Archie 1941 on Comixology

Speaking of comic books...I am thinking about doing a comic book only blog. Wondering if a more focused thing might not be a good way to get past this whole I suck and I don't have anything to say, and besides I'll be dead soon so why bother thing that has been paralyzing my pickers and stealers. And I do buy comic books pretty much every week--and have for the past 55 years or so--so there'd be no lack of things to write about. And I'd enjoy it. And it might even be useful. Like, "Hey, don't buy that Black Label Superman #1, it's shit!" could save somebody eight bucks. So...maybe. 

For now, here's a few thoughts on Archie 1941. 

Which I haven't yet read.

But that's not the point this time around.

First off, though, a disclaimer: I love Comixology. And I love Amazon. I kind of wish that Amazon didn't own Comixology, because I think we buyers might benefit if there was some competition there, but that's the way it is on this bitch of an earth.

When I saw the first issue of Archie 1941 on the stands, I really wanted it. I loved the concept, the cover art looked cool, and hey, I like Archie. (Though I'm not very fond of the CW show, I have to admit. But Veronica and Betty and Cheryl are pretty hot, so I don't mind watching it with Joe.) But it was $3.99 an issue, and I figured that it would be in a trade paperback before long, and that would actually be cheaper than the individual issues, and it would include all of the variant covers, too, so...I decided to wait.

And then I kind of forgot about it. But yesterday I saw the trade paperback on the stands at The Great Escape, and I picked it up and looked at the price tag...$17.99. A little cheaper than the single issues would have been, but not much. Of course, TGE does give a 25% discount on trades, so that would have cut it down to a very reasonable $13.49 (+ tax)...but then I thought, "Comixology will do a lot better than that, though, won't they?" And I put the book back on the shelf and resolved to check it out when I got home.

And, for once, I actually remembered to do some checking out when I got back home.

And I was happy (and not surprised to see) this:

I mean...SERiously. That's less than the price of two individual issues. And I was ready to click the buy button when I thought, "I wonder what the individual issues are going for?" And I looked. And saw this:

Mmm-hmm. That's $4.95 for the series. As in cheaper than two print issues. Of course, it's possible that the variant covers won't be part of the deal...but shit, man, that's one hell of a deal.

And it seemed a bit of a cheat, y'know? I mean...you've got to watch these fuckers EVERY SECOND.

And with that in mind, I thought I'd better check Amazon, because I've found that there is sometimes a big difference there, as well. And I saw this:

Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Why the hell is this book $14.99 via Kindle and $7.99 on Comixology and $4.95 on Comixology in individual issues? 

Our survey says...because if you don't want to be fucked, you've really got to check out all of the options. There are times when the e-collection is much cheaper than the individual e-issues. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera as you do the other permutations.

In this case, though, you know what to do.

And now I'm going to go do it. So that will be something else to write about, won't it?

News as it happens.



AS IT HAPPENS

I started reading the first issue of Archie 1941, intending to just do that today...but I got caught up in it almost immediately, and ended up reading all five issues straight through with just one interruption to prepare dinner for three and do the dishes for six (breakfast included, see). And? Well, obviously it was good, or I wouldn't have knocked off the whole thing in one fell swoop. But it was more than that, too. It was good. Compelling story. Interesting variations on the characters you already know and love. And the art was really excellent. Not flashy, but evocative of the era, and with some really nice touches. Car headlights, for instance. Yeah, this was a great package. Get it while you can at the low low price mentioned above.

And btw, all the variant covers are shown. They're packed onto one page, but that doesn't really matter in the e-comics world, does it? They have plenty of definition, and you can blow them up to full page size without the slightest sister Kate shimmy.

This story made me remember how good the Archie Marries Betty / Archie Marries Veronica series was a few years back. These characters really lend themselves to reconfiguration. And that, in turn, allows the writers and artists to take some chances they'd never be allowed to take in a "regular" series. In fact, even if you have zero interest in Archie, or, for that matter, zero interest in comic books, I think you would enjoy this series mightily if you gave it a try. Betcha five bucks you would--with a money back guarantee thrown in for good measure.