How do you get your comics?

[marcushill73]

I recall in this week's iFanboy podcast Ron, Conor and Josh get their weekly comics off the shelf? I must confess that I subscribe to a mail order company, getting my books once a month. Plus side: great savings; can buy more books each month; never miss out an issue. Down side: don't get that giddy glee of picking books of the new comic book arrival day; ah - the days of just browsing, and browsing......

I know iFanboy has recommended http://www.comichole.com/. Are there any other online stores that people could recommend for online ordering.

Cheers,
Marcus

[fred]

I shop in a store but I've heard good things about http://www.midtowncomics.com

[marcushill73]

I get my monthly fix from www.mailordercomics.com. They offer 38 - 50% off DC, Marvel and Image titles.

[jadedhalo]

I buy weeklys from my local comic shop, Legends of Superheroes (http://www.legendsofsuperheros.com/), and buy trades from Amazon. My local shop gives me $10 for every $100 spent which I spend on trades usually.

[acomicbookgirl]

I get my stuff from my comic shop, Continental Comics (http://www.continentalcomics.com/). On ocassion, I will get a trade from Borders or Barnes and Noble. Depending on what mood i'm in.

[jimski]

You know... I don't like to badmouth a sponsor... I currently buy at a shop, but I tried to subscribe via comichole.com about a week ago. I sent the required e-mail listing my selections, just as they instruct you to do, and I never heard back. Ever. Which is sort of starting to piss me off.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but... a week? I mean, I want to give you my money. Basically all of it. Right?

It feels good to get that off my chest.

[derek]

I get mine via mailorder from www.dcbservice.com . I've been using them for over a year and I love them. 40% off minimum for all mainstream books and some of the featured ones are 50% or 75% each month. Same goes for trades and HCs. Almost always the new Marvel Omnibus' and DC Absolutes are 50% off, which is great.

They don't do subscriptions, instead you download an Excel template each month that is preloaded with the entire Previews catalog, including prices and DCBS discounts. You input the quantity you want for any item in the catalog and it calculates your total at the top. You email it back and they send you a confirmation a few days later with an itemized list of your purchases.

I do miss the browsing and excitement of going to the shop on Wednesdays, but the prices for mailorder can't be beat.

[orlov]

I buy most of my books at a few comic shops in the area, mainly Dreamland comics because of there huge back-issue selection. I always always always get my TPBS and GNS from Buy.com I assure you that they have the best deals on almost every TPB and GN you can think of.

[spock-tm]

I hitchhike from Whakatane (fuk-a-ta-knee(right this time)) to Tauranga (Tao-wrong-a) on my days off work pick up my books and hitchhike back the next day... it's only like 90k's, kinda makes some episodes big spoilers, but meh

[mastap]

Local Comic Shop all the way. I've got three or four stores around me if i can't find an issue but usually go to *shout out warning* the Wizard's Tower. It's on the way home so it's not inconvienient. Also i'm kinda technologically retarted, and have trouble buying things over the internet

[chrisuk]

I get a selection of comics one whole week before they are released! As I work in a comic store I get to keep the 'sneak peeks', which are a selection of comics sent out a week early to retailers so they can read 'em and promote 'em in store. It is usually about 8 Marvel titles and 4 Image ones. DC have recently stopped doing it, which is annoying.

The rest of my comics I get on a Thursday (it's a day late in the UK), and although I can usually read a couple throughout the day, i normally have to wait till after work to read them.

[fred]

I hitchhike from Whakatane (fuk-a-ta-knee(right this time)) to Tauranga (Tao-wrong-a) on my days off work pick up my books and hitchhike back the next day... it's only like 90k's, kinda makes some episodes big spoilers, but meh

Holy crap. When I was a kid I had to hitchhike 90 kilometers both ways uphill in the snow just to buy comics and we loved it! You kids today

you are totally set up for when you have kids

[ibn-al-xu-ffasch]

I go to Jim Hanley's Universe (http://www.jhuniverse.com/) every Wednesday.

[ekval]

A topic near and dear to my heart that I've written about a lot at my site. Basically, I'd rather hit the local comic shop as the owner is the nicest guy ever and I'd like to support him. But...finances atm dictate that I believe I'll be ordering from some place like comichole because I can get almost twice as many books that way.

[kwok_talk]

I used to go weekly to the comic shop (something just fun about going there weekly to pick up your subscriptions), but when I moved farther away I moved to just reading trades. I’ve checked out a few online comic sellers, but sometimes found the user interfaces just way too unfriendly to deal with. So I’ve mostly picked up trades at Borders or just stock up whenever I happen to head out to the comic store. I’ve recently bought a few items off of half.com (related to ebay I think?), which has been slightly cheaper than buying them new at Borders.

[jaflanagan]

You know... I don't like to badmouth a sponsor... I currently buy at a shop, but I tried to subscribe via comichole.com about a week ago. I sent the required e-mail listing my selections, just as they instruct you to do, and I never heard back. Ever. Which is sort of starting to piss me off.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but... a week? I mean, I want to give you my money. Basically all of it. Right?

