If you are in the USA finding a copy of the latest issue of ____ (insert title here) is a breeze well kind of… (see the video below for more details)
However, what do you do if you live in a country that doesn’t have an abundance of comic books available or publishers that distribute comics to its citizens due to small demand or limited numbers of distributors?
Well, this guide is for you as we talk about why comics are sometimes hard to buy and some of the ways you can get your hands on their comics with your favourite superheroes.
We do just need to take a moment to divert and cover the quick reason why these types of issues even exist it’s because Dimond Publishing holds a scary amount of control of the comic book industry and the comic book industry does things every differently from your local book shop.
Check out polygons video explaining some of the issues behind why buying comics in the states is already a complicated issue and this issue is actually more complicated in countries outside of the USA as there are not a lot of International stores connected to Dimond publishing meaning customer can’t get their names on the poll lists (because stores don’t even create them) for new issue or at least without a lot of effort meaning new issues don’t hit the shelves as much in the international market.
It’s just like if your favourite Tv Shows were released for weeks in the USA before anybody saw them internationally… Wait!
CHECK OUT THERE FULL ARTICLE HERE
Well, I am from Australia and besides the one or two amazing comic book shops located in the CDB of my capital city, there really is not a lot of options for getting the latest issue or even older issues without a fair distance of travel that was until I found these tips and tricks to getting comics to read.
Note: If you have a local comic book shop please support them they need you but if you are like me and need to travel 2 hours to get there then keep reading.
Your first option the physical approach
Order Online
Now, this is the obvious answer to this question and even tho you can’t get the latest issues don’t go running away to another post and please let me explain why this can actually be an option.
When you order these comics online in country’s like Australia amazon charges you your firstborn worth in shipping (however the did bring us a great digital store more on that later).
There are also things you can find on alternative stores like Mightyape (my favourite and why we choose to be an affiliate for them) you still find yourself paying $30+ for the hardback collection (trade hardback) edition rather buying a single issue, the shipping is capped to $5.99 so that helps but it’s still isn’t cheap.
This is why if you are going to go with the physical purchases we really suggest you combine this with our part 2 of this tip and find some friends so share the costs with.
Find some friends
If you are buying all these comic books then find some friends that are also buying different comic books are swap them it’s easy to see you can only read one comic book at a time that’s the way reading works so why not share the love around share you issues with your friends and share the cost.
Check out your local library
The library you ask do they still have those?
The surprising answer is yes they do.
Now you may not see anything on the shelf of your local library but here is a very much known secret most library’s in the world are government-run and linked to every other library in the area so if there isn’t anything on your shelf it’s ok because you should be able to order it in from another library.
The best thing about the library is it’s free
Your third option the digital approach
This is my recommendation for people that live outside of the USA to give some context I just finished reading the War of the Realms series by Jason Aaron and it cost a whole $16AUD so you know $8USD.
(Note: The cost of the comic was even less because I buy iTunes credit when it’s 15% off that is another great side tip of decreasing the price of digital comics)
Digital comics are a great way to get new issues at a cheap price and you don’t need to leave your house and outside of the US, it’s become the go-to point for getting the latest comics.
Marvel even has a service called marvel unlimited that allows you to pay a subscription and read over 25,000 comics! Now, this subscription doesn’t give you access to comics from the last 6 months but you can use marvels purchasing platform for these titles.
If you are more of a DC fan you are a bit more limited as DC does not provide its services for reading comics outside of the United States but don’t worry Amazon has Comixology that will meet all your DC comic book needs and with sales running all the time you might be able to pick up a single issue comic for $2 – $4 or even for free!
Comixology even has its own unlimited service that allows you access to a library of titles for $6USD a month with around 20,000 titles it’s another great way dive into comic books if you are new to the paper-based versions of your favourite characters from the big screen.
This really makes digital one of the best places to start especially if you decide to buy a subscription due to the sheer number of the back issue you get access to each month with most subscriptions offering between 20,000 – 25,000 single-issue comic book titles.
This is great if you are new to comic books and you want to read a lot of historical issues with a back catalogue that large it will take a huge effort to read all those issues quickly and will probably satisfy the average new reader for the first few years at least.
Personally Digital is how I get my comics but all the options are great ways to get started so…
We hope we helped
With all those options available I hope I have given you some ideas about where you can go to pick up your next comic book whatever you decide to do ultimately the best place for you to get comics from is wherever is the best for you.
So with all that said and done we hope we have given you some ideas of how you can start readings comic books in your country.
What are you going to read first? Let me know in the comments below or if you have any questions please drop us a comment as well I would love to answer your questions.