Budget

[ImWithTeamConan]

I've been out of comics since Grant Morrison left New X-Men, I've been keeping up with them thru the internet and the occasional TPB or HC here or there.

And I've decided to come back to "floppies" for Hickman's Avengers/New Avengers (really dug the preview, loved the first issue, I'm all in) which has got me to start opening up the budget a little bit to a couple other series (gonna try out Superior Spiderman, maybe Uncanny X-Men).

But I was curious, how does everybody budget for comics? I'm looking at March's solicits and it's gonna be one of those months where I'm gonna be a little overbudget (cause of Age Of Ultron).

 

[Spider-Jay420]

I don't really go by a budget. I just have the titles I know I'm getting that Wednesday and make sure I have enough loot. I just check TMOB's Diamond list a day or 2 before. But I only buy 5 titles a month, so I usually only spend 8 to 12 bucks at most a week. Hmmmm...I guess guys with a bigger pull list would be more helpful. Well anyway, that's how I do it.

 

[Max J Power]

That's pretty much how I am too. I buy 5 ongoings and the occasional mini, so I don't have to budget tightly for my issues. I take cost into consideration, though. If a book increases in price or ships more than once a month, I'm more inclined to drop it if I don't really love it (for example, I might have stayed on the Captain America team-up book longer if it didn't double-ship so much).

 

[JewishHobbit]

My wife gives me $100 limit a month. I feel guilty spending that much on comics because we've been a little tight for a while and are trying to get out of debt so I try to keep it closer to $80 a month, preferably less.

I wish I could count titles and make that how I determine but Marvel threw that aside when they began their random double-shippings, so now I can't just pick titles and go with it. I could make no changes to my buying and go from $85 in one month to $110 the next. Therefore, when double-shipping gets high, I start dropping books in preparation. With March jumping me from $90 to $115, I'm going to now pre-emptively start cutting things to get back down toward $80 or less again.

It's not fun.

 

[Spider-Jay420]

Edit. Weird half hour later double posting action.

 

[Mace Dolex]

Back when I used to buy floppies I would carry a list with me and would know what titles I wanted thanks also to Previews which would list prices on stuff too that way I know to have enough money.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

I keep it to about $25 a month, wish is six monthlies, and maybe one mini on top of that, (I mean who needs to eat right?)

I'm a bit of a completist so that's what prompted me to ask you all the question, because I'm all in on Avengers/New Avengers, but so-so on everything else I'm interested in and was curious how people navigate that.

 

[Mr. Dent]

I'm going to have to make a budget soon too. I recently got back into comics as well and it feels like I went on a binge. I'm picking up Hawkeye, ASM, Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Uncanny Avengers, Avengers, Avenging Spider-Man, Deadpool, All New X-Men, Action Comics, Superman, Detective Comics, Batman, Justice League, and TWD....and I don't want to leave any of them.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

I'm going to have to make a budget soon too. I recently got back into comics as well and it feels like I went on a binge. I'm picking up Hawkeye, ASM, Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Uncanny Avengers, Avengers, Avenging Spider-Man, Deadpool, All New X-Men, Action Comics, Superman, Detective Comics, Batman, Justice League, and TWD....and I don't want to leave any of them.

That's the problem I almost found for myself, I started with two titles and almost ballooned up to a dozen.

 

[OcStat]

I used to have no discretion, buying any and all titles that caught my eye.

Now, I limit it, but not by any conscious system. I just know I don't have the resources or space for amassing a collection like I used to. I haven't bought any comics on a monthly basis in years, so I am trying to fill in the back issues I missed on top of not getting further behind. And too many books still perk my interest! I have like 9 titles that are going to be added to my pull list. Ugh!

 

[OcStat]

I used to have no discretion, buying any and all titles that caught my eye.

Now, I limit it, but not by any conscious system. I just know I don't have the resources or space for amassing a collection like I used to. I haven't bought any comics on a monthly basis in years, so I am trying to fill in the back issues I missed on top of not getting further behind. And too many books still perk my interest! I have like 9 titles that are going to be added to my pull list. Ugh!

 

[Donnie Darko]

I used to spend about 15-20 dollars a week. Then I had to cut back a lot to the point that I stopped reading for almost a year. I got back into it earlier this year (and was able to get the issues of Batman and Green Lantern I missed from the start of the New 52 onward), but even when I got back into it, I got a little over what my wife and I can really budget for comic books. I have cut back again. Right now my pull list is just Amazing (soon to be Superior) Spider-Man, Uncanny Avengers, Batman and Green Lantern. With all of these new books coming out, I have been testing the waters with some (got first issues of several other Now books, as well as a few issues of some other books, like Talon).

Although I have been a big GL guy for a while, I'm currently only reading the main GL book, and that one is losing me a bit. IMO, Batman and Amazing Spider-Man have been consistently the best books I have been reading over the last year.

Anyway, to answer your question, right now I am trying to keep it between $20-30 a month, at most.

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

Okay so I'm trying to keep it right at that $24-$26 dollar level monthly which boils down to six issues a month.

2 issues of Avengers
New Avengers
Batman
Hawkeye

...are the locked in titles. But what I'm really curious about are the following titles:

Wolverine And the X-Men (was reading them as trades, but not liking some of the recent issues)
FF (Future Foundation)
Captain America
Thor: God of Thunder

Any thoughts on the latter three from the first couple of issues?

 

[Thwip!]

Thor is very very very good

 

[hippie_hunter]

I would recommend FF only if you're reading Fantastic Four. They're both great books, but from what I've read so far, they're very heavily linked with one another.