I’m newish to reading comics( a few months or so) and I’m very curious on how most people read comics.
When I first started reading I was doing the single issues but quickly figured out I wasn’t a fan of them. I had a guy tell me about trade paper backs and deluxe editions… And that where I truly fell in love with comics. I’ve started reading and collecting all the rebirth deluxe edition books.( Currently reading the Flash) I understand that tends to mean I’m not update on the current storylines but there’s something about have multiple issues to read at one time over just having one issue.
So my question is how do you read comics? … Single issues, trade paperbacks, deluxe editions, omnibus.
I like a good omnibus to get a series of issues. I’ll also get individual issues if I feel like I absolutely need them and I see multiples in order, but I typically like the large collections of comics. They can be a bit more expensive but with the content that you get it’s pretty good. I also read the Showcase Presents volumes, which if you just want story and don’t care too much about the old colorings those can be good too, and are a pretty good way of going through the stories and being introduced to different characters.
For bulk catch up stuff, I love getting trade paperbacks. There’s something super satisfying about having shelves full of trade paperbacks to me. For current series coming out now, I’m trying to go digital, actually. Comixology lets you subscribe to an ongoing series, so when a new issue comes out, it automatically charges you and downloads it to your library, if you like. It’s more convenient than having to keep looking up release dates and going to my comic shop to pick up a pull list. Although I do like collecting single issues with good covers, I like to hang them on my wall.
I do both. Single issues I get digitally for current books that I want to keep up with. Trades I get from my local comic shop for things that I want to keep a physical copy of. I also read trades of older material from Hoopla, my library branch or sometimes in digital format.
I’ve been doing single issues since 2001, only picking up trades when I want to read an older series that’s hard/expensive to collect issue by issue. But starting this fall I’m switching to collected editions for financial reasons. That means I’ll have several months of waiting for the upcoming arcs of the series I am reading to end, and for those arcs to be collected, but in the meantime I’ve got DC Universe’s comic catalogue to keep me busy. And I’ve been strictly digital since 2011.
Great question! It’s a lot of single books right now. My comic shop gives a 30% discount when you pre-order or subscribe. To be honest, I’d probably go MOSTLY digital if you didn’t have to pay full cover price for digital books. Mostly because they just take up space I don’t have, though I do like reading books physically, too. As it is, I usually catch up on books i’m interested in through digital. If I REALLY love a book, I’ll buy a trade or oversize or hardcover edition to keep.
I had to stop reading them for 9 months, but about 6 years ago for Marvel I switched to Marvel unlimited. I don’t buy any Marvel Comics ever just read them digitally. did the same for Dynamite, IDW , Valiant I now read all those digitally either with Comic blitz or with Comixology Unlimited. DC I have to buy single, but last week I picked up Batman The Rules of Engagement graphic novel. Walking Dead I buy single.
I’m also fairly new to comics! I usually just read single issue each week keeping up with the top few I’m really interested in. Although reading multiple volumes at a time is also fun when I have the chance to get them because it’s nice to revisit older story lines or just read something different than I am now. (And I have a lot to catch up on being a new reader, aka just started when Rebirth came out)
I’m all trades. I don’t reread single issues ever. I reread all my trades about once a month. Tom King’s Batman is better as a trade because the nuances become more clear each time.
A mix of everything. I get singles for ongoing series, also if I find a complete story in back issues I’ll get the singles. A lot of trades, hardcovers etc. And digital as well.