- You can read the whole story in a one sitting, or more,
depending on the size of the book. No more having to wait a
month for the next part of the story. Also, no more ads breaking
up the flow of the story.
- Ever get tired of bagging and boarding comics? I do. Even
worse the bags and boards go bad after about 5 years,
meaning you have to do it all over again unless you get the
really expensive stuff.
- Extra stuff. Often the TPB will have a intro by another
author, which is nice. Sometimes they'll add sketches and so
forth. I don't read letter pages anymore so I don't miss them.
- Quality. It used to be that when something was collected
into TPB format, it was a good sign that the story was very
good or at least popular. Not quite that way now, as
everybody is putting out TPB's. But still, I think the odds of
buying a shitty monthly is a lot higher than buying a shitty
TPB.
- Ever miss an issue? Sometimes it can be a real bitch to
find it. This is just going to get worse under MarvelÂ’s no
re-print policy.
- No more boxes! Just put it on a book shelf. Saves some
room anyway and easier to lug when your moving from place
to place.
- Respectability. Having a bookshelf full of TPB/GN's looks a
lot better to the non-reader than having a box full of bagged
and boarded comics.
- Get more friends to read comics. They are much more likely
to read a TPB then a bagged and boarded comic.
- Price. There is often a slight savings in buying TPB's. You
also only have to pay sales taxes once.
- Better Format. The recent larger sized Red Star TPB is an
excellent example. In that format, I doubt the comic shops
would have bought them, but it looks fantastic. Some books
just work better when read in one shot. Earth X being an
example, I heard some people complaining it was too slow, for
too much money during the series. But when put together in a
TPB, I found it moved at a nice pace and was worth it (I
borrowed it mind you, but I wouldn't have been disappointed if
I bought it). Frank Millers 300 is another example and I bought
that in monthly format. Kicking myself for that now. With GNs,
this is improved as the 'chapters' don't have to end every 22
pages, pacing is done at the creatorÂ’s pace.
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