Can I subscribe to comics like I do with magazines?

March 31, 2008 2:45 PM

Can I subscribe to comics by mail, like I do with magazines?

1) I keep missing issues of things I'd like to follow because I forget to go pick them up, they drift off a regular publication schedule, etc.
2) I spend too much on too many titles, and end up doubling my order with impulse buys when I do manage to swing by a shop (oh, it's been a while - what are they doing with so-and-so these days? let me buy 4 issues...)

With magazines, I sign up once, and get a year's worth of issues delivered to me, even if I forget about them.
I also get a significant discount off the newsstand price.

Shouldn't I be able to do the same deal with comic titles?
(if not, and you know why, please explain )

I know that I could find a local comics shop and give them a list of issues to save for me, and they'll call me to come pick them up and pay for 'em, like grownup geeks do.

But I'd prefer to get all excited when I get the monthly envelope from DC/Vertigo in my mailbox, and go retire to my fort made of sofa cushions and read them by flashlight with a box of crackers and a bottle of Vernor's.

Is this possible? Are there alternatives?

(If it helps, I'm mostly reading DC/Vertigo/Wildstorm, but there are a few Dark Horse titles I always forget to grab. I suppose I'm going to have to go and get my Doktor Sleepless from Avatar on my own.)

posted by penciltopper to sports, hobbies, & recreation (12 comments total)

Here?
posted by milkrate at 2:49 PM on March 31, 2008

It is absolutely possible. The term you'll be wanting to Google for is "comic book subscriptions". The big two publishers do it, along with the larger comic book retailers, and...AND...you'll find independent comic mail service companies you can opt into.
posted by greenland at 2:49 PM on March 31, 2008

However, as I discovered with my DC subscriptions- you won't get them before, or even concurrent- with them hitting the news-stand. They do it as a courtesy, not to be competitive, so you usually get them a couple weeks after everyone else buys them at the comic book store.
posted by headspace at 2:53 PM on March 31, 2008

The NICE program at Mile High Comics is what you're looking for. I've been very happy with their service and selection for several years now. I get my comics shipped monthly, but I believe you can choose biweekly or weekly if you want them right away.
posted by Stacey at 3:18 PM on March 31, 2008

Yes you can but be really wary about subscribing directly. The customer service for most comic book subscriptions is beyond dreadful. Plus most comic book producers are chronically late, miss issues, change their targets etc in a way you would never see with normal magazine subscripts.
posted by moof at 3:21 PM on March 31, 2008

If you order a lot, the Discount Comic Bk Service gets good reviews and gives great discounts (I'm also a customer). The downside is you gotta place an order every month, but they give you tools to help make it less tedious. M&M comics has also been doing this sort of thing for a loooong time, but I don't have firsthand experience.
posted by edjusted at 3:24 PM on March 31, 2008

I subscribe to mine at Things from another world
posted by gaspode at 3:40 PM on March 31, 2008

midtown comics
My coworker had nothing but raves about their service.
posted by stavx at 3:46 PM on March 31, 2008

I used to subscribe to some DC comics by mail. Be aware that they won't be in anything even close to mint condition. The ones I got in my mailbox were often folded or wrinkled from the trip.
posted by blue_beetle at 5:46 PM on March 31, 2008

Seconding DCBService. I get my trade paperbacks from them twice a month and they're cheap, fast, and the service is incredible.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 6:08 PM on March 31, 2008

Thirding DCBService. Good stuff, Maynard.
posted by willmize at 9:10 PM on March 31, 2008

Heavy Ink is a site that just opened not long ago for that very purpose, along with the usual Web2.0 social networking/recommendation stuff.
posted by namewithoutwords at 4:11 PM on April 1, 2008