There are apparently some efforts being made by the comic industry to get monthly comics more widely available. Some comics can be bought in a 7-11. But let’s face it, those 7-11 comics are meant to be gateway comics to get new readers hooked (I have doubts about how that can work given current cover prices). Once you’re hooked, you have to go somewhere else to get your books. I used to go to a local comic shop (LCS), but I don’t have one close to where I live now. I miss going to an LCS. I think the thing I miss most is browsing the rack of new comics, picking up things I didn’t have on my pull list.

However, in this modern digital world of ours there is hope. You see, this marvelous information super-highway of ours does more than just bring you this blog. It brings you the option of the online comic shop (OCS). I have been using mycomicshop.com for quite a while now and it has been great. I haven’t tried any of the other services out there, so I can’t really compare and contrast, but I can describe my experiences with this one OCS. mycomicshop.com is a full-featured OCS with an online “megastore” where you can buy back issues and supplies as well as their subscription service. I guess the only real downside to the subscription service is that you have to know what you want to order months in advance since that’s how things are ordered through Previews. I get my books shipped to me monthly, although there are more frequent shipping options available. The hardest part has nothing to do with getting comics mail order. The hard part is trying not to exceed my budget by too much. There are so many more books that I’d like to get each month but I just can’t justify the cost. But that’s a topic for another time.