the look of in trade rather than single issues.
Karl
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Post by jameso on Apr 7, 2009 20:38:05 GMT
I'm kinda thinking of doing this, too. I'm well into the stage of getting the issues, and variant covers, just because I have all the preceding issues and variants and I don't want some half filled collection. Which is just costing me money now. I should just stop now, but maybe when there's some kind of suitable gap I'll scale back.
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Apr 7, 2009 21:12:41 GMT
The Titan issues may not get a trade though, so if you want 'em you should get 'em in monthly form.
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dyrl
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Transforming robots are no match for combat waitresses from the future!
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Post by dyrl on Apr 8, 2009 7:12:01 GMT
Dag.
That's a market opportunity if I ever saw one. With such high subscription costs for comics, it's a matter of time until one of these companies gets the brilliant idea to offer cheaper subscriptions for access to online stories.
The risk of the stories being copied exists, but then again, so does the risk of people scanning printed comics. I mean, subscribing to comics used to be cheap. It's amazing how expensive it has gotten.
I have almost all of the Titan Trade Paperbacks and the DW Warwithin. I've got IDW's Infiltration but don't really like it that much. It's not bad, but it's not great either.
In any event - like others, I personally prefer Trades because I like reading through the whole story rather than piecemeal. That and the monthly issues are more prone to become damaged and shriveled.
I would likely buy the monthly issues if I lived in the UK or USA and actually could walk into a newstand and see them. Given that I can't do that - I won't.
Will likely hunt down other Trades in time.
Pete
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Post by grahamthomson on Apr 8, 2009 7:37:39 GMT
I'm paying £40 a month, and it is too much for my poor wife. Perhaps a cheaper wife can be sourced abroad? I switched to trades a while back. Well, except the odd Spotlight. At the moment, the benefits of getting trades far outweighs getting single issues. Unless there's an element of impatience to read the stories. But for me, I stopped being impatient to read new Transformers stories long, long ago. |
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I still think its the 1990s - when I joined TMUK
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Post by chrisl on Apr 8, 2009 7:58:32 GMT
My rule of thumb is to buy single issues - but only Maximum Dinobots and the occassional spotlight written by Furman or Roche or drawn by Roche.
Andrex is much cheaper than All Hail Megatron.
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Post by Bogatan on Apr 8, 2009 8:07:38 GMT
I've been on to trades for three years, besides sometimes loosing track of when things are released it's much better. Also takes up less space and if you can resist picking them up straight away IDW and or Simon Furman love selling them off really cheap at Botcon and AA. It was something daft like £5 each at AA last year.
Andy
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Post by blueshift on Apr 8, 2009 9:57:46 GMT
Dag. That's a market opportunity if I ever saw one. With such high subscription costs for comics, it's a matter of time until one of these companies gets the brilliant idea to offer cheaper subscriptions for access to online stories. The risk of the stories being copied exists, but then again, so does the risk of people scanning printed comics. I mean, subscribing to comics used to be cheap. It's amazing how expensive it has gotten. At the risk of being some sort of backseat marketer, I really agree with this. Marvel have some sort of system up, but it is really clunky and horrid. Really scans are so easy to get hold of, if people want to steal scans, then they will. Far better to try to regulate it - hey, it works for itunes! |
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 8, 2009 11:34:20 GMT
I'm stopping after AHM. Trades from now on. AHM has done me in, I'm afraid. I get a lot of Marvel these days. I wait for the TPB price to come down on Amazon and get 'em. Means having to wait and be patient, but it's worth it.
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dyrl
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Transforming robots are no match for combat waitresses from the future!
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Post by dyrl on Apr 8, 2009 12:44:50 GMT
Now that's what I call sound financial advise!  Pete |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Apr 8, 2009 17:49:26 GMT
Mind you, monthly comics are written with catch-ups at the start and cliffhangers at the end, i.e. the writer has it in mind that the reader is reading each chapter and then having a month of suspense wondering what will happen next.
Do people who plan to only read the trades abstain from the web previews of each issue and then when they get the trade read each chapter on separate days to get the proper effect, or do they read all the web previews as they come out, regardless of spoiler content, and then read the trade straight through in one sitting? If the latter, doesn't that spoil the potential for that first-time experience the writer had in mind, and reduce your ability to judge its merits as a cliffhanger serial?
