Should I Buy the Floppies, Wait for the Trade Paperback, or Spend on the Big Hardcover Omnibus?
Introduction
Never before have there been so many great ways to enjoy your favorite comic books! You can read the monthly issues, or "floppies" from the major publishers, you can wait for trade paperbacks that collect "story arcs" or sequential issues, you can read digitally, you can borrow them from the library, or you can drop big bucks on fancy hardcover "omnibus" editions, and more.
What should you do?
Dear readers, don't let all of these exciting choices stress you out. ComicBook.beer has gone to great lengths (and through many years of collecting) to give you some food for thought when making your next purchase(s). There are pros and cons to everything, so let's break it down.
Part 1: A Comic Book Collector's Dilemma
The first thing that you need to do is ask yourself, "What am I looking to do?" when it comes to comic book collecting.
- Are you collecting to collect?
- Are you collecting to read?
- Are you on a budget?
- Do you want the absolute best version available?
- Do you need 25 alternate cover variants?
For me, personally, I like to read my comics, and I enjoy the absolute best version available. But sometimes I also just want to get a print or digital version from the library because money doesn't grow on money trees, and I don't really need everything that has ever been printed. There's only so much shelf space, you dig? (and most of my shelf space is owned by Conan and G.I. Joe.)
In some cases, I want to own the entire series; in other cases, I'm perfectly happy skipping the individual issues altogether and investing in giant omnibus collections. It depends on a variety of factors:
- The price of individual issues.
- The price of collected editions.
- How many individual issues do I already own?
- Is there a benefit to buying a more expensive premium edition?
- Would it just be more fun to collect the single issues?
There are probably more factors than that, but that's a good breakdown of the nonsense that goes on in my head. Let's start with the pros and cons of collecting single-issue comic books!
The Pros and Cons of New Floppies
Back in the day, when we'd buy comic books from newsstands (and video games from Sears), floppies, or single-issue comic books, were pretty much the only option.
For those who may not remember, back in 1980 or so, 35 cents would buy you a comic book. What can you buy with 35 cents today? Nothing. Even breathing air costs you more than that.
Accounting for inflation, 35 cents was a bargain. According to the Internet, 35 cents in 1980 pennies would be roughly $1.46 in early 2026 dollars.
"But comics cost three or four times that now!?"
This is the beauty (horror) of inflation, because the price of everything has gone up, and that affects comic books. It's not just the book; it's the printing, the paper, the transportation, the licensing costs, and other stuff like ink, health insurance, energy prices, and more.
Modern comics will run you, at a bare minimum, $3.99. Most of them seem to be around $4.99, with some, like Spawn, still selling for $2.99 (because I assume they make all their money from toys) and others for a lot more.
My point here is that waiting for a modern trade paperback, which costs a few bucks more than spending on five or six floppies, isn't a bad option. The price of everything is ridiculous now, so if saving five or 10 bucks is worth it to you, then do that.
The biggest pro to collecting floppies in the modern era is speed and convenience. Order a subscription from your local comic book shop, help keep them in business, and get your comics the day they come out. No waiting, and you're not spending that much more than if you wait for the trade paperback.
The con is the sheer volume of comics that you end up with. If you're like me, and you have eight subscriptions (or more), you'll watch those long boxes fill up quickly. Also, it costs more, but not that much more. I like my single-issue comics. It reminds me of the days when I'd sit on the floor surrounded by piles of G.I. Joes and Transformers.
But, if I miss a bunch of issues, or if I jump into a series a year too late, like Absolute Batman, and I just want to keep up, I buy a trade paperback (or hardcover trade paperback in Batman's case) and I don't worry about it.
The Pros and Cons of Old Floppies
Collecting old floppies is a completely different animal from collecting new ones. Used comic books are, for the most part, one of the best values when it comes to modern entertainment.
There are several factors to note here:
- Age
- Scarcity
- Title
- Condition
That first issue of Superman in mint condition will cost you a lot more than issue #32 of Conan the King with a mangled cover and brown pages. That's age, rarity, title, and condition in action.
Personally, I think that digging through longboxes of banged-up old comics is one of the best perks of this hobby. It's fun, it's usually a bargain, and you get the old issues with the ads!
Classic comic book advertisements are great, and I think that most of the major Omnibus-style collections suffer a little bit without them. I want to know what kind of deals I can get on 1970s electronics. I want to know how to pimp out custom vans, and I want X-Ray specs that see through clothing (I do not want Sea Monkeys.) Apparently, I can also bulk up with huge muscles in a week, learn guitar, and be taller without any sketchy medical stuff. Comic books!
Hunting down old comic issues is a thrill, and collected editions miss that thrill.
Hit up your local comic book shop, dig through their back issues, and see what you find. With any luck, you'll discover some gems at a reasonable price worth owning.
There's also a certain charm to enjoying the classic floppy editions from 40-50 years ago. The browned paper, the crappy printing, the clip-out ads, and the colorful Atari ads on the back covers. I love old comic books.
The Expensive Hardcover Omnibus Collections
Hold up. What about the $150 Marvel Omnibus Collection with 30 or 35 issues in one book?
$150 sounds like a lot, and it is a lot, but if you do the math, it's not that bad per issue. My Micronauts Omnibus Volume 1, for example, contains 31 issues of Micronauts. The MSRP is $125.00, which roughly breaks down to $4.00 an issue. Not bad at all!
I bought all three Micronauts Omnibus Volumes because I never owned more than one or two issues, there are a lot of Micronauts issues, and I'm not going to save any money by hunting down the floppies because they're not super common.
Even if I miss the ads, I do appreciate the incredible modern printing quality of the Marvel Omnibus, the hardcover presentation, and the bold, glorious colors. Sometimes I prefer glossy paper (these are glossy), other times I don't. There's even some backstory on the Micronauts series.
I also own most of the Savage Sword of Conan Omnibus collections because, even though I would prefer to own the originals, it would cost a small fortune to hunt them all down. However, I only own one Conan the Barbarian Omnibus (the first one), because I already have dozens of issues and get a sick thrill out of collecting Conan.
Additionally, I have a few big, pricey books that collect Spawn, Monstress, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Godzilla, and Kull. Anything where I want to sit down, obsess, and absorb every detail of the art, but not necessarily spend the time and money.
When spending over $100 on a book, it's nice to see the book beforehand. So, when it comes to these big, pricey volumes, I recommend checking one out in person to see if it's for you.
If you want to read all the old issues, but can't fork over $150, then I suggest hitting up the library to borrow a digital or print edition.