To answer the only question you directed at the fans, Didio....
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/040916-Didio20.html
DD: "And my question this time - it’s the classic monthly book versus trade discussion: what gets you to pick up a trade over the monthly issues?"
Gosh, that's a funny question. There's LOTS of reasons to favor trades over monthly. I'm thinking of more as I type this. Ok, here goes.
Price!
Let's break it down. Individual issues tend to cost anywhere from $2.99-$3.99. Trades tend to cost from $15-$20. (I'm ignoring specials, Absolutes, collections, special shiny editions, and so on. This is just the average story that is coming out right now in a run-of-the-mill title that will be collected in a run-of-the-mill trade.) If you shop around for a price almost anywhere (amazon.com being the easiest, but B&N member discount, ebay and overstock.com, are all options) you can almost always save a few dollars. And when you plan to buy lots and lots of comics, it makes a difference.
Complete Story
I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I find that waiting a month for the next chapter tends to disrupt the flow of the story for me. Especially these days, when stories are more tightly scripted and the overarching story is emphasized, sometimes at the expense of individual issues, it is simply easier to read the whole story all at once. When I went through my years of collecting monthly, I would sometimes find myself totally unmotivated to read the comic I just bought because it would involve digging out the old issues. I would wait a few months, then read them all in one go. Some writers weren't like this, but I found mini-series' ESPECIALLY suffered from this, so why bother when you can just grab the mini in a nice trade that collects the whole story very neatly?
Storing
I don't know if you've ever tried to store comics, but it's tough! And sometimes expensive. They're an odd shape, too tall for normal bookshelves, and too thin to hold themselves up even if you rearrange the shelving. Basically, fans are expected to buy these very specific boxes in the right size, then store each comic in it's own plastic sleeve with a cardboard backing to keep them in pristine condition. I don't mind going through the whole maze for a few very good issues, but comics were produced on the format originally to be a disposable, easily transportable medium! When I'm spending all this money on keeping them pristine, it's more bother than it's worth, really. I managed, and even alphabetized the whole collection, but really, it's much easier with trades. I can just stick them in a bookshelf after moving the shelves, and the spines conveniently display the titles so I don't have to pull up issues to find what I'm looking for.
Less Fragile
To continue the previous comment trades are generally less fragile than comics themselves. I have yet to tear any of my comic trades, and they bend far less easily. Comics are so thin that I'll try to stick it back in the box and it'll bend badly as I put it back. Drives me nuts. Again, comics are simply too expensive to be the same disposable medium they once were, so I'm forced to be super-duper-extra-careful, and I frankly don't need the stress. Trades are much better at taking care of themselves.
Travel Value
Again, due to the durability of trades, I can just grab 'n go. For someone who spends time on public transportation, goes on family trips, visits friends on the weekends, etc., I put a lot value in how portable something is. My ipod more convenient for music than my laptop or CDs. I buy most books in softcover so I can stuff more in my backpacks. While individual issues are lighter, it's true, they just can't take the same beating in my bags and suitcases. Plus, trades have the whole story when I travel, unlike individual issues, which I have to keep careful track of because they're so easy to misplace. Not that I haven't done it. I dragged the Arsenal mini-series on a family trip because I wanted to, but I was neurotic about the issues, reading them one at a time, and sliding them into the sleeves like spun glass. A trade would have been much, much easier.
Rereading Value
To combine many of my earlier arguments, you can't even compare rereading a trade to individual issues. For individual issues, I have to dig them out of boxes, trying to get the whole story arc together in once place, without disrupting the rest of the comics too much. Then you read each issue individually, pulling them out of the plastic, reading them, putting them back in. Then you have to put them BACK. Trades, you grab, read in one shot, and slide back in. I happen to store a lot of trades the same way I store my comics (which is similar enough to a box that it might as well be.) and I don't keep them organized in the slightest and it's still less of hassle to read them. That's why I know my trade stories very very well, but I'm pretty fuzzy on the issues I bought.
Extra Content
Not the reason to buy trades, but it must be considered. Trades typically come with some kind of extra content. An introduction, some preliminary sketches, alternate covers, a full comic script, all sorts of stuff can just be casually stuffed in the back. I can't say why certain things are chosen over other, but I love the extras. A little peak into the minds of the writer, artist or even just another opinion in the case of introduction gives me a thrill. I just love that kind of stuff.
And finally, the last thing I can whip up off the top of my head....
Lending Value!
This one is PRICELESS in my opinion. As someone who is constantly trying to get friends into comics, trying to prove the value of the medium and maybe attract one or two followers, nothing can beat actually reading the stories. And the durability and travelability of trades allow them to pass hand much more easily then individual issues. I got one friend hooked on H-E-R-O (way to drop the ball there, DC) by lending her the first trade. I convinced a friend to like BoP with a trade. I offer my Watchmen trade to EVERYONE. Even when friends come to visit for an extended length of time, and they're IN MY HOUSE, they'd rather read a trade then issues. Come on, for a medium and genre with a high barrier of entry, this is especially important. Don't hand out issues, hand out trades. Many libraries aren't offering issues for a reason.
Anyway, that isn't to say issues can't be great. This isn't to say that issues can utilize tools that NO OTHER MEDIUM has at their disposal. This isn't to say that those flimsy pamphlets don't have a future, because I truly believe they do. But come on. I, and I'm sure many other, are totally comfortable waiting for the trades.
