QUESTION: How/Why You Buy Comics

[BobBretall]

Events?
Buy the main?

I would buy the main. I say "would" because I avoid events like the plague now. Eventually they'll get collected and if word of mouth says it was really good, that's how I'll pick it up. Secret Invasion just burned me to the point where I stopped and haven't looked back.

Secret Invasion only singed me.....

It was Fear Itself that burned me to the ground.....

[JohnMayo]

* What do you think of Crossovers?
Usually I'm getting all of the titles so it doesn't really influence my buying habits. Any titles I'm not getting are usually few and far between so it makes more sense for me to pick those up and get the complete story. On occassion, it will cause me to pick up a title like Punisher as the result of a recent crossover like the Omega Event. Typically, I'll get the crossover issue but not add the title to my pull list.

I think that publishers are using crossovers too often as a method of trying to force readers of one title onto another title. I think each title should be able to survive on the strengt of the title itself. Having a character guest star in another title is fine. Heck, the occassional crossover is fine. But publishers are going to this well too often and draining it dry. Readers feel manipulated or burned by this and start dropping titles when the crossovers come, defeating the intent of the crossover to begin with.

* How do Events affect your buying?
To me, an Event is just a line wide Crossover. I usually go all in on most of them because I like to get the big picture for the shared universes.

[stardog]

* Do you pre-order?
I use DCBS for about half my comics, and get the other half from an LCS where I have a pull list. The pull list isn't a true pre-order because I can drop and add as I like.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
Yes, sometimes. I'll read a review, see a thread on a message board, or thumb threw a comic quickly, and decide I want it. It's rare between my DCBS order and pull, but it happens.

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

All of the above except "Buy/Collect titles." I'm not really a completest.

* Do you prefer primarily
Print comics, but I am getting into digital a little bit.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
Budget and time. I spend a lot on comics, but I do limit myself somewhat. And time helps me in that... at some point I just don't feel like I'm enjoying my comics if I read too many too quickly.


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

Both. I'm not sure that I'm a classic collector. I don't hunt expensive back issues and I'm not a completest (I have holes in most of my runs), but I keep every comic I buy and I enjoy having a collection on my terms.

* If you miss an issue do you:
I will look for the back issue, but I do find myself getting more books digitally, and then continuing with the print comics again.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
I guess I mostly get turned on to titles by new creative teams. Double shipping and cross overs are turn offs but not deal breakers. I don't really set rules for myself, although I understand why others are less tolerant.

* What do you think about variant covers?
I don't care one way or the other.


* 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?

All of the above, I guess. I take it crossover by crossover.

* How do Events affect your buying?
I usually buy the main series and any books I regularly read already, and skip everything else.

[fudd71]

Crossovers and Events:
I will lump these into one question because I tend to react similarly to them. The key on both is the percentage of the increase required to keep me in. I’m a completest so I tend to either get them all or nothing. Usually anything that requires greater than a 25% increase in the number of books I normally gets means I will drop the titles I was getting, less I will get them all. Back to a turn off, events that have big delays will get me off a whole bunch of books. Several years ago I was reading almost 50% of the Marvel Universe, the delays and blatant lying about it by the publisher during Civil War got me down to two books. I haven’t looked back since. The remaining books (Spider-man & Daredevil) have since been dropped one also due to a crossover. I don’t even remember what it was called but the Daredevil event almost two years ago. Remember at that point in time I was buying Daredevil or one book a month, the crossover had I think 9 books the first month alone, from one to nine was too big an increase for me. I dropped Daredevil and haven’t looked back. I know people say the current run is really good, but I can’t bring myself to forgive them for that crossover. DC has done better for me but by no means perfectly. Final Crisis was a mess and had plenty of delays, I dropped a large number of the their books around that time but got sucked back in for Blackest Night that I loved for the most part. I enjoyed Brightest Day and was reading almost all DC books by the time it ended, however the extra 18 books the first month of Flashpoint got me to drop almost all of their books for those 6 months or so. The New 52 sucked me back in and I have been reading almostall of the books since. I have stated that the first renumbering stunt or the like will get me to drop that book. I also have only bought one of the six replacement books after the first cancellations. That book is the Ravagers and was because of the Culling crossover. I had liked all those books involved in that crossover save one, Legion Lost that I had considered dropping. The crossover got me to continue with Legion Lost and sold me on the Ravagers. So I guess crossovers and events are a mixed bag with me, but publishers need to be careful how far they push.

