During the Golden Age of comics, which began with the launch of Superman in 1938, comic books were consumed in the same way as most periodicals. They were printed monthly on cheap paper and meant to be consumed and then disposed, much like a newspaper or an issue of People Magazine. And like most magazines still today, they didn't get re-printed. Before the rise of the 'trade paperback' (or trade) popular back issues were often difficult to track down and expensive.
Eventually publishers realized they could re-print collections of popular past issues and make more money. Initially only the most popular stories and issues were re-printed in trades, but eventually it became common practice to reprint nearly every series in trade form. Trades are generally printed on higher quality paper, contain full story arcs, which were initially spread over five to six individual issues which often ended with cliffhangers in order to hook the reader on purchasing the next issue, (much like dramatic TV shows) and are cheaper per issue. The rise of trades changed the way it was possible to enjoy comics in the same way that DVDs did when full TV shows were released in that format. Suddenly comic book fans had a difficult decision to make. Glen Weldon discusses this decision in depth in an article for Monkey See, a pop-culture news and analysis blog from NPR, saying, "Whether to read a book month-to-month or to wait for the trades is a personal decision, of course, and likely has as much to do with the state of one's personal finances than anything else, but make no mistake: It's a decision of vital interest to the future of the comics industry." Comics that don't sell enough single issues tend to get canceled. Waiting for the trade is better for the consumer, but if too many people wait, then the series will be short lived. The other big problem with waiting for the trade is that readers miss out on the shared conversation. As Weldon points out, "For good or ill, that ability to participate in real-time bellyaching is as much a part of the single-issue experience today as the comics themselves."
With the rise of digital culture, consumers have even more ways to consume their comics. Comics can be purchased in either digital or print form, but they can also be, for lack of a better term, 'streamed'. Marvel Unlimited and Comixology Unlimited offer access to giant catalogs of comics, much the way Netflix and Hulu do with TV and Movies or Spotify does with music. For the cost of about two comics a month, fans can now have access to thousands of comics at any time through any digital device. The only downside is that these services don't offer the most recent releases. Marvel Unlimited uploads comics to the service about 6 months (generally the time it takes for a storyline to resolve in single issues) after release. This makes it hard for fans to participate in meaningful discussion. But fans have overcome this by creating online spaces specifically for discussing titles as they are released on the Marvel Unlimited service. One such place is the sub-reddit called /r/MUBookClub. In the sidebar, the page explains it's purpose: "Marvel Unlimited uploads Marvel's newest titles six months after print publication. Marvel fans who strictly use M.U. can feel left behind the curve by this, trying to engage in discussions about old titles long after others have forgotten about or lost interest in them. The purpose of the Marvel Unlimited Book Club is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a sense of community among new and old fans alike who maybe for one reason or another can't keep up with the latest releases as soon as they come out."
An entirely new community has formed around this new way to consume comics. Will 'streaming' become the dominant way that most fans consume comics in the future, as it has become for music and seems likely it will become for TV as well? Single issues still seem to dominate as the main way most fans consume their comics, but streaming at least offers a much more cost effective way to consume them, and online spaces have eliminated part of the downside, that of being left out of the conversation and excitement of sharing thoughts or opinions about the stories as one reads them.
Eventually publishers realized they could re-print collections of popular past issues and make more money. Initially only the most popular stories and issues were re-printed in trades, but eventually it became common practice to reprint nearly every series in trade form. Trades are generally printed on higher quality paper, contain full story arcs, which were initially spread over five to six individual issues which often ended with cliffhangers in order to hook the reader on purchasing the next issue, (much like dramatic TV shows) and are cheaper per issue. The rise of trades changed the way it was possible to enjoy comics in the same way that DVDs did when full TV shows were released in that format. Suddenly comic book fans had a difficult decision to make. Glen Weldon discusses this decision in depth in an article for Monkey See, a pop-culture news and analysis blog from NPR, saying, "Whether to read a book month-to-month or to wait for the trades is a personal decision, of course, and likely has as much to do with the state of one's personal finances than anything else, but make no mistake: It's a decision of vital interest to the future of the comics industry." Comics that don't sell enough single issues tend to get canceled. Waiting for the trade is better for the consumer, but if too many people wait, then the series will be short lived. The other big problem with waiting for the trade is that readers miss out on the shared conversation. As Weldon points out, "For good or ill, that ability to participate in real-time bellyaching is as much a part of the single-issue experience today as the comics themselves."
With the rise of digital culture, consumers have even more ways to consume their comics. Comics can be purchased in either digital or print form, but they can also be, for lack of a better term, 'streamed'. Marvel Unlimited and Comixology Unlimited offer access to giant catalogs of comics, much the way Netflix and Hulu do with TV and Movies or Spotify does with music. For the cost of about two comics a month, fans can now have access to thousands of comics at any time through any digital device. The only downside is that these services don't offer the most recent releases. Marvel Unlimited uploads comics to the service about 6 months (generally the time it takes for a storyline to resolve in single issues) after release. This makes it hard for fans to participate in meaningful discussion. But fans have overcome this by creating online spaces specifically for discussing titles as they are released on the Marvel Unlimited service. One such place is the sub-reddit called /r/MUBookClub. In the sidebar, the page explains it's purpose: "Marvel Unlimited uploads Marvel's newest titles six months after print publication. Marvel fans who strictly use M.U. can feel left behind the curve by this, trying to engage in discussions about old titles long after others have forgotten about or lost interest in them. The purpose of the Marvel Unlimited Book Club is to encourage thoughtful discussion and a sense of community among new and old fans alike who maybe for one reason or another can't keep up with the latest releases as soon as they come out."
An entirely new community has formed around this new way to consume comics. Will 'streaming' become the dominant way that most fans consume comics in the future, as it has become for music and seems likely it will become for TV as well? Single issues still seem to dominate as the main way most fans consume their comics, but streaming at least offers a much more cost effective way to consume them, and online spaces have eliminated part of the downside, that of being left out of the conversation and excitement of sharing thoughts or opinions about the stories as one reads them.
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