Trade Nation

I was recently talking to a few friends about comics.  These friends are fair weather fans of comics (and they admit it).  They will read something like "The Walking Dead" because they loved the series, or an issue of Batman or two because they want to read more about the Joker.  But these people all said they never go for single issues....they always go for the trade paperback.

This has been an issue of recent years, where many blame writers for writing for trades.  Big six issue arcs that drag on can be seen like this, but comics is still a an issue by issue medium.  Trades serve the purpose of catching up and being able to read something you love that isn't available anymore.  Here is my example:

I got into "The Immortal Iron Fist" when the "Immortal Weapons" mini-series was released.  I was stunned at the series and how amazing the writing and art was.  But the series was over and it was almost impossible to find any back issues of the series.  Just like me, people realized how amazing it was and bought them up.  But the trades alleviated this.  Trades were also helpful for "Nova" and "Morning Glories."  More often than not, trades help understand continuity deeper.  When I got into comics, I had to make a lot of trips to local comic shops to stop by and read the trades to understand what characters were talking about.

But the real question is the trade industry ultimately hurting the publishers?  If we are looking at this from a numbers standpoint, why yes it is.  Using a six issue arc for example, if a customer buys all six issue right when it comes out, that person pays about $17.94 for a $2.99 book and $23.94 for a $3.99 book.  Browsing through some trades at a local comic shop, the majority cost $12.99-$14.99.  While a couple of dollars doesn't seem like much, it starts to add up when something sells a lot.  Hopefully those people will be like me, where if I buy a trade and love the series, I will continue to buy the issues.

So do trade paperbacks hurt the industry?  Yes and no.  They are a gamble that works with the right people, and not with others.  But they will always be there for better or worse.