[GABE!]

* Do you pre-order?
YES!! From DCBS, and even sometimes from Amazon, and CheapGraphicnovels.com

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?

I do, but mostly It's an impulse purchase or if I'm chasing down a missed issue

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

I buy for characters first, and If I'm impressed by the creators handling of those characters I will branch out and buy more books that creator is apart of.

* Do you prefer primarily
I mostly buy print comics, but this is starting to teeter and I'm THIS close to becoming a full blown "trade waiter"

* Do you limit what you buy based on

The time I have to read the issues. If I'm noticing that title X is piling up too much, and I really love the book, I'll stop with the issues and get the trades.


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

I get them to read, and collect.

* If you miss an issue do you:
I will look for that back issue


* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons; New jumping on points, starts of new archs, start of new creative teams, new characters 1st apps, Free digital codes, like Marvel does is a HUGE turn on for me. and long walks on the beach.
- Turn offs Re-numberings, fill in artist who are a complete change from previous art, multiple artist on a single issue, decompressed story telling, covers that do not show what the issue is about.

* What do you think about variant covers?
- I don't care one way or the other
I might get a variant if I really like that cover more than the normal cover and is at the same price or $1-$5 difference. If variant covers disappeared in the next ten seconds, I wouldn't notice

* What do you think of Crossovers?

- Do you buy the other titles? Yes, if it's a quick crossover only involving 1 or 2 extra titles, with 1 or 2 extra issues. Kind of like Daredevil Omega Effect storyline.

- Skip them entirely? If they're long drawn out stories that take place in books I do not read. I'll get the trade if I'm that interested in the story

- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event? If the books I'm reading story get complete interrupted by the cross over I will drop it. As an example, I dropped Venom when Spider-Island happened because it took the character and story right our of the current story.

* How do Events affect your buying?
- Buy the main series? only if I can get a complete enough story by reading just the main title. Batman Court of Owls storyline for example.

- Buy it all? Almost never
- Drop the titles you were reading that were on the fence about that tie into the event? If the title I am reading's section of the story is smack dab in the middle of the crossover event, like parts 5 of 13, I'll drop the title until the cross over is complete.

[ctowner1]

* Do you pre-order?
DCBS

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
Sometimes, if I'm passing an LCS, it's awfully hard for me to not go in - and if something catches my eye, I'll buy it. Also, I buy back issues at comic shows.

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

I tend to buy for 2 reasons (1) I collect the title and have been doing so for decades; and (2) I like the book or think I may like the book.

WRT the 2nd category, I overwhelmingly buy based on creative team. If it's a writer or artist I love, it's rare that I will skip it simply because the character or concept of the book doesn't appeal to me - the creators I love, I trust to continue giving me more of what I've loved from them, until they prove otherwise. For creators I'm less interested in, the character or subject of the book plays a greater role - i.e., the less I like the creators, the more I need to like the character or subject matter in order for me to buy it.

Also, with respect to writer/artist teams, the more I like the writer, the more I'm willing to put up with lesser quality artwork and will still buy the book, and vice versa.

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

For superhero stuff, I tend to prefer print comics, for non-superhero stuff - or just books that are written by writers who tend to produce more complicated work, I prefer collected editions b/c I find it harder to follow such books with a 30 day (or more) gap between chapters.

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

All are relevant, but budget is the biggest factor, followed by space, followed by time (I figure even if I don't have time now, I will have time eventually). And for a book I really like, I'll make the budget work. But the more I buy in a month, the less likely I am to try one of the borderline books.

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

Both, but primarily to read.

