Overheard a guy at my LCS say he only reads trades, never single issues

I was flipping through the dollar bin at my local shop in San Diego last Saturday and this older collector was telling the clerk he hasn't bought a single issue in 15 years. Just waits for the collected editions. It got me thinking - I've got like 4 long boxes full of floppies from the past 2 years that I'll probably never re-read. But there's something about that Wednesday morning pull list ritual I'd miss. Anyone else debated switching to trades only, or tried it and went back?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanp151mo ago

Yeah, that Wednesday ritual is the thing that kept me from fully switching over too. I tried trades only for about six months and the biggest thing I missed was the weekly shop talk with the guys at the counter, it's just not the same walking in once every three months. My compromise was cutting back to just a few monthly titles and grabbing everything else as a trade, that way you still get the pull list habit without the boxes piling up.

charles_henderson1mo ago

Honestly, I gotta disagree here. Waiting three months for a trade means you're missing out on the weekly hype and discussion that makes comics fun. Ngl, the weekly shop talk is half the reason I go, but if you're cutting back to just a few monthly titles you're basically still getting that fix. Trades are fine for filling in gaps later, but the real experience is the cliffhangers and the wait between issues. Tbh, the boxes piling up is just a badge of honor for being a dedicated reader, not a downside.