Comics versus TPB

[DynamitePulpReader]

Wanted to get the opinions of those I cherish most here.

Hey guys. Thinking of selling off my comic book collection and starting a TPB collection due to space restrictions and the fact that I think I'm starting to get more onto classic stories that single issues would warrant huge dollars while trades would be cheaper and I could display them.

What do you guys do? Are hardcover editions worth it? So torn right now, many comics o have aren't available in trade and it's going to have to be an all or nothing decision. Help me out!

[TotalSnorefest]

Really depends on what you're looking for... Display and re-reading mostly? Then I'd say replace those you can for trades, keep the ones that aren't available in trade format. Then just buy trades from now on; cheaper, no ads, save space, look better on shelves and they don't fall apart as easily. If it's just the reading experience and you don't care about the physical object... Consider digital? Although many classics and older titles probably won't be available digitally and it doesn't sound like you'd be into it, but it's an option? Also saves on space hugely. I've never tried it because I don't have an iPad/tablet and don't like reading on the computer.

Finally, this is more rigorous, but you could prune the collection. Be realistic, what are you gaining from keeping many of these? Will you ever really read them again or are you just keeping them for the sake of having a collection? (That's a valid reason to keep them, by the way!!) Maybe there's a lot of stuff you could sell/donate/dump/part with to save space? Granted I'm not sure how attached you are to comics; to me they're just magazines I read maybe twice, I don't bag/board and if my one short-box is full I dump a bunch of Big 2 stuff or give them to my neighbour's kid or something.

[MajorHoy]

For more popular characters (Batman, Spider-Man, The Walking Dead, etc.), trades may be an okay option.

But for less-popular titles you'd like to support (i.e. many of Dynamite's pulp characters), trade-waiting probably helps condemn them to a quicker death and the likelihood that publishers won't try those books again, going with proven sellers instead. Buying a TPB of a book that already had six individual issues with mediocre sales may not do anything to keep that title going, and I don't know how likely publishers are to give less-popular characters a tpb graphic novel instead of starting with single issues first unless they have a big-name writer and/or artist who really, really wants to do that character in a graphic novel.

[Bslythegamerguy]

Because of space I think it's a good idea, I'm thinking of doing the same thing (as you know since we know eachother in real life). I have a small collection of about 30 TPB's and 21 long white boxes full of comics, while I won't be getting rid of my comics I may calm down and just buy my Dark Horse Project Black Sky stuff and start buying TPB's of classic stories and some Marvel stuff I'm enjoying.

Actually, I think I truly may start this week....

[Choos]

I sold off over 2/3rds of my collection sometime ago and found it very cathartic but I don't recommend you doing it and then replacing them with trades of the same titles.... Your shelves will wind up stuffed full of TPBs that will collect dust and fade etc where (hopefully) your single issues are bagged and boarded and stored away from excess light etc.

HCs are great for the very best of your stories but TPBs for everything offer a problem as well, are you prepared to have stories in oversized HC trim (which is so great IMO) and others in standard sized trim with some regular TPBs making up the chunks of stories on your shelf?

I do think for some of the Darkhorse and Vertigo minis etc getting TPBs is a good financial decision and you often wind up with some cool extras and no annoying ads... My regular TPBs actually get bagged and wind up in my boxes anyway as I don't think they display that well.

[50yearoldNovafan]

When I love a storyline, I prefer the hardcovers. Even though I have individual comics for Annihilation, I had to have the hardcovers. Nova is my favorite hero, So I bought hardcovers of Annihilation vol 1 and vol 3. I also bought Thanos Imperative in hardcover. Now I pull out the hardcovers instead of the individual copies when I want to read them. I loved the story "Black Summer" so I recently bought the hardcover.

When I find comics I have not read from independent comic companies, and the story is complete, I buy the trades or the hardcovers. Marvel and DC do not do scifi or horror comics much, so, a lot of the good stuff is with the independents.