I'm not making judgements, as I don't buy comics any more in any form unless a mate is listed in the credits, but I have wondered at the unfamiliar phenomenon as I buy Maximum Dinobots. Personally, I think both looking at web previews prior to getting the issues, and reading a cliffhanger-laden series in a single sitting, would prevent me getting the maximum enjoyment as a reader.
Mind you, even reading it issue by issue, I can't get anything liked as worked up as I did back in the old Marvel days.
Martin
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 8, 2009 18:01:37 GMT
Generally, when I've just read a story TPB, I avoid all mention of the story, and then after I've read it, I catch up on what my Cyber Chumbs have thought 'bout it.
The monthly thing works fine for a gripping story, and the board action is a wonderful part of that experience. Shame AHM has been as flat as a flat thing and hasn't raised anything like the excitement other stories have.
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 8, 2009 18:02:11 GMT
Love your sig, Martin!
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Apr 8, 2009 18:11:32 GMT
The origins lie here. Martin |
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Post by legios on Apr 8, 2009 19:48:24 GMT
Do people who plan to only read the trades abstain from the web previews of each issue and then when they get the trade read each chapter on separate days to get the proper effect, or do they read all the web previews as they come out, regardless of spoiler content, and then read the trade straight through in one sitting? If it is a mini-series I will read the preview pages of the first issue to see if it grabs me. If it does then if I am planning to pick it up in trades I then tend not to read previews of succeeding issues. And if it doesn't grab me in that space then unless I hear very good things about it from a trusted source I will probably think no more of the series generally. Where it is standalone things like IDW's Spotlight series I tend to read the previews of each issue to decide whether I think it is worth buying. My theory is that five pages is approximately a quarter of an issue - if you haven't managed to grab me in that time then they likely enough aren't going to. As to reading through a trade in one sitting, I don't tend to do that. I prefer to read my trades in issue-sized chunks over a period. I will rarely sit down and read one cover to cover in the way I would a prose book, they just aren't that sort of animal. In fact the only trade I can remember reading straight through in one go recently was the first Astonishing X-Men trade - it had so little content in it that I had finished it before I had finished my morning coffee. Suffice it to say it was returned forthwith to the libruary and I felt greatly relieved I hadn't spent any money on it. I actually agree with you Martin, I rather like spreading out the stories so as to get the periodical effect. It is a shame that so few of the comics produced by the majors these days are written with how they will read in a serial publication format as a main concern. Karl |
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Post by Bogatan on Apr 8, 2009 19:51:46 GMT
I dont look at previews for any kind of fiction if I intend to read, watch or listen to it. If I see a bit of preview for a comic I don't mind generally when I do it's only the first few pages. Having to avoid certain web pages of threads on boards I read is a little frustrating sometimes, but I still enjoy the experience of not knowing what the next episode or issue will be about.
As for reading trades, I dont find the cliffhangers are spoiled, I still dont know how they will be resolved I just dont have to wait as long to find out. Recaps feel out of place but I find them just as annoying in most comics, if I cant remember the last issue I reread it, I see them as needed for new readers or casual readers who might miss the odd one.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 8, 2009 19:58:55 GMT
I never read the 5-page previews of IDW TF comics when quality was higher as I was picking most of them up anyway and at $4 a pop I did not want to read a quarter of an issue before I bought it. However, for me, the line has mostly went down the toilet in the last year so now I do check the previews because I want to try before I buy as so many of them are shite. If the preview grabs me, I'll pick up the trade.
