I've finally HAD it!!

[60'schild]

Well, after collecting comics for decades (my first comic was a 12 cent one back in the mid 60's), I've finally decided to take the plunge....

(DRUMROLL)

Goodbye monthlies ... hello TPB's.

What did it for me? Missed deadlines ... Late books ... disappointing arcs and endless price hikes..

I know the transition will be tough for me (having read monthly installments since the mid 60's) but I'm going to give it a try....

I'll still read reviews real time online (helping to determine which trades to skip) and will no doubt still look for the spoilers online (I have no will power ). In the meantime, I'll go through my existing TPBs, Essentials, Showcases and Archives.....

How about you guys?

Anybody else take the plunge? How did it go? Did you go back?

Inquiring comic collectors want to know!! LOL

[cjefferys]

Oh hell, I stopped buying monthies and switched to buying (some) TPBs 15 years ago. I couldn't imagine buying a monthly comic these days, considering how much they cost and how long it takes to read one. Comic companies seem to be pricing themselves right into extinction.

[60'schild]

Sure, I've bought many TPB's over the years (in ADDITION to monthlies) but THIS time, I'm talking about going EXCLUSIVELY TPB!!

[BlackKnight]

Well in 93 When I was 17 a Comicbook was 1.25,.... & Minimum Wage was like 4.25 ,.. Atleast here... Hey,.. a Pack of Smokes was a Buck too.

... Now the Average Book is 2.99 ,.. & Event Books are 3.99 & Minimum Wage is What 8 Bucks or something ?. ....

I Just buy what I like,.. I think my Comicbook buying per Month is like 40 Bucks or Under... Until the Blackest Night Saga Rips threw the DC Universe.

BTW,.. How Much was Minimum Wage in the 60's ? a Buck ?

Money is the Root to all evil.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I think the only monthly I've bought in years is Usagi Yojimbo. All the other ones got cancelled. Nowadays most of what I read is either the online dailies or the Shonen Jump collected volumes.

Don C.

[thunderbolt]

so you'll just get the dissapointing arcs in trade form.

[Timothy2251]

Now that Ultimate Spider-Man has wrapped up, I'm 100% DONE with monthlies. I'd been whittling down collecting for years, finally down to USM just before the Civil War stuff from Marvel, and I haven't looked back. Honestly, even with the trades, I'm lucky if I only pick up 1-2 a month, if that (but that's a WHOLE other rant).

Trades are much, much better - I'd rather read a story arc in one or two sittings, and not have to worry about bagging, boarding, etc.

[The Bat]

Ya know...I'm in the same Boat. I buy some Titles(like Spiderman)out of habit, and wanting to keep up with current events in the life of Peter Paker. But it's time to face the truth...Spiderman has really SUCKED lately.! So I guess it's time to cut the cord...and let it go.

I'm planning on cancelling all but a few Books. Like you...for the first time in decades.But you've got the right idea...if a good stroy arc does come up...I can alwais buy the TB.

[The Toyroom]

I don't think I'll ever convert from monthlies to the "waiting for the trade" mentality

[MegoMonk]

I slowed down on monthlies in the mid-90s and then quit cold turkey in 1996 after collecting for 20 years. I think the Spider-man clone arc leading into the revelation that Noran Osbourn was still alive was the final straw. I have never bought a new comic since.
However, around Christmas of 2003 I bought almost 1,000 used Marvel and DC comics from a guy I found on Craigslist for $250. They were complete runs of almost everything DC and Marvel put out from 2001 through 2003. I read almost all over the next 12 to 15 months. I found some titles pretty good, but certainly no enough to get me collecting again. They were worth the $0.25 per copy that I paid, but not worth the $2.00 cover price on most of them.
There is a comic book store accross the street from my office in Manhatten, they do pretty well. I go in there once or twice a month to look around, but will not buy anything.

[Bizarro Amy]

I don't think I'll ever convert from monthlies to the "waiting for the trade" mentality

You said almost exactly what I was going to post. My husband and I have really cut back on the titles we buy, but there are a few that we've been collecting for so long and genuinely look forward to. That said, there were even a few titles I was collecting that ended up on the chopping block. Teen Titans had gotten so bad, that I sometimes I hoped it would be cancelled. I paged through a new issue the other day and I still don't regret that decision. If I ever feel a need to get them, there's either trades or dollar bins. There are a lot of mini-series that sound good, but I refuse to buy all those issues that companies put out when crossover events happen. So yes, I sometimes buy the main even title, but wait for trades if any of the extra stuff appeals to me.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I cut back, and cut back, until I finally dropped my subscription service. I don't have time to drive out of town every week to the nearest LCS. So I just quit cold turkey. I was not happy with the general direction of the comics anymore, and felt like I was paying $2.99 a month just to get ticked off. I feel a lot better now. I have picked up a few new monthlies here and there (I picked up the first two issues of Flash: Rebirth), but I have not bought regular monthly titles in well over a year. I buy older comics I don't have and lots of older TPB collections.

Chris

[palitoy]

I went from monthlies to trades to the library. I get ticked off at the library trades and they're free!

[johnnystorm]

I still pick up monthly books, but I've cut way back to only 3-4 a week. I'll pickup something extra if it looks interesting.

The rest of the stuff I'll just wait until it hits the quarter boxes or a back issue sale and pick it up then, especially the event stuff. I picked up the entire run of Secret Invasion for a quarter a piece on Free Comic Book Day, including most of the tie-ins.
I guess that's kinda like waiting for the trade, isn't it?

And I do find by waiting that I'm less likely to pickup some books, because by then you've realized it wasn't something you really needed to read...or the "this is going to be a hot book" mindset from the online hype becomes a non-factor in the purchasing decision.

[Dave Mc]

I stopped buying monthlies probably 10 years ago or so. I was spending tons of cash each week and then they started variant covers and all that crap. It just got too much. Now, if it's something that really captures my attention, I'll get the TPB, but I don't even buy many of those these days.