Comics, etc.

trowan wrote:
Hemidal wrote:

Looks like I'll be missing Wizard World Texas again this year. I may have to venture out to my local comic shop to pick up some trades. *shudder*

Full price hurts my soul. :)

I get all mine online for about 35% - 40% off.

You bastards are going to make me make the switch to online. One comic shop left in this city.

And it's all the way across town.

I guess no one would miss it.

Chiggie Von Richthofen wrote:

You bastards are going to make me make the switch to online. One comic shop left in this city.

And it's all the way across town.

I guess no one would miss it.

I switched about a year ago and haven't looked back. I had a pull-list at a local shop, but I wouldn't go for 2-3 months so I would end up with a ton of books I didn't want (creators leaving, bored with the series, etc.) and was too guilty not to buy since they were pulled for me. And I was only getting a 10% discount (I was a customer for about 14-15 years). Since I have been switching to trades for most of my books (I only get Astonishing X-Men, Buffy, Echo and Rasl monthly issues), that 35-40% really saves me money.

Yeah, it's probably time to cut the chord. I was having to order everything from the shop anyway. Might as well get it shipped to the house instead of across town.

Where do you get them so cheap?

Chiggie Von Richthofen wrote:

Where do you get them so cheap?

I use DCBS, they also have a site just for trades at InStockTrades. I have had zero problems with them.

trowan wrote:
Chiggie Von Richthofen wrote:

Where do you get them so cheap?

I use DCBS, they also have a site just for trades at InStockTrades. I have had zero problems with them.

Very nice.

trowan wrote:

Since I have been switching to trades for most of my books (I only get Astonishing X-Men, Buffy, Echo and Rasl monthly issues), that 35-40% really saves me money.

Speaking of Buffy, since I'm also trying to transition from the monthly to the trade format, I'm hoping to offload my issues 1-15 (they're up to 16) of Buffy Season 8. Gonna try to sell them off in a garage sale we've got going right now (along with an assload of other stuff), but if any of you guys want 'em I'd part with them for, say, $30. (Just PM me.)
---Todd

I'll add New Avengers vol 1-6 and a big block of the new Iron-Man (in trades) to Todd's sell list if anyone is interested.

I'd say we should create a new post for that, because I could probably trade some trades if people are interested, but should that go here?

Hemidal wrote:

I'd say we should create a new post for that, because I could probably trade some trades if people are interested, but should that go here?

I'm fine with it here, or in that thread, or in a new comic-trade-specific thread. Whatever works. Once our garage sale is over and done with I expect to have a lot of stuff leftover that I'll still want to part with.
---Todd

Hemidal wrote:

I'd say we should create a new post for that, because I could probably trade some trades if people are interested, but should that go here?

I think comic stuff would get lost in that thread, why not keep it here?

I think a separate trade/sell thread would probably be best. Some people that are interested in acquiring but aren't interested in our chattering might not look this one up to see if anyone is offering.

I'm all for a non-gaming specific trade thread for comics, I just don't to piss off our gracious overlords.

Want me to ask them if it's kosher?

How about having a link in this thread for trading going to something like this?

Yeah, that would be good Chiggie, thanks.

I can't cut my cord, as I love my LCS too much. I love spending half an hour browsing around and chatting to the staff. Unfortunately, they are struggling, as are most small businesses (it's part of a small chain) at the moment.

I'm not too sold on Astonishing. I had great hopes for it, but it took too long to come out, and the over-arching plot was a bit weak. Ultimately, it gets tied up a bit too quickly as well.

Incidentally, I would highly recommend the Nightly News by Jonathan Hickman for anyone who is looking for something a bit different.

Not to be rude, but Astonishing started out as one of the wittiest, well written X-books in a long time and the final Whedon issue was utter garbage. It was really disappointing to see it end on that note.

What, Cyclops finally made a pass at Wolverine? Their sexual tension has always been tangible since their appearance together.

spoiler wrote:

[color=white]Kitty trapped in the giant space bullet, is bullsh*t

[/color]

See above. A Cyclops pass at Wolverine could have been funny.

I thought that bringing Colossus back was a mistake, and was really not necessary. I always liked the character, but I also liked the way in which he died.

I did like the first volume, and was very happy to see it after the directionless mess that was the Morrison fallout, but I was never a fan of the "well, it doesn't fit into continuity when we don't want it to, and then sometimes it does" idea, and I started to fall out with it with "Danger".

I'm a huge Whedon fan, but the character's voices were the only thing that felt like real Joss.

Hemidal wrote:

Not to be rude, but Astonishing started out as one of the wittiest, well written X-books in a long time and the final Whedon issue was utter garbage. It was really disappointing to see it end on that note.