As for reading trades, I read them in one sitting like any other book.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on Apr 9, 2009 6:27:44 GMT
;D I'm amazed by how few of you are completists. Several of the things I collect are sufficiently expensive that it broke any tendency in me to be a completist about anything, and certainly when it comes to comics I see little point to buying something that I'm not enjoying. (I suffer from a "Brand Loyalty" deficit if you will.....). We're in the same boat as regards the Titan title though. It may be quite expensive for eleven pages a month (generally) but I do think it is quite fun and therefore am happy to give some of my monies to it. Karl |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Apr 9, 2009 6:36:41 GMT
Perhaps a cheaper wife can be sourced abroad? ;D I'm amazed by how few of you are completists. It's just as well. Think what it would be like if having one wife made you feel you had to collect them all... Martin |
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Post by grahamthomson on Apr 9, 2009 8:27:24 GMT
I think the quality of the Transformers titles at the moment has also influenced my decision. I don't get excited about reading anything anymore. I think I will now have to dump my comics order, though I feel for my comics shop who must be feeling it right now. That's the sad thing about it all. It's a self-fulfilling vicious circle, or whatever it's called. Sales go down, publishers stop trying/hire cheaper or less talented staff, quality dips, sales fall further. And so on. And the thing with the recession; is a publisher more likely to blame bad sales on a general decline instead of admitting they've made bad editorial/creative decisions? |
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Post by KnightBeat on Apr 9, 2009 22:07:14 GMT
I was a completist until the start of the year - I'd buy at least one issue of each TF US & UK comic on the shelf. I've cut my monthly purchases to MD, AHM and TFU and switched to trades for the movie and Marvel reprint lines. It's much easier to justify spending £9 a month + occassional paperback, in comparison to £18 + paperback.
IDW are in my bad books today for shrinking the size of their paperbacks to somewhere between the manga edition and the US comic. I was going to buy the new IDW TF Animated paperback today (it contains the unprinted story from the cancelled Animated US series), but I put it back on the shelf when I noticed the height + width of the pages were smaller than the floppy issues.
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Post by blueshift on Apr 10, 2009 7:35:22 GMT
IDW are in my bad books today for shrinking the size of their paperbacks to somewhere between the manga edition and the US comic. I was going to buy the new IDW TF Animated paperback today (it contains the unprinted story from the cancelled Animated US series), but I put it back on the shelf when I noticed the height + width of the pages were smaller than the floppy issues. Oh what, seriously? |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Apr 10, 2009 11:23:01 GMT
Mind you, monthly comics are written with catch-ups at the start and cliffhangers at the end, i.e. the writer has it in mind that the reader is reading each chapter and then having a month of suspense wondering what will happen next. That's a point. The end of Maximum Dinobots #1, #2 and #5 would be cliffhangers either way, but the month-long gap gives them more impact for me. Same with Devastation's cliffhanger of Sixshot shooting the Ark out of the sky - it hits harder when I can't simply turn a page to see how they escape. |
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Post by charlesrocketboy on Apr 10, 2009 11:24:50 GMT
I won't be dumping the Titan title, I have a subscription and that is the one comic I really look forward to getting! We're in the same boat as regards the Titan title though. It may be quite expensive for eleven pages a month (generally) but I do think it is quite fun and therefore am happy to give some of my monies to it. And if you DID drop it, Starscream would say rude things about you!  |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 10, 2009 19:31:03 GMT
I too happily buy the UK comic. The novelty of having a new TF-UK comic has long since worn off, but the main strip is generally a fun unpretentious read and I love the letters pages where Starscream is cruel to young readers. Also, Arcee's Personals is a hoot.
Also: comes out every 4 weeks regular as clockwork. On time, like comics should be!!!
-Ralph
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2009 22:21:23 GMT
Andrex is much cheaper than All Hail Megatron. And it does the same job of putting shit onto paper! |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 11, 2009 10:13:01 GMT
Remember: always vote with your wallet when it comes to quality!
-Ralph
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 7:46:15 GMT
Interesting discussion... kinda depressing too.
Switching to trades makes financial sense even if I say it myself, so long as you're happy to wait for longer for the story. And the publishers/wholesalers are doing themselves no favours by making the prices of individual issues so prohibitive.
But I wonder what will happen if enough people stop buying the individual issues in favour of waiting for the trade. Will publishers spot the trend and decide to release trades instead of single issues, or simply pull the plug on struggling titles. I think the latter is more likely.
Previous posters who suggested some sort of legal means of downloading comics are probably onto something. Long term that is probably the future of comics publishing.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2009 9:53:02 GMT
I don't mind buying individual issues because mainly I'm collecting every issue at the moment. On average I only spend about £15-20 on comics and that doesn't bother me.
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