QUESTION: How/Why You Buy Comics

[boshuda]

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
I go every now and then, but I always keep him in sight and never turn my back. I have a very young looking butt, even though I am an older guy ... I aint taking any chances

Lol. Pics or it didn't happen. Just kidding Want some candy?

* What turns you on or off to titles?

Pure anal response here, but one thing I love seeing is the cover artist is the same as the interior. I know that seems ... childish? ... but that is how I use to decide what comics I would buy when I was about 8 or 9. Loved seeing a Perez cover because I knew (most of the time) I was in for a treat on the interior art. I wish more comics did that. I would buy more spur of the moment books if that was the norm.

Cross-overs make me mad sometimes. I remember the first crossover to really "get me goat", as they say, was the NEW TEEN TITANS / OUTSIDERS crossover back in the Wolfman/Perez days. Only because I had gone to the LCS (this is before preorder days ... for me anyway) and then had to go back after I realized what was going on. Yes, my own stupidity, but that doesn't reflect well on me, so it was their fault ... someone else.

I completely agree on covers. It feels like false advertising to me, particularly when the solicits use almost exclusively the cover art to sell the book.

I don't think it was your stupidity to not get the crossover. Crossover are not normal, but comics coming out one a month, continuing the story from last month, are normal. Retailers should receive a list of all titles and issues involved in a crossover and that should be communicated to buyers. And/or each issue involved in the crossover should list in big 'ol letters on the cover what other issues you would need to complete the crossover. I'm actually kind of surprised the publishers don't provide such a list, since it would probably mean more sales.

I don't like to read the solicit info on a book because I don't want the story spoiled, so I often fail to order the other titles involved in a crossover. If the DCBS spreadsheet had a popup, or the website could do a cross-check when I upload the spreadsheet, or had some other automated checking mechanism to alert me to crossovers I would probably like crossovers a bit more and spend more money. To a point.

[Perry]

Lol. Pics or it didn't happen. Just kidding Want some candy?

OH NO!! Not falling for that ... again

[mguy1977]

Do you pre-order?
- From a mail order service (DCBS/IST/Amazon)


* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
I may get a handful 5 comics a year off ebay because I missed the issue the first go around.

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
- Buy/Collect titles (mainstream) ie mainstream Superman books SUPERMAN/ACTION COMICS, the main Batman book, BATMAN & at Marvel, Daredevil, Hickman's FF & Fantastic Four
- What Strikes Me (indie) ie. Fatale, Saga, Usagi Yojimbo


* Do you prefer primarily
Print Comics & Collected Editions

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Budget (45 low end-100 high end) per month


* Do you get comics:
- Just to read (first) & collect (secondary). Comics are my hobby. I don't smoke, drink, chase hundreds of women (just a girlfriend right now)
-

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons (great writers, great artists, a Superman mega event (Death of Superman, Wedding, Our Worlds at War, etc...)
- Turn offs (Late writer/artist teams on a big book, Crappy artists (ie Tony S. Daniel), art changes (J. H. Williams is off Batwoman soon & so am I), Marvel's Double-shipping, $3.99 or higher price, etc)

* What do you think about variant covers?
I buy a variant cover about one per year, the last one I got was a tiein to the Daredevil/Punisher/Avenging Spider-Man crossover. I bought the variant cover of Avenging Spider-Man

* What do you think of Crossovers?
If it is a Superman (or Superman family) crossover I will buy it. Prior to the DCnew52, I would buy (fill in the blank) Crisis. Now, I don't care for Before Watchmen, because it isn't the REAL Watchmen aka Alan Moore's Watchmen. AvX is a good event from what I hear but I am skipping Marvel Events since World War Hulk.

* How do Events affect your buying?
If it ties in w/ Superman, I get it. If doesn't, I don't.

Matthew

[comicm]

Mike's answers:


* Do you pre-order?
- Yes, from DCBS
- I also have a small 20% Pull List at a comic shop

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
- I do browse the LCS & pick up stray titles that strike me as interesting each week

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
* I collect titles based on a combination of character & creative team
* I buy all DC regardless of team
* I am jumping off Marvel with the exception of about 10-15 titles
* All Valiant
* Avg of 8 Dark Horse
* Avg of 15 Dynamite
* Avg of 4 Avatar
* Avg of 20 IDW
* Avg of 20 Image
* Avg 3 Boom
* All Valiant
* Avg 1 Action Lab
* Avg 10 Misc

* Do you prefer primarily
- Print Comics
- I dabble in digital wit Monkey Brain and key Silver Age books. I also triple dip in Valiant

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Time is is becoming an issue due to work
- Space is becoming an issue


* Do you get comics:
To read & collect, I like both aspects!