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

Looks for it as a back issue. But if it's a series I was close to dropping anyway, sometimes that's the thing that will push me over the top.

* 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)

On: Great writing and art
Off: Bad writing or art.

After that, I'm not a fan of gimmicks. Story is very important to me.

* 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.

Totally uninterested, but mildly pissed off when there's a nice variant cover and I won't own it b/c it's more expensive than the non-variant. (I'll never buy an extra copy of a book simply to get another cover). I also hate when collected volumes don't include variant covers.

* 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?

I find it irritating when a book I like crosses over into a book I don't like and I feel "forced" to buy something by a writer/artist I don't care for. Depending on how invested I am in the title, I'll sometimes just skip the crossover and just buy the book I ordinarily buy.

* 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 generally buy the same books I would have bought anyway, and don't buy anything extra just b/c it involves the Event (other than the main book of the crossover, if there is a main book). If that means I'm missing chapters in the story, so be it.

e
L nny

[HassanT]

* Do you pre-order?
I pre-order from DCBS.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
Yes. I tend to pre-order 90% of stuff I want. But there are things I don't pre-order. If a book is on my maybe list, I won't pre-order but just pick it up at the LCS. Also I read some comics in trade format, I sometimes I pre-order them but sometimes I just wait and get them at the LCS, Amazon or IST. I do buy softcover trades at LCS sometimes because I want to support them and buying a trade is the equivalent of buying 5 to 6 comics. I tend not to buy the pricing collections at LCS.

I also buy the digital first comics that DC puts out (like Batman and JL Beyond, Legends of Batman, Masters of the Universe) but not the paper version. I have an ipad and those read fine on it

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
The easy answer is I buy what I like. That said, I have a bias towards DC Comics. I started read comics with DC and know the characters better. For example, I would probably tolerate a DC book that is average than another average book from a different publisher. I am also a huge fan of Marvel and Image books as well.


* Do you prefer primarily
I primarily prefer monthly print comics but I do get digital and trades. The books that I read in trades are primarily books I started by picking up the trade. There are some exceptions where I stopped reading the monthly book and went to trade because I felt that I enjoy the books more so that way (Fables and Chew).

* Do you limit what you buy based on
I limit what I buy on time, budget and then space. Honestly, I read too many comics and I need to reduce the amount I read. I think I can read more super-hero books than non-super-hero books because it is hard to remember what happened in the previous issue if I read a lot of non-super-hero books.

* Do you get comics:
I buy mostly to read. I do collect hardcovers of series that I really like.

* If you miss an issue do you:
I will get the back issue.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons - Favorite creators (Johns, Snyder, Morrison, Lemire), favorite characters (Batman, GL, Flash, JL), events, crossovers.
- Turn offs - Massive Double-shipping. It is ok to double ship a couple of books but not majority of the line. Books with no real purpose or identity. Companies that tell you the ending of the book before the book is out. $3.99 w/o extra content, events and cross overs that are badly executed.

* What do you think about variant covers?
Most of the time I don't care except when there are 4 covers and I don't know which one I will get. I

* What do you think of Crossovers?
I buy them if I get majority of the titles or if one book I really like is part of it. I will drop titles if I am on the fence about the event.

* How do Events affect your buying?
I will buy the main series and the books that I am already reading if it is Marvel. With DC, if it looks like a good event, I will pick majority them up.

[abysslord]

* Do you pre-order?
Yes, from Scifigenre.com, although I don't pay until they ship. But as soon as a comic is pulled I'm forced to buy it. So it's sort of in the middle of pre-order/pre-paid.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
Only if Sci-Fi wasn't able to get it for some reason, or I want to buy more and flip to make a few bucks [i.e. Image #1s mostly].

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
Mostly just what sounds interesting with the exception of Spider-man which I collect basically every title no matter what.

Only creative team I buy instantly is Scott Synder. There are others I'll almost always try out but not necessarily buy, i.e. Tim Seeley.