It feels good to get that off my chest.

Have you followed up? Maybe they thought you were spam? I don't know. But if you're having a hard time, feel free to ***** about it. I only ever ordered books from them. No experience with with sub service.

I'd do an online service if I didn't have to do the show every week. But as it is, I have to get my books on wednesday. But Midown Comics has a nice little program that gives me back $20 in credit for every $100 I spend.

[iSteve]

I get my comics at Dave's Comics in Richmond, VA. I look forward to talking to the staff each week and browsing the rack for issues not on my pull list. I also get 10 % off my purchases. Given the amount I buy, I probably ought to buy monthly from a mail order service for a better discount. But I'm loyal to Dave. There's just something about browsing in a comic shop that I would miss.

[mister-s]

LCS for my floppies (I'm currently helping them make a web site), and the internets for my trades. I love the Wednesday new comic ritual - too much to give up.

[davegraham]

I go to Phantom of the Attic http://tron.telerama.com/~phantom/intro.html every Wednesday. I have a pull list, but I usually buy more stuff that is off my list, which is why I prefer going to a store. I like being able to see what is on the shelf, thumb through it, and decide whether it is worth picking up or not. Also I like the guys who run the store I go to and I don't want to see them out of a job. However there is one store I avoid because the guys who run it are a**holes. I'd gladly buy from the comichole, before I'd buy from a comic a**hole.

[iSteve]

My weekly single issues I get at the comic shop, but as for trades, I usually go to Amazon. Can't beat the prices.

[fred]

I go to Phantom of the Attic http://tron.telerama.com/~phantom/intro.html (http://tron.telerama.com/%7Ephantom/intro.html) every Wednesday. I have a pull list, but I usually buy more stuff that is off my list, which is why I prefer going to a store. I like being able to see what is on the shelf, thumb through it, and decide whether it is worth picking up or not. Also I like the guys who run the store I go to and I don't want to see them out of a job. However there is one store I avoid because the guys who run it are a**holes. I'd gladly buy from the comichole, before I'd buy from a comic a**hole.

I spend a fair amount on comics and one shop I was going to last year lost my business because the owner was an asshole

[ekval]

Speaking of the owner being a jerk, that's what got me out of comics the last time I left two or so years ago.

I'd been going to this shop for about 8 months or so. Good sized place, lotsa back issues, but with a fairly heavy bent to games and such as well. I had a sub there, but since I lived about 20-30 minutes away and was up to my ears with work, I only made it up like once every 3 or so weeks. I told them that at the outset and they understood.

So at one point, I get a call from them saying hey, it's been like 4 or so weeks since you've been here, you want us to still hold these or should we put them out. I tell them ok, I'll be there that Saturday (this was Thursday). I show up Saturday and bam, they not only have put my stuff back, but taken my folder and sublist out altogether.

As I talk to the owner about it, he is completely uninterested and not worried about it at all. Doesn't offer to try to help me find the stuff I missed, doesn't offer me a new sub sheet, nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I realize my part of this, but come on, where is some customer service? Try to help a guy out, try to keep a customer...

Nope, nothing...so I walked out, and never came back, dumped that $80 a month or so into another hobby.

It took me two years, a good podcast (this one, duh), and a good shop owner to get me back into it.

[spock-tm]

Holy crap. When I was a kid I had to hitchhike 90 kilometers both ways uphill in the snow just to buy comics and we loved it! You kids today

you are totally set up for when you have kids

Too right I am

[vanhel]

I'm lucky, the town that my college is in has an awesome comic/games shop that has a huge amount of back issues. I work there on the weekends to pay for my weekly pulls and I get a discount on my trades.

[pride-of-brandon]

I used to get my stuff from DC Direct. But I stopped doing that because I couldn't drop books when I was tied into a subscription.

So now I have a pull list at a new dimension comics (ndcomics.com). I love the store. It's run by the same guy I used to buy my books from when I was in like fourth grade. The old store, Time Tunnel, went out of business a couple of years ago. Which forced me to DC Direct.

Because I'm away at college I only pick up my books like once every 2-3 months. But They're cool about that there.

If I want to add a book to my pull list I just call them up.

When I'm there I always pick up some used trades or sets of back issues.

But I do go to a few other stores around Pittsburgh, just to check them out.

And I probably buy about 30 trades of amazon every year. Or pick up the random trade or set of back issues at Half-Priced Books.

[acomicbookgirl]

I spend a fair amount on comics and one shop I was going to last year lost my business because the owner was an asshole

My comic book store that I go to now is like a half hour away from me. There's one like 5 minutes away from me but the owner's wife was a ***** towards me. The owner was awesome but his wife was a work of art and i'm putting that nicely. I had them pull stuff for me but half of the stuff that was on my pull list was "out" and they would get some in next week. I would have to go another store just to get the stuff I missed. After doing that for like 3 weeks straight, I decided to go to just go to one comic store. And i've been going there for about 3 years. :cool:

[jurassicalien]

With the monthly books, I go to the store. It's not a great store, and the owner is quite the prick. But sometimes I get some good discussion out of other shoppers.