DD: "And my question this time - it’s the classic monthly book versus trade discussion: what gets you to pick up a trade over the monthly issues?"
Gosh, that's a funny question. There's LOTS of reasons to favor trades over monthly. I'm thinking of more as I type this. Ok, here goes.
Price!
Let's break it down. Individual issues tend to cost anywhere from $2.99-$3.99. Trades tend to cost from $15-$20. (I'm ignoring specials, Absolutes, collections, special shiny editions, and so on. This is just the average story that is coming out right now in a run-of-the-mill title that will be collected in a run-of-the-mill trade.) If you shop around for a price almost anywhere (amazon.com being the easiest, but B&N member discount, ebay and overstock.com, are all options) you can almost always save a few dollars. And when you plan to buy lots and lots of comics, it makes a difference.
Complete Story
I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I find that waiting a month for the next chapter tends to disrupt the flow of the story for me. Especially these days, when stories are more tightly scripted and the overarching story is emphasized, sometimes at the expense of individual issues, it is simply easier to read the whole story all at once. When I went through my years of collecting monthly, I would sometimes find myself totally unmotivated to read the comic I just bought because it would involve digging out the old issues. I would wait a few months, then read them all in one go. Some writers weren't like this, but I found mini-series' ESPECIALLY suffered from this, so why bother when you can just grab the mini in a nice trade that collects the whole story very neatly?
Storing
I don't know if you've ever tried to store comics, but it's tough! And sometimes expensive. They're an odd shape, too tall for normal bookshelves, and too thin to hold themselves up even if you rearrange the shelving. Basically, fans are expected to buy these very specific boxes in the right size, then store each comic in it's own plastic sleeve with a cardboard backing to keep them in pristine condition. I don't mind going through the whole maze for a few very good issues, but comics were produced on the format originally to be a disposable, easily transportable medium! When I'm spending all this money on keeping them pristine, it's more bother than it's worth, really. I managed, and even alphabetized the whole collection, but really, it's much easier with trades. I can just stick them in a bookshelf after moving the shelves, and the spines conveniently display the titles so I don't have to pull up issues to find what I'm looking for.
Less Fragile
To continue the previous comment trades are generally less fragile than comics themselves. I have yet to tear any of my comic trades, and they bend far less easily. Comics are so thin that I'll try to stick it back in the box and it'll bend badly as I put it back. Drives me nuts. Again, comics are simply too expensive to be the same disposable medium they once were, so I'm forced to be super-duper-extra-careful, and I frankly don't need the stress. Trades are much better at taking care of themselves.
Travel Value
Again, due to the durability of trades, I can just grab 'n go. For someone who spends time on public transportation, goes on family trips, visits friends on the weekends, etc., I put a lot value in how portable something is. My ipod more convenient for music than my laptop or CDs. I buy most books in softcover so I can stuff more in my backpacks. While individual issues are lighter, it's true, they just can't take the same beating in my bags and suitcases. Plus, trades have the whole story when I travel, unlike individual issues, which I have to keep careful track of because they're so easy to misplace. Not that I haven't done it. I dragged the Arsenal mini-series on a family trip because I wanted to, but I was neurotic about the issues, reading them one at a time, and sliding them into the sleeves like spun glass. A trade would have been much, much easier.
Rereading Value
To combine many of my earlier arguments, you can't even compare rereading a trade to individual issues. For individual issues, I have to dig them out of boxes, trying to get the whole story arc together in once place, without disrupting the rest of the comics too much. Then you read each issue individually, pulling them out of the plastic, reading them, putting them back in. Then you have to put them BACK. Trades, you grab, read in one shot, and slide back in. I happen to store a lot of trades the same way I store my comics (which is similar enough to a box that it might as well be.) and I don't keep them organized in the slightest and it's still less of hassle to read them. That's why I know my trade stories very very well, but I'm pretty fuzzy on the issues I bought.
Extra Content
Not the reason to buy trades, but it must be considered. Trades typically come with some kind of extra content. An introduction, some preliminary sketches, alternate covers, a full comic script, all sorts of stuff can just be casually stuffed in the back. I can't say why certain things are chosen over other, but I love the extras. A little peak into the minds of the writer, artist or even just another opinion in the case of introduction gives me a thrill. I just love that kind of stuff.
And finally, the last thing I can whip up off the top of my head....
Lending Value!
This one is PRICELESS in my opinion. As someone who is constantly trying to get friends into comics, trying to prove the value of the medium and maybe attract one or two followers, nothing can beat actually reading the stories. And the durability and travelability of trades allow them to pass hand much more easily then individual issues. I got one friend hooked on H-E-R-O (way to drop the ball there, DC) by lending her the first trade. I convinced a friend to like BoP with a trade. I offer my Watchmen trade to EVERYONE. Even when friends come to visit for an extended length of time, and they're IN MY HOUSE, they'd rather read a trade then issues. Come on, for a medium and genre with a high barrier of entry, this is especially important. Don't hand out issues, hand out trades. Many libraries aren't offering issues for a reason.
Anyway, that isn't to say issues can't be great. This isn't to say that issues can utilize tools that NO OTHER MEDIUM has at their disposal. This isn't to say that those flimsy pamphlets don't have a future, because I truly believe they do. But come on. I, and I'm sure many other, are totally comfortable waiting for the trades.