* Do you prefer primarily
Print only. I don't like TPBs or digital.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
No limit, though approaching 100 titles a month is making me be more restrictive with what I buy, so I guess budget is a concern but doesn't limit me.

* Do you get comics:
Both.

* If you miss an issue do you:
Depends on the title, but almost always I'll try to track it down. But, for example, I'm missing Starborn #8 and will probably never pick it up ... just don't care enough and it's not like a full set will give me much money back.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
I typically hate guest stars, especially if it's a single hero title who is now part of a team. I don't mind crossovers if it's done properly (i.e. Hit List Agenda), but forcing me to buy other titles to know the story? Turn off.

* What do you think about variant covers?
I collect all Amazing Spider-man variants, other than that I just view them as other covers I could get if I wanted to. I understand their place in the industry and they don't bother me.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
Typically don't like them. I research all the titles so if I wanted to read one, I'd try it out myself.

* How do Events affect your buying?
If it's a Marvel event, I skip it. They have proven to me, over and over again, they stretch a story out to too many issues and it ultimately falls flat on it's face. Or they will have big moments happen that just get erased very quickly.

The only event I enjoyed was Infinite Gauntlet, and that was pretty small. But the worst one in my mind was Maximum Carnage. 14 parts .... boring. When they announced Avengers vs. X-Men was 12 parts, I instantly decided to skip it. There's just no way they could tell a good story for that long, and by almost all reviews I see, I was right.

So basically marvel events = skip. DC .... they haven't had any since I started reading them except Flashpoint, which I enjoyed. Indie comics - pretty rare but I liked Hit List Agenda from Aspen.

[boshuda]

* Do you pre-order?
Yes, from DCBS and occasionally trades from Amazon.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
Very rarely now that I'm pretty settled at DCBS. Occasionally they will not be able to add a title I would like and then I buy it off the rack from a LCBS

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
I primarily collect based on premise and story. So if an idea intrigues me I'll try out the comic and then if I enjoy the story I'll continue collecting it. The artist/writer can sometimes get me to try something, but that's pretty rare anymore. If I'm on the fence about a title then the creative team might tip the scales one way or the other.

* Do you prefer primarily
I think I like monthlies and trades equally. Some titles I must get monthly because I enjoy the cliffhangers and evolving, serial nature. Some books just read better in chunks so I prefer those in collected editions. I would probably go all digital if the price came down.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
- Budget
- Time you have to read the stuff
- Space needed to store the stuff!
All three, although time is increasingly the gating factor with Budget coming in a close second. If I wasn't married space might not be a factor at all. Space may be a bigger factor as time goes on. We've been discussing getting a condo in a much more metro environment which would mean no space for comics. Then I would probably have to go all digital and space wouldn't be a concern at all anymore.

* Do you get comics:
- Just to read
- You like to collect
- Both!
Both. Although I am much more of a reader than collector, I seem to be just OCD enough that I like to have long runs of books, and a missing issue can drive me nuts until I locate it.

* If you miss an issue do you:
- Look for it as a back issue
- Skip it & that's OK
I used to obsessively search for back issues, but I'm finding myself just skipping it and being fine with that more and more. A missing issue just gets added to a list of books I hope I see in a dollar bin someday.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
- Turn ons:
- Interesting story ideas/concepts explored
- One-shot stories. I really, really like these. For example the recent Batman story with Becky Cloonan art was a nice change of pace. Most of my favorite stories are single-issue stories, particularly if they fall inside of a book where a story-arc never seems to reach a conclusion
- Guest Stars can be fun, particularly when they don't require you to collect any other titles.

- Turn offs
- Double-shipping and $3.99 price points. When the two are coupled (like with many Marvel titles) I really hate it. It's actually a huge part of why I don't collect any Marvel titles right NOW!
- Artist changes, particularly mid-story or if I really like the artist(s) that was replaced.
- Decompressed storytelling.
- Events that derail my favorite ongoing series. This is (for me) best exemplified by what Marvel has done to X-Factor over the years. When X-Factor is shoe-horned into an event it reads like a complete disruption to the story.
- Double-shipping, $3.99 comics (from the big2), and Events are ultimately what stopped me from buying Marvel. I could probably buy NOTHING but Marvel and feel like a fully satisfied comic-buyer, but these issues really upset me. They add to the cost and difficulty of collecting comics when I feel like I should just be able to count on a comic coming out one a month every month, and not require me to hunt down other issues or titles, or remember to preorder them, or any other nonsense that Marketing always seems to put me through.

