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Skipping Wednesday

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Walt

batmaninc009onipadFor the first time in I-don’t-know-how-long, I’ve actually “skipped” a Wednesday trip to the comic shop.

The last few weeks have been expensive. I’m pretty sure the entirety of my actual pull list is all $3.99 comics–Valiant, TMNT, All-New X-Men–and even some of the stuff I’ve been getting “on the side” withOUT officially adding to my pulls have been $3.99 stuff.

And along with the high pricing, it seems that things CLUSTER. Leading to weeks like this–where the only two issues I’d be picking up are not even part of my pull list–FF and X-Men Legacy; two of now-all-too-rare $2.99 books. As neither title seems to be particularly integral to any other title or ongoing events, and I’ve not had any trouble tracking either down, I figure even if I wait til next week or have to swing through another comic shop, not gonna be any real problem getting them. And though I’ve been passively enjoying both titles, neither has me chomping at the bit to read “the next issue,” so this MIGHT even be a test for myself if I even want to continue with them (I didn’t even notice I’d missed issues of Thunderbolts until 2 or 3 came out after my last issue, so I’ve let that one go).

I did (digitally) buy the new issue of Batman, Inc. to read. I’ve rather firmly opted to stick to digital-only for the Requiem issues, specifically AVOIDING the hassles of not being able to grab ’em off the shelf myself for “collectors” snapping them up cuz of the whole death-of-Robin thing (or just fellow readers also checking things out).

So…no comic shop this week, at least not the “regular” or “usual” comic shop visit. Maybe later I’ll touch on that issue of “clustering,” particularly where if the Valiant books were actually spread out more, even one more book planned for print-edition purchase would’ve justified the trip to the comic shop.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Digital Transition: Requiem and The Walking Dead

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Walt

brucemourningI bought into the hype and had the foresight to email the local comic shop the Monday morning the week Batman, Inc. #8 came out.

However, I did not display the same foresight for any of the “Requiem” issues that have come out since then.

I’m not particularly interested in Detective Comics with a $3.99 price point, ditto for Batman itself.

Much more interested in the Batman and Robin title, but as stated…I managed to lack the foresight to request a copy of the latest issue be held, and it’s not part of my pull file.

But I’ve also been–increasingly seriously–considering a transition to “going digital,” and I’ve been somewhat experimenting with that. This weekend feels like it definitely bore fruit in that regard.

digitalbatman018I get tired of wasting time and gas running around to various comic shops for an issue I may have missed (I hate using the phone, but that’s an issue entirely its own), especially when it often leads to me buying other stuff I normally wouldn’t, out of some kind of “guilt” of spending a lot of time in a shop and not wanting to walk out empty-handed; or even simply of reaching a minimum  purchase price for using a card.

There’s also the “immediate gratification” thing as well as “convenience,” to say nothing of the mere fact of owning a tablet now and being able to view full-page comics at almost “normal” size.

So in one quick expense, I was able to–at about 10pm Saturday, long after any comic shop would be open, and from the comfort of the chair I was sitting in, having just finished an episode of Person of Interest–purchase Batman #18, Batman and Robin #18, and The Walking Dead #108.

digitalbatmanandrobin000and018With The Walking Dead, I decided after all the stuff with #100 that I was gonna go back to waiting for the collected volumes. But then decided I was going to miss the experience of the monthly single issues, of fully keeping up with the story.

So, since I was then grudgingly willing to consider an ongoing prospect of purchasing twice…why not try buying the single issues as digital, and saving the collected volumes to be my sole print purchase for the series?

I’ve yet to make the follow through on print–I don’t think I’ve bought a collected volume since 13, as I’ve been keeping up with the singles–but I’ve followed one entire 6-issue run of the series now digital-only, and don’t particularly miss the print.

digitalwalkingdead103to108Yet another benefit to going the digital route–the issues are basically “always available” and never “sold out.” I don’t have to race to the comic shop ASAP on Wednesday to buy a digital copy of whatever issue; and if I don’t decide til late Saturday night that yeah, actually I DO want to go ahead and read that after all…I don’t have to wait til Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday to get back to a shop and hope they even have the issue in stock TO buy.

Also keeps me clear of the speculation side of things. I want to READ the issues. If I was in it for the speculation, I probably would’ve sold my Batman Inc. #8 already–but having been spoiled, I wanted the actual issue as a piece of history in the Bat-story. I don’t yet know what all the Requiem stuff will be–so far it doesn’t seem to be a single arc or such, so it’s kinda nice to hold off on purchasing until I’ve thought about it.

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