Buying Comics Online: A Guide

I'm a shopaholic. Really, I am. It's one of the many vices I've succumbed to over the years. I wish it was just comic books that I feverishly spend time poring through and then irresponsibly buying, but that would be ignoring all those trips to outlets and malls for the snazziest of men's wear. Indeed, to claim I only spend money on comics would require me to ignore the shelves lined with action figures that dot my apartment. Having said that, shopping for comics is my biggest bad habit.

I can spend hours on my favorite online retailers and entire days rummaging through bins and boxes of books at cons and in stores. I consider myself something of an expert on the topic of shopping for comics and due to this fact I've decided to compile my knowledge, as well as a handful of links, for your reading enjoyment. Hopefully you'll find this useful the next time you find yourself with some extra cash to spend.

　

Buy This - Most Anticipated Books of 2012

Well, it finally happened. I'm sorry to say that there just isn't much shipping this week that engenders the desire in me to try and persuade you to buy it. Sure, there are the usual high-profile monthlies shipping but I think most people are already buying anything I'd list and if not... well that's your prerogative. So instead, today I'm going to give you a look at the five books I'm most anticipating in 2012. With the abundance of trades, hardcovers and original graphic novels already solicited for 2012 it's no mean feat narrowing down the five I'm most looking forward to but I'll be glad to try.

One thing to know going into this is that, much to my chagrin these titles are all big two. I looked elsewhere but maybe the smaller publishers just aren't soliciting books shipping after April. Whatever the case, these are all exclusively superhero and exclusively Marvel and DC...

Paul's Picks! - January 11, 2012

Well, it's that time again folks: Wednesday! And you know what Wednesday is?... Well, of course you do, you're reading a blog about comics, so you obviously know it's New Comics Day, a.k.a. Paul's favorite weekly holiday! And in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.

Green Lantern #5 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke


Hey guys and gals! So the time has come for my weekly pick/review, sorry that it didn't get up until Thursday, but I've discovered that since I don't typically get my pulls until late on Wednesday, it's tough to get them all read and evaluated in time to have my article up by a decent hour... But either way, I know you've all been dying for some more of my comic blogging alongside my irresistible charm, so here I am with your weekly fix!

Ok, so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but I like to thing we've got something kinda special started here at AC. Hopefully many of you are making our little fan site a regular destination. As for the week of January 11th, I'd be lying if I said I was overly impressed with any of my pulls. Don't get my wrong, Demon Knights was good as usual, as was Batgirl which has surprisingly become one of my favorite books out of the relaunch, but all of my books were only good, not spectacular. This left me with kind of a tough decision, as I'm apprehensive about giving my weekly award to just any book; I prefer them to be exceptional.

Buy This! - January 11th, 2012

Every Monday Seth picks out three items that are due to ship on Wednesday and directs you toward your best bets for a quality purchase. Some times it's a single issue of a comic, other times a massive omnibus edition of a beloved series, and occasionally a figure or shiny bauble that caught his eye. Read on to find the three items you shouldn't leave your comic shop without this week.

...and after an extended break I return triumphantly to bring you yet another barrage of buyable items. Hopefully everyone enjoyed their New Year weekend as much as I did. I managed to pack and move apartments in a matter of two days and still found time to read the X-Men: Schism hardcover, and the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man prelude hardcover as well as a handful of single issues. It was busy few days but interesting and obviously, I was too occupied to find time (or the inclination) to sit down and write up my column.

No house cleaning this week other than the usual disclaimer that I'm pulling the shipping items listed here from the Comixology site. Don't blame me if they aren't available come Wednesday, blame Diamond or the publisher... or your store owner.

Tales from the Long Box: Best of the... Rest...

Every week Seth goes into his back issue bins, picks out a single issue, story arc, or creative run, pours through it and then writes about it. He calls it Tales from the Long Box. Though old and now either retconned out of existence or made irrelevant by the latest event, these books still share something in common... they're bagged, boarded, and a part of comics history.

So it's now 2012 and by now most comic bloggers and journalists have moved on from "best of" lists. Not me! Oh no, at this rate I'll still be writing Best of 2011 lists well into next year... or until the oncoming apocalypse. Today I wanted to spotlight some books that I love but haven't found the chance/time to write about during the past few months. It's been a fantastic year, quality wise, for comics. The big two were pumping out some high quality books that were matched by the smaller publishers.

At IDW Locke & Key remains one of the most consistently good books on the stands, not just in terms of writing and art but in the wonderful hardcovers that are released soon after the story arcs wrap up. IDW also published the Rocketeer Adventures hardcover recently which collected the mini series with contributions from the likes of Mike Allred, Alex Ross, Darwyn Cooke, John Cassaday and writers like Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek. Rocketeer Adventures was in the running for best mini series of the year and if that decision had been based solely on fun and pretty visuals it no doubt would've won. It's a lovely book and the hardcover makes a beautiful addition to my library.

Paul's Picks! - Jan. 5, 2012

Well, it's that time again folks: Wednesday! And you know what Wednesday is?... Well, of course you do, you're reading a blog about comics, so you obviously know it's New Comics Day, a.k.a. Paul's favorite weekly holiday! And in celebration of this weekly, well, celebration, Paul is here to give you his favorite book of the week.

Action Comics #5 by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert

Hello everyone! Wow, it feels like it's been ages since I wrote on here... I'm sorry about my week on hiatus, but alas Christmas found me far from home and unable to get my comics, sad times all around. But never fear, I'm back with that comic-loving banter you've become so accustomed to! It's a new year now, and with this new year there are many things for all of you to look forward to from your friends over at Ancillary Characters (... that'd be me and Seth, yes). For one, I've got a new column that'll be debuting soon. Also, we'll hopefully be launching our Podcast this month, and I hope all of you will be subscribing! Also, how's the new logo? Good? Or was the last one better? I'm not sold yet, but hey, it's a new year...