* What do you think about variant covers?
- They are the Devil's work & marketing people are demons tempting our mortal collector's souls.
I feel like a cover should be indicative of the interior. I don't even feel remotely compelled to collect variant covers. I mostly just hate when the interior artist(s) doesn't do the covers. I feel like it's false advertising. When I browse the shelves I have often put back a title when the cover was fantastic (or even just pretty good) and then the interior artwork was meh. I think it's particularly misleading considering how the cover is often the only artwork in the Previews solicit.

* 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?
I do all three. It depends largely on how long the crossover is, how many titles it crosses over into, my general mood, and how much I'm enjoying the title(s) involved in the crossover I'm already picking up. I actually enjoy really short crossovers quite a bit, but they're more annoying with pre-ordering and when comics cost $3 and $4 bucks a pop. It's not such a big deal when a couple more bucks at the newsstand provides a different creative teams take on a shared story.

* How do Events affect your buying?
I bought the entirety of Fear Itself and disliked it so much I decided I'm done with events as a general rule. I skipped Court of Owls and used AvX as the point where I dumped all Marvel titles. Having written that, I still like events as a concept, but I feel like they require so much more work and money on my part the fun is removed. I'm dreading whatever DC is planning with the cloaked woman that they've started hinting at.

[Ratenef]

* Do you pre-order?
I used pull lists from comic stores for years, but for the past eight, I’ve used various online ordering options. Currently I am using AllNewComics.com, a Canadian alternative to DCBService which allows me to avoid customs and international shipping.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
As my LCS charges a 20 percent premium on all new comic purchases, even if you have a pull list, I try to avoid any need to buy ‘off the rack’.

* What do you primarily buy/collect?
I tend to follow characters predominately, with some instances of checking out ‘concepts’ and following a few choice creators.

* Do you prefer primarily
If I truly had my choice, all my comic purchases would be digital. Primarily due to the fact that once I have amassed two or more comic boxes worth of comics, I tend to either donate, give away or sell them. I used to be a collector but a combination of the bust of the 90’s and the lack of storage has forced me to accept they are purely consumable medium. When you go to a movie at the theatre you don’t bring anything more home with you other than the memory of the movie / experience, and comics can be consumed the same way. Trying to sell my ‘collections’ over the years has forced me to accept that the effort is not worth the return, and that most often you’ll regret the experience. A specific example is that my LCS, as a favour, gave me $25 for approx. 300 comics I unloaded onto them. If you do the math, that is likely a 97 percent LOSS. But if you accept that 1) I still read them all and remember the stories, 2) I’m not likely to ever get around to reading them again and 3) I now have free shelf space to load with more unread stories, it truly is a win.

* Do you limit what you buy based on
My primary limiter to what I buy is budgetary. But having an extensive library of novels means that time and space can be quite limiting to what I buy.

* Do you get comics:
I have long abandoned buying comics for any sort of speculation. If I’m not intending to read it, I see absolutely no reason to buy it.

* If you miss an issue do you:
I try to be very proactive with the management of the ordering of comics and find that the only issues I miss are those that are crossovers between titles I am getting and those I am not. Those I will either buy off the shelf at my LCS or try to get my online dealer to find me an issue. Actually the fact that my LCS was notorious for failing to pull issues for me, despite my giving them 2 months’ notice a la Previews, was one of the primary factors for me jumping to an online service.

