Chose single issues over trades for my Batman collection and now I'm committed

Last year I had to make a call between buying the deluxe hardcovers of Snyder's run or tracking down all the single issues from my local shop. I went with the floppies because I love the feel of individual covers and the ads from 2011. It cost me about $150 to get the first 20 issues in VF condition from 3 different sellers on eBay. But now I'm stuck trying to find issue #33 without paying $40 and it's driving me crazy. The trades would've been easier and cheaper but I just don't get the same joy flipping through a thick book. Has anyone else committed to singles for a whole run and regretted the hunt?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_martinez11d ago

Wait have you ever thought about what the hunt actually does to your enjoyment of the story itself? I used to be all about trades because they're neat and I could finish a whole arc in one sitting. But last year I picked up single issues for the first time in years, a run of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern from a garage sale for like 50 cents each. And man I get it now. The thrill of tracking down that one missing issue, the little corner ads, the feeling of each cover being its own little art piece. It changes how you read the story. Sure the trades are easier and cheaper but you lose that connection to the monthly wait and the physical history of it. I'm sorry about #33 though, that's rough.

nancybailey11d agoMost Upvoted

That thing you said about "the thrill of tracking down that one missing issue" really hit me. It's like how we treat everything now, right? We want it all fast and easy, but that hunt is part of the experience. I see it with my son's generation and their music. They just stream a whole album, skip around, never really sit with it the way I did when I had to wait for a single to drop or find a used CD at a store. The inconvenience of it actually makes you appreciate the thing more. You earn it, you know? That #33 issue you're hunting, that's your little quest. It's way more satisfying than just clicking "add to cart" for the whole bundle.