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In my opinion this is an argument that has run its course (though obviously in bringing it up I MUST feel I have something new to add) and those who go for trades buy the trades, and those who are monthly buy just monthly comics . . . well mostly. I bet you can't find a fan whose comic collection consists of nothing but monthlies, no trades, or a collection which is just trades and doesn't contain one single issue. After all few fans probably start as trade fans, so a monthly issue is almost 100% likely to creep in. Also some older issues are just too expensive to buy as singles so at times a person buying a trade just makes sense. Though before I go any further let's define this debate just a bit more.
Many fans of comic books are often torn between buying comic book issues each month, referred to often as monthlies (though it can include comics that are published weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly), and enjoy them as they come out (often purchased on the Wednesday of each week). However, in purchasing a monthly, it is like reading a giant soap opera that never ends and story arcs (though often labeled in the issues or on them) are just titles in the ever growing collection of flimsy comics.
Trade paperbacks, collections of individual issues, are often put out after an "arc" ends in the monthlies and allows a reader to enjoy a arc, or story, in its entirety, or at least until a stopping point (though not always some trades just . . . "end"). This can allow for a better reading experience and trade paperbacks are often more sturdy, look better on a bookcase, and can be loaned easier for reading purposes. They also at times are published in both hardcover and softcover format allowing one to choose the style of the book and if they want it to be "sturdier". Also the trades often include bonuses such as introductions, sketch work, and a complete cover gallery of all covers that adorned the issues collected. (Considering the expensive cost of "variant" covers trades can be a very affordable way to get all the covers without paying sometimes up to $100 or more to get one comic with a different cover . . .)
Now the debate between which format to get just seems to come down to what a fan likes better, and if they are patient or not. Monthlies give you your fix right away, whereas trades can take months to years to come out with the next one. Additionally, some trades collect several other trades, and can be great deals, but the next trade of that type may not surface for years sometimes! Also companies are not consistent with trades in terms of what they release, with a series getting a deluxe treatment trade for a volume 1 and then not getting another trade or getting a hardcover for one trade and then softcovers for the rest . . . Also the trend of crossovers means that at times some trades do not contain all their issues in sequential order and trades can often leave out one or two issues which are reprinted somewhere else . . . or not at all.
Now as someone who sticks with monthlies but has trades that catch my eye or that I find cheap or are just cool I'd like to see some consistency . . .
- Trades should collect all issues in sequential order as much as possible, and if they don't at least mention where the issues missing are reprinted.
- Trades should only be collected by title. It is fine to promote that a certain author, like Brian Michael Bendis or Ed Brubaker is the writer or Todd McFarlane is the artist, but if a fan wants to know what the next trade after that arc is, numbering is the only way to do that. Even if you have to skip numbers in order to account for trades that haven't been published yet, that's fine.
- Different sets with focuses on creators are fine, but have them numbered to find in a "series set".
- Releasing a trade many different ways is fine but it would be nice to know that it is going to be done in advance.
- More extras in the trades and maybe some consistency in extras would be nice.
- Softcovers collecting issues and then Hardcovers like Omnibus editions are a great way to collect series (such as how Chew and Walking Dead are doing it). Can we get more of that?
And I expect none of this to happen, I'll add. First, from the standpoint of the major companies that would involve making all the trade lines like Masterworks, Showcase, Essentials, Legends, etc. uniform, which would be too hard for them to keep track of. Fans who want to read stuff in order will have to just look at the list of issues reprinted and keep track that way. (Have you ever tried reading through the reading order in a Marvel sampler issue that tries to present how the trades should be read? A nightmare for a seasoned fan, but for a new fan? Forget it.) Next, keeping trades as they are makes the companies more money since they catch some fans the first time and get them again for a double dip if the next release is cooler then the first.
Now hardcovers like the Walking Dead and Chew are my preferred way to read some series (Walking Dead for sure) because I think they read better as trades. However, for my own sanity I will remain a monthly fan. Despite the huge move into trades that DC and Marvel have made since the late 90's, trades have only been a big thing for them for a short time. Back in the 70's and 80's trades were only done for truly rare or extremely well selling stories such as Kraven's Last Hunt, The Dark Phoenix Saga, The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchmen. If one looks back Marvel trades used to be numbered by the order they came out in (The Dark Phoenix Saga was #2 for instance). The expansion into the book market and knowledge that money could be made off older issues again has changed this obviously, but the "wait for the trade" mentality is very new in comic fandom and despite the love of getting complete stories in trades (most of the time) stories that many fans consider great have not ever been collected (most of Claremont's Uncanny X-Men, at least in color trades) or are not in trades that can be easily obtained anymore (Days of Future Past).
Trades can be a great thing, but I'm sticking with monthlies until . . . well we all go digital . . .
Ian Melton
And if you have any comments of questions e-mail me at vdf1@hotmail.com
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