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue, sometimes go digital for issue I missed.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons: Love new universes, continuity, solid creators, inventive story telling.

- Turn offs: Double-shipping, cross-overs, $3.99 price

* What do you think about variant covers?
- don't do but my shop has several customers that pay a lot of money for variants. This usually means that the shop gets stuck with a lot of issues.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
For DC does not effect me because I buy everything. For Marvel it really depends. I do enjoy crossovers with good story telling

* How do Events affect your buying?
Does not effect me. I enjoy them if they are well done

[BobBretall]

What about "sales inertia"??

From John's CBR article this month:

And once a reader decides to not get an issue of a title, the sales inertia on that title is broken and then the publisher faces the challenge of getting the reader to get back on board with that title. Doesn't it make a lot more sense to take advantage of the sales inertia on titles and not do things to make readers question if they should keep getting a title? The habitual buying process for ongoing titles can be a very powerful sales force.

I thought of this today when I got the following e-mail from DCBS:

DCBS Alert on JUL120588 HAWKEYE #2
We were shorted a large portion of our order for this title by our distributor. Customers receiving this email have been credited for the first printing of this title. There is a 2nd printing available. If you would like to have the 2nd printing added, please respond to this email. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Well, I don't want a 2nd printing. I'm a collector/reader, if I just wanted to read the books, I'd go digital. The 1st printing is the "collectible" one.

So, I'm going to look locally at the LCS for a 1st print of Hawkeye #2. If I don't find one, my "sales inertia" will be lost and I'll likely just drop the Hawkeye series altogether.

Am I crazy? Quite probably, but it's the thought process that immediately went through my head when I was faced with missing issue #2. So early in the run, I've not really had any chance to grow that attached to the title. Miss #2? Just drop it.

Slightly different than John's scenario, but the same thing goes through my head every time they reboot a title, e.g. Do I really need to keep getting this book? And giving me this kind of decision point every year or so is not really healthy.

[Perry]

So, I'm going to look locally at the LCS for a 1st print of Hawkeye #2. If I don't find one, my "sales inertia" will be lost and I'll likely just drop the Hawkeye series altogether.

Am I crazy? Quite probably ...

Can we vote?

At first I read you statement and I thought yes, yes you are crazy , but then I realize I have had the same feeling. However, while I do understand the sentiment, I think dropping one of the really good books for that reason is kinda crazy. Just do what I do if I am late getting on a title and can't find it locally. Hit Ebay.

Why drop a great title? Just pick it up on Ebay for $5 or so and keep enjoying it. Hell, there is a 1st print up there now for $3.99 buy it now. Yes it costs you more, but hey ... it's worth it.

[BobBretall]

Why drop a great title?

This argument is predicated on me thinking Hawkeye is a great title. I think it's a 4/5 title. If it was 5/5, sure, no brainer. I can find another 4/5 title to replace it easily. Not so easily from Marvel (just my taste lately), but there are plenty of books I like just as much as Hawkeye.

BTW, for that $3.69 Hawkeye on eBay, how much is it with shipping included? $7.64. Hawkeye is not THAT good imo.

But, as I said, if my LCS has a copy, I'll buy one.

[Perry]

Why drop a great title?

This argument is predicated on me thinking Hawkeye is a great title.

Too true.

BTW, for that $3.69 Hawkeye on eBay, how much is it with shipping included? $7.64.

Eh, it's only money. You would spend it somewhere.

[J. Farrell]

* Do you pre-order?
- From a mail order service (DCBS, Sci-Fi Genre, etc)
- Pull List at a comic shop

There's what I normally do, and what I do right now. Right now I have very little disposable income to spend on things like comics, so I'm not preordering anything, just buying a few issues or books here and there when I can (kinda) afford them.

