In addition to picking up the two new comics, I also wandered into the back-issue section to look through the Volume 4 (Matrix) Supergirl back-issues. Before today I had #1-35, and #37-45 (I'm still missing #36, which is apparently very rare for some unknown reason). Acme Comics (the shop in Greensboro that I have been patronizing) had #46-48, so I picked up those three back-issues, bringing my total number of Matrix Supergirl issues to 48 out of 81 (if you count #1,000,000, which I sort of don't). All in all, it was a decent haul for under $20:
Next week, I will probably pick up a few more Matrix Supergirl issues (at least to #50, and perhaps beyond). But I don't know if I will bother to go on "New Comic-Book Night," since I can get those any old time, and I'm not aware of any physical copies coming out next week that I will need to buy (it's too soon for Batgirl to cycle around again -- her book just came out last week).
I have to admit I'm having somewhat mixed feelings about the print copies. On the one hand, I really do prefer reading comics on the printed page, the way they were "meant" to be viewed. I still feel I get a better sense of the layout and panel dimensions that way than I do electronically. And I do enjoy the feel of going into the shop for "New Comic-Book Night" and seeing the next issue of my favorite title there in a nice, crisp, mint-condition form, waiting for me to pick it up. There is a sense of satisfaction one gets from getting there "in time" to pick up your copies before the book sells out (this is mostly fictional, since most books never sell out, but the thing is, you never know if one will or not ahead of time, so there's always that little bit of adrenaline rush when you walk into the store, wondering if your favorite mag will be there for you).
On the other hand, I can live without the hassle of the crowded shopping mall parking lot, and the crowded store full of people who want to stand around and talk about comics instead of moving the line forward so they can buy them. I don't mind talking comics on a Saturday morning, but on Wednesday evening after a long day of work, I just want to buy my stuff and get out of there so I can come home and make dinner. And I also appreciate the fact that digital titles can be bought "whenever." There may be less sense of "accomplishment" in amassing a digital collection (all it takes is money, assuming the digital versions of your title exist), but there's also no chance of annoying gaps, or having to read things out of order. It's all there fore you, whenever you want it. A part of me likes that.
This is why, right now, I am hyrbridizing my print vs. digital copy purchases. I definitely want to keep getting Batgirl and Supergirl in hardcopy form, because I have plans for those series, involving a nice curio display cabinet, a bunch of statues and action figures, and a "Steve's favorite heroines of the DC universe" type of display. I have been toying with the idea of a Justice League display as well (it would give me an excuse, as if I need one, to buy statues or figures of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman), so that is why I am buying those physically. For everything else, though, I think that just reading the stories (not necessarily having the issues) is sufficient, and I am sticking with digital for everything else. Hopefully I won't end up changing my mind and wanting to re-buy everything in hard copy like I did with Supergirl!
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