Isn’t my LOST-themed Beer Glass awesome? Welcome to the inaugural installment of The Short Report (pronounced Shore Repore, like Colbert, yeah, I’m unoriginal). What I intend to do here is report on a current topic and give my thoughts on them, hopefully to spur on discussion past pure fanboy rage. Face it, we all have it, and it can blind us to some very important details. While the first column was going to be about something else entirely (you’ll have to wait until next week for that), tonight you get a follow up to one of our hottest posts to date.
If you’ve been keeping up with Matt’s recent post about comic piracy, there’s been a common thread in all the arguments in favor of downloading comics in lieu of buying them. They’re too expensive.
Fair enough, comics cost money. That’s a very valid point. And seeing as how you usually buy them in bulk, the costs can add up quite quickly. I usually find myself spending from $40 to $60 a week, just trying to keep up with the adventures of my favorite heroes, villains, and in the case of The Walking Dead, survivors of the zombie apocalypse.
It is definitely overwhelming. But there are measures you can take to insure you save money while insuring that the people who spend their time crafting these stories get their fair share.
Trades:
We all know what these are, and how much cheaper they are than buying the books month to month. And while I would prefer you buy them from your Local Comic Shop, there are many places you can go to if you want to keep up on the latest adventures of the characters in your favorite comics. Trades are an industry standard, and it’s a great way to read comics in a single sitting. And here are a ton of options you have in order to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.
Retail:
As I said earlier, your Local Comic Shop would be ideal. But if you can’t do that (due to finances, trust me, I know how that is), you can go to places like Barnes & Noble or Borders. Either one of those can have discounts on books with either coupons or frequent buyer cards. I actually have a membership at Borders and they send 30% off coupons on an almost weekly basis. That’s a pretty darn good deal if I do say so myself. Barnes & Noble also has a card that, while initially pricy (it costs $25 US) it can help you save a boatload on comics, or books in general.
Online:
But even after that, Barnes & Noble and Borders have websites from which you can order. They can be cheaper than the shops themselves (check out the 40% markdown on *ahem* certain GN’s) You can even find books here that the retail stores don’t have in stock, provided it’s still in print.
And of course, you have Amazon. Amazon undercuts the retail market by 20-30% almost every time, and if you buy more than $25, shipping is free! But if waiting 7-10 days isn’t your speed, you can invest in a yearly subscription of Amazon Prime, which is even more pricy than a Barnes & Noble Card, but it also gives you complimentary two day shipping at no extra charge (other than the $79 yearly fee, of course.)
Digital Distribution:
And finally, publishers like Marvel have moved on to the digital distribution market(which is even cheaper than I realized at $4.99 /mo…jeez), charging a nominal fee to read almost anything you can imagine. They even post some for free, in a way to encourage people to buy their product. While I’m not really the biggest reader of books on my computer screen, it’s a legal alternative to pirating comics.
Continued belowFree Options:
But even after that, if you can’t afford even those, try your local library. I actually first read Sin City and The Dark Knight Returns when I was in Junior High, thanks to the public library system, and while their collections may not be as diverse as others, it’s free! If they don’t get the titles you want, you can request they start carrying more graphic novels. I’m sure your local library will be happy to pick up whatever books they think people will actually want to read, and since you’re the public, they might listen. David even did an article on this subject a few months past in his Multiversity 101: Comic Book Literacy write-up. Libraries are still vital to our community, so any support they get would be awesome.
But there are some of us, myself included, who want to read the books month to month! I completely understand that logic. It’s how the medium was originally meant to be read, and I can’t fault anyone for wanting to read the latest issue of Amazing Spider-Man the month it comes out. And that’s where DCBS comes into play.
This might belong in the “online” category, but I think it’s important enough to warrant a special spotlight. DBCS is a wonderful service that I learned about via our fearless leader Matt. DCBS is a website that sells comics at a ridiculously discounted price, and you have options to have them send the books to you weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. I recently started using the site, and this month I’m buying more coming in one month than I ever have before, and I’m spending less than half of what I usually spend retail. That’s a pretty sweet deal, no? For instance, the very first issue of the new volume of Flash is going to cost me $0.99, that’s WITH the special promotional ring that you get. Even Top Cow has their book Magdalena on the site, and the trade will cost you $7.99, which is a massive 60% off the price of the trade in Barnes & Noble or Borders. I believe that even undercuts Amazon, and they’re one of the biggest sellers on the internet. How about that? And as a special promotion, they’re also selling Magdalena #1 by Ron Marz & Ryan Sook, for $0.99, and it’s signed by the writer himself! How’s that for legit?
If you can’t tell, there are MANY ways to get your books that don’t involve taking money out of the wallets of people who work hard to provide you with entertainment. While some can seem daunting, isn’t it worth helping out those creators who are doing this as a career? They’re far from rich. Why do you think Geoff Johns and Brian Bendis write Eleventy Billion titles all by their lonesome?
Until next time, Cheers!
