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Issue #4

Trade Paperbacks: Pros and Cons

Recently, in the comic book world, there has been a new craze in the form of Trade Paperbacks.  These, as well as other variations (Hardcovers, etc) are much more widespread than they used to be.  Where they were once a small pack of wolves, they are now an entire population, consuming all the wild comics around them... or something.  What? Who? and Why? are some of the questions you may be asking yourself.  Don't worry, I'll try to explain.

You see, Trade Paperbacks are compilations of comic book stories put together into one large product.  Sometimes it is a specific story arc (so and so issues 14-20) or sometimes its an overall theme (see such large crossovers as Age of Apocalypse or Onslaught).  They can range from very few comics (3-5) up to the new "Omnibuses" Marvel is putting out (collects around 30 comics).

Trade Paperbacks are no new thing to comics, no sir.  They have been around for ages collecting some of the bigger stories in comics for yours and my reading pleasure.  So then what's all the brew-ha-ha about them now a days?  Well the thing is they are being much more mass produced, mainly by Marvel, but to be fair everyone seems in on the game.  From my understanding, Marvel now turns every current story arc into a Trade Paperback, and I'm not over exaggerating.  Companies like DC aren't as bad, but they are still hopping on board the Trade Paperback band wagon.

So why have Trade Paperbacks become such the hot commodity?  Simple, because they sell, and for good reason.  Trade Paperbacks have many upsides.  When every single story arc of a comic book is put out into Trade form, it is easy to catch up on a series through those, rather than going and hunting down all the back issues.  Also, trade paperbacks are much cheaper than buying individual comic books.  Simply do a search of what story you want on Amazon.com and you can usually find it for, at the minimum, 25% off the cover price.  I've been picking up Ultimate X-Men Hardcovers (collecting 12 issues a piece) for about $20.  That is less than $2 an issue, you really can't beat that.  Plus, everything is nicely packaged without all those pesky ads that clutter comic books now a days.  If you want to get even cheaper, Marvel has an 'Essential' line that collects older issues, printed on cheaper material and printed in black and white.  Sure, it isn't as fun to look at, but if you want back story for cheap, that is where its at.  They seem to collect around 25 issues and once again, you can get them on Amazon for super cheap (New for less than $10).

With all of these positives, what is there to complain about then?  Well, with the ongoing success of Trade Paperbacks, publishers may tend to stretch their stories out longer than needed so they can fit every story into trade paperback form.  Marvel has been accused of doing this in particular, and even Marvel admitted it to be partially true if I recall (they now seem to aim at 3 issues arcs rather than 6 to correct this).  This can cause stories to feel like they are going on for too long or for no reason, which reflects poorly on the title and overall interest in the comic.

Also, with Trades becoming so popular and such a cheap alternative, it starts to beg the question of why even make individual comics anymore if they are just going to be reprinted into a more affordable packaging a few months later?  Well first off, I'm pretty sure many people would revolt if they just stopped printing individual comics.  Not everyone is an avid Trade Paperback buyer.  Sometimes, you just can't beat going down to the local comic book store to get the next part of a story the day it comes out.  You sit down and read through it, only to be left hanging, and that "hanging" can get a good thing.  It's fun to sit around and speculate what will happen next, but that feeling can be lost in Trades.  With Trades, you can just read a whole story all at once with no build-up.  It can lose the 'special' feeling that comes with comics.

So, where do I stand on Trades?  I think they are a good thing, in moderation.  I, myself, think Trades are a great way to catch up on a series, which is what I'm doing with Ultimate X-Men and Y: The Last Man.  Both offer trades in one form or another of the whole series up to the current stuff.  It would just be very time consuming and very expensive to go and track down 50 some issues of back story just to get caught up to what was going on.  Ordering a Trade online is very convenient and cost effective for such a task, so that is what I do.  On the flip side, I think full time readers shouldn't be buying only Trades.  It's understandable if you just missed a story arc or want to get caught up, but if your primary reading of a series is through trade paperback, it hurts the comic book industry as a whole.  I think it's important now, more than ever, to support comic books as a medium.  Sure, comic sales are finally starting to come back after the 90s, but they still need our help.  Trade paperbacks (as well as the oncoming of digital comics) threaten the existence of comic books.  If publishers get the idea that individual comic books won't make them money, they'll stop making them.  It's not that they are asses, it's just with such an unstable business, you "gotta do what you gotta do".

In conclusion (take that English teachers of yesteryear, I'll start my closing paragraph with that if I want!) I would say go ahead, check out some Trade Paperbacks (I know I do).  They are a great way to get caught up on comics and get back into them for cheap.  Hopefully, once you are caught up and into the series, you wont want to wait until the next Trade comes out and you'll get into buying the actual comics and supporting the industry.  Do it Foo!

Next Issue! - I have a few ideas sitting around, but nothing set in concrete yet on what exactly I'll be writing about.  Stay Tuned for the Unexpected!