Comic Book Singles. Again.

I wasn't going to comment on Franklin Harris' rant about comic singles, but then Dirk Deppey weighed in, calling it a "detailed and convincing argument", and I just have to say "BULL" to that.

Franklin has two main arguments against comic book singles: 1) They aren't good for traveling and 2) They might become valuable, so people are overly cautious about the condition of their singles.

To point number one I say: I'd rather have a small stack of singles with me, with diverse stories, than a single trade. And singles fit comfortably into the outside pocket of just about every shoulder bag I take on trips. They are easy to leave open to a particular page, even if you have to fold them back, whereas with trades you have to deal with a bookmark. Singles are also a quick read, so you can read one or two in a waiting room easily. As for long trips, comic book singles aren't made for that! It's like saying desktop computers are no good because you can't pack one up and take it with you to a hotel easily. If you are going on a long trip, then you go get trades for it, just like you'd buy a laptop instead of relying on your desktop on the road. You are criticizing the form by sticking it into a situation it wasn't meant to be in anyway.

As for point two: IT'S A COMIC BOOK. If you cannot get any joy out of it because you are too worried about it maybe someday possibly being worth some money, then you really shouldn't be buying it for reading in the first place. As a gal at my local comic shop demonstrated the other day, too many of us are overly concerned about the condition of our books. She grabbed a single from the top of her pile, folded the cover back, and watched as everyone cringed. She had a point. I stopped bagging and boarding my comics several years ago, and now I don't worry about dings in the cover or folds. I'm most likely going to give them away anyway, and the chances of any one book being worth lots of money in the future are close to nil. Too many collectors are carefully storing their comics now. There will never be a significant shortage.

I don't hate trades, nor do I think that the future of comic books lies solely in comic book singles. But the form has worked for well over 50 years. If you advocate tossing it out in favor of trades, you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Singles have their uses, and they ought to stick around. Harris' argument isn't even close to convincing to me.