So Many Trades at Midtown Comics, NYC

I was in Midtown Comics Times Square a few weeks back (the picture above is just around the corner from the store) and spent some time perusing the racks of collected editions. I paid no attention to the normal monthly comics along the way. They just don’t appeal to me as much anymore.

But I was amazed at the collections I saw.

I don’t read PREVIEWS anymore. I don’t worry about re-buying all the comics I liked 20 years ago. But if I wanted to, it’s amazing to see how much of it I could buy again. Everything from John Byrne’s “Namor” to Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley’s “Thunderbolts” to Chuck Dixon’s “Robin” to Mark Waid and Andy Kubert’s “Ka-Zar.” So many titles that didn’t necessarily sell like gangbusters in the 90s or have terribly long and fruitful runs, are more available today than they were the week after they were published, in the day when trade paperbacks weren’t an assumption.

Then there are the areas that look like disasters. Try to follow a “Superman” story. So many trades covering various parts of Superman’s history from various timelines now and various characters with the name. You can’t even follow volume numbers and be safe. Those get reset with each new storyline title.  I pity any new reader coming in, and have no idea how the employees keep track of it all. After awhile, it becomes one big mess.

I’m happy, though, to see Peyo’s “Benny Breakiron” made it to four volumes.  I need to catch up.

I’m impressed at how many different titles are reprinted in multiple formats. Everything from “Powers” to “Usagi Yojimbo” give you options for which format you can buy a book in: trades, hardcovers, omnibus, slipcased, etc.  I know that’s a common enough publishing plan, but didn’t realize how many different series were going up and down the line like that.  It’s impressive.

And what’s with IDW’s reprinting of “John Byrne’s Next Men”? The first volume has a different size than the next couple.

It’s scary how many Transformers books there are, too. I never would have guessed…I should have taken a picture of that, but it was basically a bookshelf the size of the large IKEA Billy bookcases with nothing but Robots In Disguise.  That fandom must be more rabid than I had ever given them credit for.

Just like I do most times I’ve visited Midtown in my life, I picked up another couple “Asterix” volumes. I’m very happy to say I know own the first 27 volumes in a row. I’m missing four random ones after that, but I’ll get there eventually. Besides, those were post-Goscinny volumes, so they’re likely not the best.

So, I had fun. I cooled off on a hot and rainy night, bought a couple books, and educated myself a little more about the state of the market.

(Note: The image at the top is screen capped from Google Maps, where you can actually walk through the store.  Pretty cool!)