It's been quite a while since I've written anything here. This is down simply to time, or rather a lack of it. Lots of work, family and preparing for Christmas has meant that my five hours free time a week has been reduced to two (if I'm lucky), for which I've prioritised reviews for Pipedream Comics over anything else.
To be fair, I almost didn't write this post as the day I am writing it is Black Friday and my local comic shop has a terrific sale. This is a sale which, amongst other things, is seeing some terrific looking trades going for as little as a fiver, some of which (notably Kill or be Killed) really caught my eye on their Facebook feed.
However, I decided not to go, partly because of the money (I don't have any), the space (I don't have any of that either) and partly because it's almost Christmas (I tend to limited by purchases after October).
The main reason however, and the main focus of this post which I really wanted to write about, is that I'm seriously considering giving this whole Unlimited, Netflix style comic subscription thing a shot.
This is a convenient time to be considering it in fairness because just this week saw the release of the Comichaus App. This App is a digital subscription service created by British (well, I think British) comic book publishers Comichaus which offers a wide range of (mostly) British small press and indie comics in one place. Now, what makes this different to others is that they are very open about the fact that their income is split evenly, with 50% going to the company for costs and (hopefully) profit while the other 50% is given to the creators of these comics (in theory, based on what books are most viewed at any given time).
Now I've got to say, with all of this information (and more which I've no doubt neglected), I'm intrigued.
But this isn't all I'm considering at the moment. As everyone no doubt is aware, Comixology created Comixology Unlimited last year. Essentially the same idea, Comixology Unlimited is different in the fact that their library is more than likely ten times larger that Comichaus', with the likes of Image, Marvel, Dark Horse (I think?) and many other big publishers all offering (most of) their comics for a set monthly fee (although not DC as I don't think they are in on it yet), including older comics from the Silver and Bronze age (or at least that's what I've heard).
So, as with the Comichaus App, I'm very interested in the idea, now more than ever.
The reason for my sudden interest is that in the last year real life has come to impact my comic reading life. Bills are more, food is more, fuel is more but my wages are less, meaning I have less disposable income. Also, as we are all very much aware, comic books are getting increasingly more expensive as the average single issue is at the $3.99 mark (or £3.60 in the Queen's money) while a trade borders the £15-20 mark (don't ask me what that is in dollars). A combination of both this things has essentially seen the money I earmarked for comics whittled down to practically nothing and my pull list decimated to a single, solitary book (which I can't even afford to pick up at the moment) with any other comics being what I'm fortunate to review.
Therefore, these subscription services are starting to look very appealing to me as spending £10 (which was my comic budget until a couple of months ago) would allow me to join up with both Comichaus and Comixology and still have a little bit left over to put towards that single remaining single issue in my drawer. This would also mean two additional points of note; that I would be able to read significantly more comics than what the subscriptions costs would get me otherwise (I'd guess three comics, if I was lucky), and also (mainly over at Comichaus) that many of the books I review which are fantastic I could re-read and the creators would receive a royalty they so richly deserve (and I am unable to provide any other way).
Of course, there are downsides to entering into these services. The one big concern for me is that, at the moment, I can buy books and leave them for months before reading them (I have a Hawkeye trade and a Ninjak trade which prove that point). However, by joining up with either of these services, I need to commit to reading at least three books a month in order to ensure I'm getting my money's worth (because Accountants focus on that sort of thing). This may not seem like a big ask but I assure you it might just be given my seemingly lack of free time at present.
The second is a little more vague in its specifics and that is the fact that Comixology is now owned by Amazon so would I have to commit to merging my accounts for both or some similar thing (something I've avoided thus far). To be honest, I was happy with Comixology being more independent from their parent company and do fear if an combination of my accounts would occur then, should I shut down unlimited to return to my standard account, would I lose all the comics I bought up until that point (something I, quite cynically, would expect of Amazon). It's most likely a silly thing to worry about and more a by-product of my paranoid mind, but it is there and is still a worry.
Regardless though, despite these niggles, I do think that writing this has helped me see that the rewards do outweigh the risks. This seems especially the case in regards to Comichaus whose more independent nature, not to mention more indie library made by people I've actually met and deserve to be read (not all pro comics I can say that about) makes more appealing to sign up to.
