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A couple questions about comics
Is there a decent website that talks about upcoming comic book releases? I'm looking for something that is newbie friendly. I'd like to be able to search by genre at a minimum. A synopsis of the plot would be very helpful.
I've never been into comics, but I figured that I would order a couple for kicks. I'd like to start at the beginning of a series, so I was hoping to find a site that has information on upcoming series.
I know... I could always read stuff that's already out there, but I like the idea of pre-ordering. It gives me something to look forward to.
Also, Scott, where did you say you pre-order your comics?
I'm interested in the Doctor Who comic that began shipping around January. (pre-order now is for #6). Am I out of luck finding #1-5?
I've never been into comics, but I figured that I would order a couple for kicks. I'd like to start at the beginning of a series, so I was hoping to find a site that has information on upcoming series.
I know... I could always read stuff that's already out there, but I like the idea of pre-ordering. It gives me something to look forward to.
Also, Scott, where did you say you pre-order your comics?
I'm interested in the Doctor Who comic that began shipping around January. (pre-order now is for #6). Am I out of luck finding #1-5?
Comments
On the left hand side of the page is a menu item for Odering. Click on that, then click on the downloads link.
On the downloads page you want to download the latest spreadsheet. This is your order form. You fill it out and e-mail it in to place your order. The order form lists every item currently available in the Diamond Previews catalog. This is very good because the Diamond Previews catalog is a gigantic paper monstrosity, and it isn't free. Just a note, if you are a first time customer, there are coupon codes you can use to get a one-time discount on your initial order.
You might notice one problem with this spreadsheet is that it only has the titles of things, and no descriptions. That is what the Word and txt files on the downloads page are for. One contains all the descriptions for the things Marvel is publishing, and the other contains everything else. Use the spreadsheet combined with the description documents to figure out what is what.
The only problem with this solution is pictures. Doing things this way, you will not see any pictures of anything. That's sort of a minus when you are buying such a visual product. If you're like me, you already kind of know what comics you want, and what they look like. On the rare occasion I want to look at a comic, I go to the publisher's website. Nine times out of ten, the publisher has plenty of pictures and info on their site. The one out of ten times they don't, then I just don't buy their book. If they don't care enough to share the info about their book, I don't care to buy it.
There is one alternative. Remember that gigantic monstrosity of a catalog I mentioned? You can buy it. I did this once. I'm only just now thinking of doing it again, but only for the purposes of making a video showing how frightening it is. Buying it once for learning purposes is probably a good idea if you are thinking about starting to read more comics. I highly recommend against buying it regularly. Once you see a copy of it, you will understand. Think about the old Computer Shopper magazine.
Brothers in Arms #1
Doctor Who #4
The War that Time Forgot #1
If this is anything like my foray into anime, it may be my last order. ;-)
I ordered from TFAW. They had artwork and you could pre-order, with a discount, titles that are just about to be released.
Oh snaps!
If you want war comics, read The Other Side.
06/11/2008 Red Mass For Mars #1
05/07/2008 War That Time Forgot #1 (of 8)
06/04/2008 War That Time Forgot #2 (of 8)
06/29/2008 Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #1
07/30/2008 Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods #2
05/28/2008 Doctor Who #5
06/25/2008 Doctor Who #6
04/30/2008 Brothers In Arms #1
04/30/2008 Doctor Who #4
Dcbservice is definitely cheaper, but their pre-order window is much farther out. Tfaw will let you pre-order a couple of weeks prior to release.
A couple of thoughts:
1) Why is it so freaking hard to get comics that are a month or two old? Does the industry do this to create a false sense of urgency, or are the margins so small that they don't print much. There are a couple of series that I was interested in, but I refuse to start reading a series midway through. Doctor who is the only exception, since I already know all of the characters.
2) Why don't the publishers let you subscribe to a series on their website? If shipping was reasonable, I would subscribe to a couple of series. I know that some retailers have subscriptions, but I can't figure out why the publishers don't.
3) Who still reads Archie?
4) Miniseries are the way to go. I can't imagine ordering something like Captain America #678. Tell a story and be done with it.
5) It seems that trade paperbacks make the most sense. I just ordered a new copy The Other Side for $7. It's cheaper than the original comics, and you don't have to wonder if it will be good. I guess not all comics make it to trade paperback, but surely the good ones do. Don't they?
