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!
I really need to look into doing something like this. I find myself spending between £15-£25 on an average week, which really racks up over the months.
ReplyDeleteI need to be reading the weeklies for my column, but going digital is probably the way to go anyway.
Promise me you'll kick me in the shins if i haven't started doing this within a couple of months :)
I no longer buy comics on a monthly basis. It's too costly and I hate the suspense. I buy omnibuses, graphic novels and so on. It's cheaper & the continuity is perfect as I can get the whole story in one shot.
ReplyDeleteanem kram from Trollhalla