Therefore, while I might mull over Comixology a little bit more, I think I will give Comichaus a shot and use it as a test case as to whether 'Netflix for comics' is up my alley.
All I have to do now is find the money to pay for it every month.
To be fair, I almost didn't write this post as the day I am writing it is Black Friday and my local comic shop has a terrific sale. This is a sale which, amongst other things, is seeing some terrific looking trades going for as little as a fiver, some of which (notably Kill or be Killed) really caught my eye on their Facebook feed.
However, I decided not to go, partly because of the money (I don't have any), the space (I don't have any of that either) and partly because it's almost Christmas (I tend to limited by purchases after October).
The main reason however, and the main focus of this post which I really wanted to write about, is that I'm seriously considering giving this whole Unlimited, Netflix style comic subscription thing a shot.
This is a convenient time to be considering it in fairness because just this week saw the release of the Comichaus App. This App is a digital subscription service created by British (well, I think British) comic book publishers Comichaus which offers a wide range of (mostly) British small press and indie comics in one place. Now, what makes this different to others is that they are very open about the fact that their income is split evenly, with 50% going to the company for costs and (hopefully) profit while the other 50% is given to the creators of these comics (in theory, based on what books are most viewed at any given time).Now I've got to say, with all of this information (and more which I've no doubt neglected), I'm intrigued.
But this isn't all I'm considering at the moment. As everyone no doubt is aware, Comixology created Comixology Unlimited last year. Essentially the same idea, Comixology Unlimited is different in the fact that their library is more than likely ten times larger that Comichaus', with the likes of Image, Marvel, Dark Horse (I think?) and many other big publishers all offering (most of) their comics for a set monthly fee (although not DC as I don't think they are in on it yet), including older comics from the Silver and Bronze age (or at least that's what I've heard).
So, as with the Comichaus App, I'm very interested in the idea, now more than ever.
The reason for my sudden interest is that in the last year real life has come to impact my comic reading life. Bills are more, food is more, fuel is more but my wages are less, meaning I have less disposable income. Also, as we are all very much aware, comic books are getting increasingly more expensive as the average single issue is at the $3.99 mark (or £3.60 in the Queen's money) while a trade borders the £15-20 mark (don't ask me what that is in dollars). A combination of both this things has essentially seen the money I earmarked for comics whittled down to practically nothing and my pull list decimated to a single, solitary book (which I can't even afford to pick up at the moment) with any other comics being what I'm fortunate to review.
Therefore, these subscription services are starting to look very appealing to me as spending £10 (which was my comic budget until a couple of months ago) would allow me to join up with both Comichaus and Comixology and still have a little bit left over to put towards that single remaining single issue in my drawer. This would also mean two additional points of note; that I would be able to read significantly more comics than what the subscriptions costs would get me otherwise (I'd guess three comics, if I was lucky), and also (mainly over at Comichaus) that many of the books I review which are fantastic I could re-read and the creators would receive a royalty they so richly deserve (and I am unable to provide any other way).Of course, there are downsides to entering into these services. The one big concern for me is that, at the moment, I can buy books and leave them for months before reading them (I have a Hawkeye trade and a Ninjak trade which prove that point). However, by joining up with either of these services, I need to commit to reading at least three books a month in order to ensure I'm getting my money's worth (because Accountants focus on that sort of thing). This may not seem like a big ask but I assure you it might just be given my seemingly lack of free time at present.
The second is a little more vague in its specifics and that is the fact that Comixology is now owned by Amazon so would I have to commit to merging my accounts for both or some similar thing (something I've avoided thus far). To be honest, I was happy with Comixology being more independent from their parent company and do fear if an combination of my accounts would occur then, should I shut down unlimited to return to my standard account, would I lose all the comics I bought up until that point (something I, quite cynically, would expect of Amazon). It's most likely a silly thing to worry about and more a by-product of my paranoid mind, but it is there and is still a worry.
Regardless though, despite these niggles, I do think that writing this has helped me see that the rewards do outweigh the risks. This seems especially the case in regards to Comichaus whose more independent nature, not to mention more indie library made by people I've actually met and deserve to be read (not all pro comics I can say that about) makes more appealing to sign up to.
Therefore, while I might mull over Comixology a little bit more, I think I will give Comichaus a shot and use it as a test case as to whether 'Netflix for comics' is up my alley.
All I have to do now is find the money to pay for it every month.
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