* What turns you on or off to titles?
-Turn ons – the only instance in the last five years where I have bought a single issue of a series due to a gimmick was the lantern rings during the blackest night event.
-Turn offs – any long term crossover with other series I am not intending on already buying, any event that interrupts the flow of the current story arc, any event tie in that is purely circumstantial (Secret Wars II), new series that have star creators for only the first story arc to be replaced by a different team, editorial changing the creators without letting the current team finish the story with a smooth hand off

* What do you think about variant covers?
I usually don’t care about multiple / alternative covers. I don’t see any reason, especially for a disposable product, to pay more for the same issue due to an artificially controlled supply effect of the publishers. Ordering via an online service, and now that Diamond doesn’t differentiate between standard multiple covers (i.e. 50/50 or 25/25/25/25 situations), I tend to only be slightly annoyed that the cover I get is not the one I would have chosen. But typically after I’ve put the issue down, I forget about it and move on.

* What do you think of Crossovers?
That depends on the specific crossover. Recently Journey into Mystery had a cross over with New Mutants, and I only bought the JiM that I was already going to buy. After reading the first part of the crossover in JiM I determined that the story didn’t need all the parts to be ‘enjoyed’ and I called the 3 issues of JiM as a short term loss of 3 issues in what has been a great series. More recently JiM is crossing over with Mighty Thor for 3 issues of each series. After reading the first issue in JiM I decided to ‘double dip’ and buy the Mighty Thor issues as well. And I’m quite glad I did.
For the forthcoming Third Army across the 4 Lantern titles, I am only intending to continue buying the two issues that I already get and only getting the other issues if they are essential to understanding the story in the broad sense. Fortunately DC has an excellent digital plan, so if I find I want or need those issues, they are available with just a single button push on my iPad.
I can understand why the publishers do these things, as they are short term upswings in typically lagging series. However, I think DC was too soon in trying to use this method on the new 52. I would have liked more than a year’s worth of comics before they decided that crossovers were necessary.

* How do Events affect your buying?
If regular purchased series have crossovers into an event, then I typically take them with a grain of salt, sometimes a brick worth, and just wait until the ‘pain subsides’ and the ongoing internal arc will return. And in rare occasions the event crossover issues are more entertaining or interesting than the event itself (Secret Invastion core series vs the Avengers/New Avengers tie in books)
I was quite involved in the main Marvel events, but have found that the last few have been getting weaker and weaker in their overall delivery (Secret Invasion was pedantic, Siege was a lot of style over substance, and Fear Itself couldn’t even get me to buy the core event books as there wasn’t anything there that truly interested me).
In keeping with my current opinion that comics are purely disposable and that if I’m not enjoying it I have no ‘need’ to spend money on them, events are becoming more of a ‘necessary evil’ of the industry that I try to mitigate my involvement in.

[Gilgabob]

*

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
As my LCS charges a 20 percent premium on all new comic purchases, even if you have a pull list, I try to avoid any need to buy ‘off the rack’.

I had to read this twice. Your LCS actually charges 20% OVER the cover price for new books? Is this common in Canada? Seems like robbery.

[Ratenef]

Ratenef wrote:
*

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?
As my LCS charges a 20 percent premium on all new comic purchases, even if you have a pull list, I try to avoid any need to buy ‘off the rack’.


Gilabob wrote:

I had to read this twice. Your LCS actually charges 20% OVER the cover price for new books? Is this common in Canada? Seems like robbery.

It was fairly common practice when the Canadian dollar was significantly below par with the US dollar, say five or so years ago. Other Canadian comic shops, much further from where I live, have their own policies regarding pricing. Most would offer some form of pull list discount and full price for off the rack. With the dollars now at parity, they tend to use the US cover as their 'full price'. My LCS just has this practice of artificially inflating the price and due to being the largest comic shop in the city with two locations, they effectively can 'get away with it'.

[boshuda]

* Do you get comics:
I like to read. I keep what I read so some people consider me a collector but I'm more of an accumulator.

I like this. I think this best describes me as well.

[Trev]

* Do you get comics:
I like to read. I keep what I read so some people consider me a collector but I'm more of an accumulator.

I like this. I think this best describes me as well.