I did use DCBS regularly for a few years, though, and might do so again. I like the service, but I dislike paying for things in advance, so I might go more of a collected edition route through InStock/Amazon.

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
- Just what strikes you?
- Buy/Collect titles?
- Buy/Collect characters?
- Buy/collect by creative team

I buy what looks/sounds interesting to me. I also follow quite a few creators (Phil Hester, Guy Delisle, Joe Sacco, and many more) and will usually buy most or all of their output. I do not and will not ever buy a book simply because I always have, or because of the character in it, even though I'm not enjoying the book.

* Do you prefer primarily
- Print Comics
- Digital
- Collected Editions

Print for me, both individual issues and collected editions. Although I dislike Ebay in general, I sometime take advantage of the crazy speculator people who think that Revival #1 is worth some outrageous amount of money, sell my issues, and buy a collection with part of the money. That's the plan anyway. I'm usually too lazy (and hate dealing with Ebay too much) to actually carry it out.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Budget
- Time you have to read the stuff
- Space needed to store the stuff!

Pretty much budget only. I plan to read everything I buy eventually, although I have begun to wonder when exactly that's going to be. Space has become a bigger consideration for me lately too. Still, I had the money, I'd be getting a lot more books.

* Do you get comics:
- Just to read
- You like to collect
- Both!

I have a collecting mentality, but I never buy books purely to collect them. As such, CGC is antithetical to how I think of books. If I can't read it, it's useless to me.

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue
- Skip it & that's OK
- Stop getting the series

Seek it out.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons (Guest stars, cross-overs, etc)
- Turn offs (Double-shipping, cross overs, $3.99 price, etc)

Quality of the work, mostly. None of that other stuff really bothers me unless it's obnoxiously obvious.

* What do you think about variant covers?
- I don't care one way or the other
- I love 'em! Who needs the insides of a comic, a cool cover is where it's at!
- They are the Devil's work & marketing people are demons tempting our mortal collector's souls.

I like art, ergo I like covers. Some variant covers are very nice. I don't pay more for them, and I agree with an earlier poster who said he hated variants that just change the color, remove the color, etc. I'm not fond of the whole variant market...kind of goes against my grain since I'm a buy it to read it guy. Like Rabbit, I enjoy seeing them all in collected editions.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
- Do you buy the other titles?
- Skip them entirely?
- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event?

Most of the books I buy wouldn't ever cross over. It couldn't be anything more than a gimmick if they did. (Stuff like Saga, miniseries, graphic novels, etc.) I don't at all mind the idea of a crossover under the right circumstances, but I very rarely see any being done that actually appeal to me.

* How do Events affect your buying?
- Buy the main series?
- Buy it all?
- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event?

I don't really buy any comics that are in events. I have been dissuaded in the past from buying books that became part of events, so I guess overall I'd say it's a deterrent. Again, it's not the idea of the event that I dislike necessarily, but the way events are actually handled by Marvel and DC is, for the most part, terrible.[/i]

[BobBretall]

This argument is predicated on me thinking Hawkeye is a great title. I think it's a 4/5 title. If it was 5/5, sure, no brainer. I can find another 4/5 title to replace it easily. Not so easily from Marvel (just my taste lately), but there are plenty of books I like just as much as Hawkeye.

BTW, for that $3.69 Hawkeye on eBay, how much is it with shipping included? $7.64. Hawkeye is not THAT good imo.

But, as I said, if my LCS has a copy, I'll buy one.

My LCS had plenty of copies of #2, so I got it for $2.99, so this is a moot point now. Not sure why DCBS got shorted since they have to be a top Diamond customer. It seems to me that Diamond would do their best to keep the bigger accounts supplied.

I'm hearing DCBS was shorted on Flash #0 too. Not sure if Diamond is screwing with DCBS or what.

[IanG]

* Do you pre-order?
- I pre-order comic books and a few trades/HC from DCBS. Sometimes I pre-order trades/HC through Amazon. I've never had a pull list a comic shop. I haven't had a compelling reason to have a pull list while DCBS is in business.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
- A get a few comic books, about 5 - 10 per month, off the rack. I'll get stuff I forgot to pre-order or titles I hear about that are amazing.

