Doesn't everything read better in trade?

[kav]

Reading digital comics is like having a blow-up doll

[rodan57]

I bought 'em off the rack, so each title got read one issue a month. I learned to love that, with the suspense building for the continued storylines, and the freshness of a new storyline after another was wrapped up. I even have a couple of long boxes of BA books organized by the month, so that I can re-read them like I did originally.

 

I like the originals so I can see the dorky ads and read the publisher bulletins and letters' pages. But I didn't read or buy much after the 1970s.

 

Yep.

[chrisco37]

I prefer reading trades as well. Only because I can never remember what happens the month before

 

This. Plus you don't have to bag and board and organize them. Or, if you do, it's not nearly as many.

 

It's fun to read the old books to see the ads and letter pages though. Omnibus are the best.

[rodan57]

I prefer reading trades as well. Only because I can never remember what happens the month before

 

This. Plus you don't have to bag and board and organize them. Or, if you do, it's not nearly as many.

 

It's fun to read the old books to see the ads and letter pages though. Omnibus are the best.

 

How do you feel about the very bright colours?

[chrisco37]

I prefer reading trades as well. Only because I can never remember what happens the month before

 

This. Plus you don't have to bag and board and organize them. Or, if you do, it's not nearly as many.

 

It's fun to read the old books to see the ads and letter pages though. Omnibus are the best.

 

How do you feel about the very bright colours?

 

It doesn't bother me. Silver Age Omnis are what I've read, so the bright colors work for me. Gives it a bit of a pop-art look too.

[slym2none]

Digital? I am spoiled with digital...

 

As far as comics go, I prefer to remain a Luddite.

 

 

 

 

-slym

[Spyder!]

There is really no comparing a SA book with its trades. When I pick up a Ditko Spider-Man book I get to experience the original colors, a different feel of the pages, and most importantly that wonderful smell!

 

I have no problem with trades from the 1980's on.

[slym2none]

There is really no comparing a SA book with its trades. When I pick up a Ditko Spider-Man book I get to experience the original colors, a different feel of the pages, and most importantly that wonderful smell!

 

I have no problem with trades from the 1980's on.

 

If i was going to say that, I'd go with 90's and above - lots of 1980's comics were still printed on cheaper newsprint, and that has a smell of its own.

 

Otherwise, I can agree with that!

 

 

 

 

-slym

[Buzzetta]

- I hate that smell

[james1miller]

Pick up a new Avatar comic on Wednesday. They smell something fierce.

[Gatchaman]

I've considered buying trades for titles I like that I already have, but trades printed in the last several years got expensive. Too many storylines from the 80's on are a dollar apiece for singles. Why would I buy a trade of it for $25?

 

I own a lot of trades and agree that they are expensive and I refuse to pay full price. I get most of my books half of cover or less. With eBay, Amazon, TFAW, here, etc., I just bide my time until I can snag them.

 

Some of the best trades are the ones that were sprawled out in multiple titles and I get certain Marvel Masterworks and other HC reprints of books like Harvey Horrors and a lot of what Dark Horse is reprinting. I have all of the Turok, most of the original Conan, etc. I have all of the T.H.U.D.E.R. Agents, some Crime and Punishment, Koris Karlof, etc. This is about the only way I can get theses books and read them and am glad they are available.

[Rommin]

I honestly loved the lettercols in the older books. In the books older than 1990, I remember sometimes getting three pages of letters from fans! When Sam Kieth started doing this in his Maxx books in the 1990s, I was impressed.

-slym

 

I really missed lettercols when I came back and started reading "modern" books. That and the in-house chatter pages like Bullpen Bulletins, DC Currents, etc seemed to make them more impersonal, to me at least.

[Diamonddave]

I have Final Crisis in trade and I can't understand any of it. Maybe its just me.....

[james1miller]

I have Final Crisis in trade and I can't understand any of it. Maybe its just me.....

 

I think Final Crisis is a good example. I think it would be more confusing reading it as it was released in floppies waiting each month compared to reading the whole thing in a couple of days in a trade.

 

I'm not a big DC guy but I found it hard to follow reading it as it was released. Maybe it's just me or the story, I don't know. I loved Identity Crisis though but Final Crisis I can't remember .

[Crimebuster]

I don't think everything reads better in trade. With trades, you lose the cliffhangers that you can get in a monthly comic if it is well written.

 

One of my clearest memories from reading comics as a kid is the end of Avengers #274, where the Masters of Evil beat Hercules to a pulp and apparently kill him. My god, I was on pins and needles for a whole month to find out if he had died or not. If I was reading the trade, I'd just turn the page and be like, "oh. he's alive. okay." Reading the arc monthly really jacked up the anticipation and drama for me.

[nocutename]

I love trades and end up selling off the singles for the collected format. There are a few exceptions where I keep both though.

 

As for better reads, off the top of my head...

 

Walking Dead. Just the last page of the earlier issues have such more impact than reading them in TPB format. Plus it slows down the read a bit more. I have read the TPB format first and got lucky with a large lot of reader issues. No #1 and it was prior to the big explosion. I believe I sold off here and on ebay.

 

Identity Crisis - I still think they read better in single issue format but I only kept the trade.

 

Shazam - I am currently re-reading the 70s issues. I collect them mainly for the Fawcett reprints. I cannot read them in the archives. They must be in newspaper print. But then again, I appreciate all my BA comics over the collected editions. The TPBs are just easier to grab for a quick read.

 

 

 

[vaillant]

I think just about everything reads better in trade or reading a lot of issues at once. I guess there are some exceptions. Maybe one and done issues but they don't seem to be as common. What books do you think read better in trade?

Any examples of books where it doesn't matter? If there is another similar thread hook a brother up.

 

It’s not much interesting to read many issues at once, when they were meant as episodes, even if self-inclusive.

I like to read comics in the form they are initially thought to be presented in, so – yes – I like hardcover and perfect binding books but when we are talking of lenghty stories, otherwise, I tend to prefer single books.