I think this probably describes the bulk of the 'collectors' out there. They buy what they like, bag and board it, put it in a long box and keep it until and if they ever decide to get rid of their collection.

Some of those collectors occasionally dump/donate excess whenever the mood strikes them. Often they keep the books until they retire or die and then the 'collection' is brought out into the light for everybody to behold.

And even less often that collection is a remarkable set of beautiful books that enhances the wealth of the heirs or in many cases some dealer who pounces on them and exploits the lack of knowledge in the new owner of the books.

I also like the term accumulator to describe this behavior.

[Perry]

* Do you pre-order?

Oh yeah. Anyway I can save a few cents on these outlandish price points, I jump on it. I swore I would never pay $4 for a regular, non-super-sized comic, and thanks to the discount at DCBS, I never do.

* Do you buy stuff "off the rack"?

Very rarely. Only because my LCS owner is ... very, very, strange. He is the kind of guy that I swear owns a van and spends his off time circling local elementary schools with a bag full of candy in his lap and with the windows covered.

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

* What do you primarily buy/collect?

FANTASTIC FOUR, being my first love, will always ... almost always ... find a spot on my pull.

Other than that, I buy primarily for writers. I can deal with semi-bad art (to my taste) as long as the story is kicking. The only exception, that I can remember, is that FF issues. I love Hickman, but just couldn't read that title due to the art.

Writers I enjoy will always get a first glance with me (Hickman, Kirkman, Waid, for example) but it also depends on the title. I love Bendis, when he is writing a book that is focused on one or two characters (MOON KNIGHT, ALIAS, and the like) but don't enjoy his 'team books' (AVENGERS for example) nearly as much.

I also buy, on occasion, those Lead Marvel figures from Eagle moss.

* Do you prefer primarily

I am a monthly print kinda guy, but I find that any Non-Marvel or DC title that I enjoy (WALKING DEAD, FATALE, MANHATTAN PROJECTS), I will stop buying around issue 5 or 6 and wait for the HC. Great books (other than from the big 2) just have to be on my book shelf. The only exception to that, is anything by Terry Moore. He gets my monthly money and my collected money because he deserves it.

* Do you limit what you buy based on

My limit is solely time. I have a decent enough life that I can afford to buy the comics I want, when I want (with-in reason, of course ... not just throwing down money for AMAZING FANTASY #15 or anything ... haha)

I found that, with my HC's that I like to keep up on, I need to stay with-in a 15 to 20 a month floppy limit. Anything else just piles up. (Still have last months issues I am working through as it is)

* Do you get comics:

Purely a reader. I buy what I want to read. I then sell them, after a time ... say about after 12 or 20 issues, on Ebay. The only comics I collect are Marvel Bronze age, so anything recent, I read, I enjoy and sometimes I profit (or at least come close to reading for free after I sell them)

* If you miss an issue do you:

I hunt it down like it's name was Sarah Conner. I have even been known to go to my LCS after dark, alone, to track down issues I missed.


* 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.

Also enjoy "b-list" guest stars. Ghost Rider? I have no desire to read about ... unless he shows up in DAREDEVIL!!! Then I am all like ... well ... HELL YEAH!!

Yes, I do hate double shipping, but only because it seems to be no schedule. I wouldn't mind it if it was "Every 3 months, there will be a double shipping on this issue" But the sporadic way they do it pisses me off.

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.


* What do you think about variant covers?

Couldn't care less. If you like them, great. If you don't, don't buy 'em. I see no reason for uproar.


* What do you think of Crossovers?

I don't mind them as I know the purpose is to pull readers to other titles. I may not fall for it, but I hold no anger towards them as I think they can work. They have for me. I started buy the damn OUTSIDERS thanks to that old NEW TEEN TITANS crossover.


* How do Events affect your buying?

They don't. I didn't buy FEAR ITSELF, I didn't buy AvX. I missed nothing. I did buy ones past however and enjoyed them. Again, I don't hate companies for selling what sells, that is their goal ... to sell. If I am interested, I may buy, if not, I won't