How I'm reading more comics for a fraction of the cost {Comics}

For the last couple of days I've been thinking about my comic book hobby. I thought about how much I enjoy it, but also how much I've been spending on it per month. Ken St Andre had a point when he told me that he doesn't know how I afford to keep reading all these weeklies, because I can't really. So I've spent a lot of time thinking and have come up with a solution that will save me loads of money but will actually allow me to read more comics. How? Read on.


For starters, I realised that, aside from a few close friends, I don't talk about comics with many people. I also realised that I have a subscription to Marvel digital comics that rarely gets used. I felt an idea brewing. If I could hold out until the current comics become available on my subscription, then I'll be reading my normal collection for a billionth of the cost. It will also allow me to read comics I dropped and even ones I always meant to pick up but never got round to. I can do this.

So I slashed my Marvel intake. I now only collect Captain America and Cap & Bucky on a monthly basis through Comixology, which makes it cheaper than getting the physical copy. So yeah; Marvel is now £3.69 ($6) a month but with my subscription I'll be reading literally hundreds of comics I missed out on in the last 6 months, like Spider Island and Avengers Academy.

In addition to the 2 Marvel weeklies, I'll be getting Ghostbusters, Batman, Lord of the Jungle and The Spider. This now brings my monthly comic spend to £8.90 ($14) for my on-going weeklies. I'm not counting Infestation 2 right now, since it's a limited series, but even that would only bump it by $10 a month. Now, rather than having 70% Marvel and 30% other, I have a varied selection of comics from different publishers: Marvel, DC, IDW, Dynamite and Moonstone. While I'll still be enjoying all my Marvel goodness, I'll be reading a wider variety of comics.

Next, I will take advantage of Comixology offers. For example, today I bought the entire first volume of The Sixth Gun (#1-6) for £3.12 ($4.95). If I see a great offer one week, I'll get it. Again, this allows me to read more comics for less. I will also get the free weekly comics available on the site, which there are usually 3 or 4.

Finally, I'll buy trades digitally and in store. I don't want to rely solely on digital comics because bricks and mortar stores need to be supported, so every month I will designate myself one trade from either. For instance, I know I can get Rocketeer Adventures for $8 online or I can get a half-price Punisher trade in my local store. Trades usually collect around 6 issues, so an extra 6 comics for around £1 each is worth every penny.

So today I put this into practise. I'd usually pay up to £13 ($20) a week on average for 4/5 comics, but today I spent £5.64 ($8.94).

On 7 comics.

The system works!