6) Why is it so hard to find information on the publisher's websites for new releases that are more than a month away?
Diamond.
Diamond is a distribution company. They have, and have had, an absolute monopoly on all comic distribution in the US. Marvel and DC both have exclusive licenses with Diamond. A comic book retailer is nothing more than a middle-man between the comic reader and Diamond Distributors. Everything sucks because that's the way Diamond chooses to do business. They have a monopoly. We have no choice in the matter. We can bitch and bitch and bitch on the Internet, and many do. We can write letters to Diamond, to publishers, to shops, etc. Unless the monopoly is broken everything will continue to suck.
The only way you have to fight back with your wallet is to never buy comic books. Only buy trade paperbacks and original graphic novels on Amazon, or from Borders, etc. Those are distributed through the returnable book market, like normal books, rather than through the non-returnable Diamond direct market.
Buying trades on Amazon is actually not that much more expensive than ordering through DCBS. The only problem with that choice is that you will miss out on some of the more obscure titles, and also things which never reach the book market.
Thanks for the great advice.
I'm not into superhero stuff at all. I prefer mini-series to the never ending superhero stuff. Thus, there is a lot of mainstream stuff that doesn't really appeal to me. My preferences lean towards sci-fi and historical fiction.
I'm looking for discussion about upcoming releases so I know what's coming out in trade paperback and in serial format. Some decent news would also be good.
My one reservation... bang for the buck. Comics aren't terribly expensive, but they don't seem to be that good of a value. I can get new or like-new trade paperbacks on the internet for a $5-$8. Add in shipping, and your talking $9-12. Still less than retail by a decent amount.
Nonetheless, I can read one of these books quite quickly. And since I have no interest in collecting, they'll probably get donated to the library or something like that. I suppose I could resell them, but my time is worth more than that.
I find myself reading the books in small sittings, in order to make them last. An $8 movie lasts two hours. A $15 (retail) trade paperback doesn't last nearly as long as this. And the movie is arguably better.
An $8 paperback novel lasts me a WHOLE lot longer.
Am I just being cheap, or is this a valid concern?
See my point?
Comics fit right in between there. Comics don't take as long to read as a novel, because so much of the information is visual, nor necessarily as long as a movie (assuming it's telling the same story, I guess) because of the speed of reading, and the interesting ways in which comics can compress time. But you still get the same satisfaction of having enjoyed a story.
Also -- I don't know about you, but I'm not hurting for entertainment to fill my time. I'm more hurting for time to enjoy all of the entertainment that I'd like to. In many cases, I prefer a form of entertainment that can give me a complete experience in a shorter period of time -- something that can be quickly absorbed into my consciousness so that I can move on to the next awesome thing.
I know that comic books have art, but the art isn't so stunning that I'm willing to pay a lot of money for it. I'm capable of using my imagination, thank you. That's a good point. As long as the quality is there, it's nice to get an entertaining story in a short period of time. I suppose that's why I watch TV instead of only reading novels. You can get a darned good story in an hour from TV.
The story is absolutely the most important component to me. I'll forgive poor art if there is a great story. If the art is great, but the story is poor, then I'm not interested. There are other forms of art I'd rather enjoy.
And to be very clear - I've been impressed with the comics that I picked up. I've tried to sit through several anime shows, and all I learned is that I can't stand anime. I can't say that about comic books. I've been enjoying them quite a bit. I think that's because I like to read more than I like to sit in front of the TV. I also didn't realize that you could find stories that appealed to adults.
I'm sure the major factor with price is the relatively low volume. Let's face it, comics aren't mainstream. They also aren't supported by advertising like a newspaper or magazine is. I suppose, compared to a magazine, they really aren't a bad value. I'm just still having a hard time comparing them to books.
I wonder if there is a hybrid between a book and a comic book? Something with more text, but also with great artwork that moves the story. (And no... I'm not interested in the illustrated "classics.")
Also, if you're going to judge the value of different artistic mediums based upon how much is left to the imagination, that's not really going to work out. Is photo-realistic painting worse than abstract painting because it leaves less to the imagination? Is a video worse than a photograph because it leaves less to the imagination? Art is about one person passing emotions and ideas onto other people. If all you want is a stimulus for your own imagination, then even a novel is too much. I think you should head more into the poetry realm. Oh wait, that might be too short for you.