Well, you know how it is. You say, "tomatO", I say you're f#$@'n nuts.

spoiler wrote:

[color=white]In all seriousness, I had no problem with the giant space bullet, as silly as it may sound in a plot synopsis. Kitty's "death" -if it is that- is far more sad and heroic than most comic book deaths these days. Even knowing it was coming I was still way caught up in it.[/color]

Then again, I'm a Whedon fanboy, so I'm biased... a little.
---Todd

I finished up Y: The Last Man when trade 10 dropped a while back. Very well recommended. Thanks a lot guys. My wife even got into it and actually insisted on reading the last few trades before I got to.

I tried to pick up Transmetropolitan. I can't remember the name of the trade I picked up, but it seemed to just be clippings from his editorial pieces with some artwork background. I didn't really see anything resembliing a cohesive story. Maybe I just picked up the wrong trade. There were some funny/interesting bits there, but nothing I would buy the rest of the trades for. Is that representative of the series or did I just grab the wrong trade?

I need to get caught up on Fables and Powers, but like everyone else, the money crunch has curtailed my comic purchases...not to mention the shop has lots of Warhammer, D&D and other tabletop gaming goodies and their siren song is nigh irresistable. It's not long before the flimsy trireme of my budget is dashed to pieces in my attempt to gain a foothold on those rocky shoals.

The desire to snatch goodies from this place and support such a great shop is almost as strong as my willpower.

bighoppa wrote:

I tried to pick up Transmetropolitan. I can't remember the name of the trade I picked up, but it seemed to just be clippings from his editorial pieces with some artwork background. I didn't really see anything resembliing a cohesive story. Maybe I just picked up the wrong trade. There were some funny/interesting bits there, but nothing I would buy the rest of the trades for. Is that representative of the series or did I just grab the wrong trade?

You grabbed the wrong trade. If you start with the first trade (damned if I can remember what they called it) that had a decent storyline to it. It's not one long arc like Y was in some ways, but it certainly has more than editorial pieces.

Rather than take up a huge amount of space with a post here, I've put the comics I've got up for sale on my blog. If any of them interest you, just PM me here or use the email link on the blog. There's a lot of junk (or near junk) I'm putting up for 25 cents each and there's other stuff that I want a bit more for... and in a couple cases where I'm just as happy to keep stuff as part with it, much more.
---Todd

So no love for the group Google spreadsheet?

As soon as I can focus my attention I will put up the ones I'm looking to off load. On the spreadsheet if you like, or somewhere else. Or both.

bighoppa wrote:

I tried to pick up Transmetropolitan. I can't remember the name of the trade I picked up, but it seemed to just be clippings from his editorial pieces with some artwork background. I didn't really see anything resembliing a cohesive story. Maybe I just picked up the wrong trade. There were some funny/interesting bits there, but nothing I would buy the rest of the trades for. Is that representative of the series or did I just grab the wrong trade?

Here's a link to the Wikipedia page that gives a rundown of the collections. Like another poster said, this is a random trade -- the fact that they number it "0" probably didn't help -- that's probably best read around Volume 3 or so. (At least, that's when the first half of the book dropped.

Volume 1 is called Back on the Street, and while it's good, it pales in comparison to the rest of the book. Volume 2 is better -- but it's mainly a collection of smaller stories which range from the wacky-Ellis brand of humor, to a more dour tone which better fits some more of the substantive storylines later in the book.

If you can hang in long enough, Volume 3 is where the whole run really hits its stride, as it's an election-year story, and it's where Ellis really starts banging the "Spider Jerusalem is Hunter S. Thompson in the Future" gong really, really hard.

But the first two volumes are pretty essential for context.

ubrakto wrote:

Then again, I'm a Whedon fanboy, so I'm biased... a little.
---Todd

I'm with you, Todd. I recently read all four trades in one sitting, and everything from soup-to-nuts -- the Danger arc, the Colossus resurrection, and the spoiler-free-climax -- all hang together really, really well under one roof.

Such a good run.

I'm glad to read that Transmetropolitan volume 1 is supposed to suck, because it does.

In other news, thanks to renewed Bat-thusiasm from Dark Knight, I read Year One last night for the first time in years; it still pwninates.

Thanks to this thread (and TDK), last night I ordered Palestine, Watchmen, Batman: The Long Halloween, and (because I just read Kavalier & Clay) the Amazing Adventures of the Escapist Vol. I.

I haven't read comics in a few years. If this foray proves to be enjoyable, I can imagine spending a lot more money on recommendations from this thread.

Thanks guys!