You know what turns me off from a title? When you support that title month to month (or issue to issue) and when it comes time for the collection, you discover there is extra story content. Not just sketches or text pages, actual story content. That is unavailable to those of us that supported the issues. While it’s true that most titles will inevitably go to the collection, there are some titles, especially mini-series or low run comics trying to build an audience, that rely on issue to issue sales to warrant the decision to go to collection. Since we’re in the age of digital comics, how about offering those new pages as a low cost digital pack especially for those of us that supported the work when it was important to do so. Instead of asking us to double dip, supporting our support by offering up a digital pack of new pages would be an amazing gesture. It could also act as a low entry point for new readers to try out the series without giving them too much of the story. I can imagine such a move from bigger publishers could be a tricky situation if the contract doesn’t allow for such a thing. But for independent material, or those publishers who like to say their creators own everything, it shouldn’t be difficult at all and would go a long way to winning me back to certain creators/titles that I haven’t read, or supported, for years.
And hey – it may just actually get me to double dip after all.
At the very least, it’ll keep me as a reader for that creator’s new work. I know the comics game isn’t easy, and collections look all pretty on the shelf and are more palatable for some readers/retailers. But damn. If the issue sales were important enough to eventually get you that collection, don’t forget those that got you there.