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
- Just what strikes you? Yes, and No
- Buy/Collect titles? Fables, Walking Dead
- Buy/Collect characters? Iron Man, Daredevil, and Conan
- Buy/collect by creative team? Yes, creators like Mike Mignola, Mark Waid, Alan Moore, and Jeff Lemire

* Do you prefer primarily
- Print Comics; Yes
- Digital; Sometimes, but not as much as print. I wish I could convert all my comics in short boxes to digital.
- Collected Editions; for some titles where I love the art, but not others, like superhero titles.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Budget; Yes, I try to keep my budget around $100/month w/ DCBS
- Time you have to read the stuff; Yes, I've got less time it seems these days, as I've got two young children.
- Space needed to store the stuff! Yes, I need a bigger garage, or I need to get rid of some comics.

* Do you get comics:
- Just to read; Yes, mostly I enjoy reading the stories for entertainment and admiring the art.
- You like to collect; I don't care about collecting "floppies" anymore, but I do enjoy collecting hard covers. Although, I'm not against collecting comics, and I do have a bunch of short boxes.
- Both!; Kind of, but mostly to read. I don't have a problem with 2nd printings.

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue; Yes, or get it in digital
- Skip it & that's OK; I've skipped a few and lived to see another day
- Stop getting the series; I don't think I've ever done this just because I missed an issue.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons (Guest stars, cross-overs, etc); Artists that I love, or top tier creators teaming up
- Turn offs (Double-shipping, cross overs, $3.99 price, etc) Yes, all of these are turn offs. If you double ship and your 3.99, that's a double turn off. It's the reason I don't get many Marvel comics anymore. Cross-overs are okay, if they're very short but not big long crossovers like AVX.

* What do you think about variant covers?
- I don't care one way or the other; I've only every purchased two or three comics because it's a variant. I don't understand the attraction to variants but it doesn't bother me either.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
- Do you buy the other titles? No, unless I hear they are awesome
- Skip them entirely? Yes, like AVX
- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event? Yes, I was reading some X-Men titles and I dropped them all because of AVX. (I didn't realize how much I dislike AVX until now)

* How do Events affect your buying?
- Buy the main series? Sometimes
- Buy it all? Sometimes, but is "Before Watchmen" an event?
- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event? Sometimes

[SpideySavestheDay]

* Do you pre-order?
- Pull List at a comic shop: Currently 10 titles. Thought about ordering online but I like hanging out in my local shop(s). It gives me opportunity to peruse all the new titles. The owners are ridiculously nice and gracious.

There is something about the smell of printed paper that reminds me of my childhood. Biking to the neighborhood comic shop with friends and picking up an issue of Spiderman and Punisher was always a valuable trek.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
- Yes. Always looking for something new or interesting story lines. Also, I like to check in with some of my favorite childhood characters. The owner at my comic shop will suggest new comics based on my buying habits and interests.

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
- Just what strikes you?
- Buy/Collect titles?
- Buy/Collect characters?
- Buy/collect by creative team
Yes to all of above. Always looking for something good.

* Do you prefer primarily
- Print Comics: Mostly
- Digital: Dipping my toe in. Still not sure.
- Collected Editions: Occasionally when I want a great older story to enjoy.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Budget: Unfortunately this what keeps my pull list to 10. Damn scarcity.

* Do you get comics:
- Both! Love reading and rereading them. It's the only thing I collect.

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue: If my local shop is out, I know a few others that will usually have a copy.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons: Great writers and, occasionally, certain artists.
- Turn offs: Not fulfilling a potentially great story opportunity. Too many times I jump into a title thinking 'this sounds like an awesome idea' only to discover it is the same regurgitated crap. I'm on the verge of dropping Batman & Robin for this reason. I was looking for a good father/son story but it feels like the writer just can't pull the trigger on their relationship.

* What do you think about variant covers?
- I don't care one way or the other: If it is reasonable priced, I may pick up a variant of a favorite character. I recognize that it is a great incentive for the shop owners to make an extra buck.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
- Depends a lot on the story itself. I really liked that a fan of Batman did not have to buy every "Night of the Owls" crossover to understand the story (I still did). I remember only having a few issues of the "Inferno" crossover in the X-titles and not having a clue why certain events were happening.

* How do Events affect your buying?
- Like the crossovers, it depends on the story.