With trades it depends, mostly through amazon (By clicking on the iFanboy banner). But if my store is having a clearance (Which they have often actaully) then I get them there.

[jaflanagan]

but his wife was a work of art

Did you mean "piece of work," because I'm unfamiliar with the term you used. But, hey I'm willing to grant you regional vernacular differences.

[acomicbookgirl]

Did you mean "piece of work," because I'm unfamiliar with the term you used. But, hey I'm willing to grant you regional vernacular differences.

Something like that...

[chrisuk]

But, hey I'm willing to grant you regional vernacular differences.

Bloody hell, you're a sterling bloke!

[jaflanagan]

Bloody hell, you're a sterling bloke!

You'll notice I do that on the audio show all the time. I can't help it. I'm pretty sure it actually makes me a giant jerk. But it's like my "thing." I've never let a malapropism go unchecked.

[fred]

Did you mean "piece of work," because I'm unfamiliar with the term you used. But, hey I'm willing to grant you regional vernacular differences.

No Josh she meant 'work of art'.

He was married to a painting. So bizarre the way her eyes followed you all around the store

[acomicbookgirl]

No Josh she meant 'work of art'.

He was married to a painting. So bizarre the way her eyes followed you all around the store

Believe it or not it actually did when I was in the store... :eek: That's all in the past.

Its Superbowl Sunday guys! Let's just eat, drink and be merry. :D

[fred]

It amuses me to imagine your cbg married to a scooby doo villain

[acomicbookgirl]

It amuses me to imagine your cbg married to a scooby doo villain


LOL!!! Who is that on your avatar? I get this feeling I should know who it is but I don't.. :(

[conorkilpatrick]

LOL!!! Who is that on your avatar? I get this feeling I should know who it is but I don't.. :(

Hannibal from The A-Team!

For shame!

[fred]

for shame indeed

[fred]

and to think I almost went with this one
http://www.lady-jo.de/a-team/charaktere/bilder/murdock1.jpg

[conorkilpatrick]

for shame indeed

I actually used that exact same pic in my work IM a while back. I love The A-Team.

[acomicbookgirl]

and to think I almost went with this one
http://www.lady-jo.de/a-team/charaktere/bilder/murdock1.jpg


I would've know if it was that one... :o

[fred]

I actually used that exact same pic in my work IM a while back. I love The A-Team.

They're like the coolest thing ever.

I would've know if it was that one

sure you would've

[dgoke]

I get my comics through a site called Sci-Fi Genre (http://www.scifigenre.com). They really got me back into comics. I was subsribed to marvel direct but the obvious problems exist with them of not being able to vote with my dollars cause I'm tied in for a year. I was getting like 12 books a month when I startd now I'm up to 30 monthlies and a bunch of limited series. The big thing that got me into it though was that they gave me 52 for free as long as I had more than 10 books. They mail quickly the comics are well packaged, the customer service is great. I think the advantage it has over Comichole (not to bash a sponsor) is that instead of sending them a list of titles through email you choose them on the web site an you have an account that you sign in where you can see and edit your list at any time. I'm paying for my extensive title list at the moment by being a bit poo (can't even afford the r) but I've never been happier reading comics.

[drwally]

OY, this is a sad subject for me in Tokyo. Even when I lived in San Francisco, I favored trades over flopplies, but I still felt the need to leaf through a book before making a decision to buy as I'm especially finnicky about art. But here, I buy on Amazon, so I am heavily dependent on customer reviews, and shipping (+$5-7.00) can take up to 2-4 weeks. Discovering iFanboy podcasts (and some Hellboy TPBs on sale in Tokyo because of the movie) really brought me back to comics, because now I have reviews I can trust, complete with varying opinions. I always click through the Amazon banner on iFanboy.com when I buy as some small show of gratitude I can make.

Recently I went to visit old friends and family in San Francisco, and had a ball at Isotope, recommended by iFanboy. The guys at Isotope were the ultimate in great service for the discriminating buyer. They fielded tons of challenging questions, catered to my tastes and suggested other interesting stuff based on that, ran around finding books on the shelf for me, and even found a rather off color joke I made pretty funny (somthing about dropping names). Great humble service from a guy who actually deserves much respect. And his Dr. Strange cloak is HOT.

I FINALLY found a shop online in Tokyo (called Blister) with American stuff which I'll try out in person, but the reviewer of the shop said: "mainstream selection, prices of course almost double US cover price, but still better than a lot of other places."

You kids got it so easy...

[alexg]

I get mine at a store near my office at lunch on Wednesdays. It's probably one of the highlights of my week (exciting isn't it...) The shop I got mostly carries new releases but they give a nice discount and you can occaisionally find weird hard to find back issues stuck behind newer issues. The only thing about the place I don't like is that they don't carry too many new TP releases, but being in NYC I have other places I can go (midtown) which has a nice cash back program. I should probably ease off on TPs anyway...