Graphic Novel Reading Group discussion

The six month gap is bad for those only interested in new comics. But unless I miss something unlimited access to Marvel's archives allows subscribers to read Xmen, Spider-Man, etc from original 1st issues -- ultra cool. I'd subscribe but currently don't have time to read large chunks.

I actually discontinued my service, because I don't like the fact that the pages are very shoddily done. Overall, I'd be happy paying even $15-20 a month, if only Marvel could get its act together and give me better value.

And oh, why doesn't DC get a similar idea in place? Why, O why? :(

Any other experiences with this service?

I am toying with getting it and cutting back on my regular monthly comics.

Unfortunately, there are so many that I think, "do I really need to spend $3-4 on this?" Getting this for a year would be a lot cheaper than keeping up with titles that are good, but no knocking my socks off right now.

I can always find some back issues to really enjoy.

What other pros & cons are there to the service?

I mainly use it to read the older stuff--they have hundreds of issues each of Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, and so forth--and now I'm working my way through Tales of Suspense. Like Smallo said, the debut issues of Spider-Man, X-Men, and a whole bunch of other heroes are available.

Personally, I prefer physical comics to digital ones, but I don't exactly have the funds to buy hundreds of physical comics, so this is a nice alternative. And since I'm not interested in any ongoing comics, I don't feel like I'm losing anything.

I am going to go ahead and take the plunge. Even going for the annual sub and keeping the few monthlies I can't bear to drop, it will lower my comics bill by more than half and give me access to tons of comics.

I'm sure that budget will go to a few collections here and there, but there won't be that regular weekly/monthly order looming over my pocketbook.

Cutting back to Flash, All-New X-Men, Multiversity, and JLU (until the end of the Legion x-over).

Plus, I can binge read some classics that I had only been slowly reading (or rereading) as I could afford back issues or collections.

As an aside, without being subscribed (yet), is there a way to view a list of what is available in MU at a given time?

Found that you can see what's available by downloading the app, even if you are not a subscriber or logged in.

Definitely going to hit some 60s and 70s classics as well as the Annihilation events.

Classic FF (from #1 to about #200, for starters) is definitely on the list.

Any other suggestions from the masses?

Please be specific about creators/storylines/runs. Just saying Spider-man or "all of 70s Iron Man" is not limited enough to make my reading list.

Also, I'm not a Spidey fan, other than Marvel Team Up, so if any other Spidey is your suggestion, a little persuasion will be needed.

Robert wrote: "Found that you can see what's available by downloading the app, even if you are not a subscriber or logged in.

Definitely going to hit some 60s and 70s classics as well as the Annihilation events...."

My personal favorites are kind of predictable, but here they are anyway:

Simonson's run on Thor--starts with Thor #337 and makes Loki, Balder and Frigga many times more interesting than they've ever been

Michelinie's run on Iron Man--starts with Iron Man #116 and includes the Demon in a Bottle storyline. Also has John Romita Jr. and Bob Layton on art, which is a major plus

O'Neil's run on Iron Man--starts with Iron Man #160 and immediately puts our hero through multiple wringers

Kenny wrote: "I loved the cover of #337. Here was a character I did not know about and he was destroying the title of the comic book itself. One of the best and most iconic cover pages I have ever seen."

Yeah it was!

http://ilovecomiccovers.blogspot.com/...

Robert, Kraven's Last Hunt is a must Spider-Man read.

Agree that Kraven's Last Hunt is a good one.

So, reporting back on my first month(-ish) with Marvel Unlimited.

The Good:
*So, so, so many comics.
*Price is very good If you spring for the annual, without premiums, it works out to ~$6/month. Or the cost of 2 new comics.
*Finding what is part of Unlimited on the website is pretty easy, and you can see what you own (purchased) versus what you have in your MU library with just a few clicks.

The Bad:
*Marvel.com is a really slow loader and navigation to find particular comics can be annoying.
*The odd gaps in what is in MU, or digitized at all, can be frustrating. Example, no Giant-Size Avengers #2-4. These are all part of ongoing stories in the monthlies that are digitized, but these are not. Spotty coverage of other series. Example: Defenders.
*The app can be buggy, likes to be online all the time, and is an energy hog. Think it is too regularly checking for an online connection.
*App is less friendly in finding titles than the site. App only organizes books by published date (that I can find). This can be annoying, as they don't always have the right data tagged.
*Reading experience in the app is similar to a pdf reader; you have to zoom and pan yourself. The panel-to-panel mode doesn't work right. Experience much less enjoyable than the Comixology app.

The Ugly:

*Customer support/service is basically non-existent. If you use the form contact on marvel.com, reply will be slow. If you directly email the support inbox, it's slightly less slow. There is no phone or chat support that I can find. You will usually only get a basic, scripted response.
*They ask you to send suggestions/requests for titles to add, then they respond with a non-specific, scripted response that doesn't really acknowledge the request, just says new and classic titles are added every week and to check the release calendar.
*You can only read MU titles in the MU app. To read Marvel titles you have purchased, you have to do that in the regular Marvel comics or Comixology app. To read them in one plance, you have to add the comic to your MU library, if it is available for MU. It would make so much more sense to have them all in one, though maybe harder to program/manage on the back end.

Overall: A good value and I am really enjoying it.

I've been a subscriber to the service since 2007 and have really liked the improvements that have been made. Over the last 8 years the number of available comments to read had gone from 5000 to 17000 available comics.

what I really enjoy about the service is the ability to read more by willing to live with being 6 months behind.

The phone and tablet apps while not perfect have improved immensely. For less than a 100 bucks a year I can read 4 or 5 hundred bucks worth of comics. If you're not a big reader or not a big marvel fan then it may not be the right service for you.

Reporting back in on my first year. Liked it enough that I re-upped for another year.

They've made many strides with the app and making books available.

They do need to work on some of the reading management aspects (e.g. knowing what books you've read, removing books from your library in the app, more sorting options.)

They do a good job getting new titles available, but spottier with older issues. Indexing on site is a mess if you are trying to find a particular older issue or character appearance. (I.e. browsing for books with the character Adam Warlock, gets you both that cosmic character's appearances and those of the New Mutants character simply named Warlock. >sigh<)

I don't mind the 6-month gap for new comics. If I'm that desperate to be current, I buy the issue. Otherwise, 6 months flies by with so much else to read.