Yet Another Comics Site

_____In the past few years, the advent of the Trade Paperback as a major part of the comics industry has reflected significanlty the changing opinion of fandom towards reprints. Perhaps this was a return to an attitude that predated my collecting days (indeed, there is some evidence to support this, albeit indirect) or perhaps it is completely new.
_____The attitude is this: reprints are good.
_____In the early 90s, reprints were viewed with scorn. As the collectors (in the sense of speculators) all but seized fandom and the industry, reprints were viewed as cheap trash. Virtually never going up in value, they were a bad investment. Having to do with the "stodgy" past, they were eschewed in favour of hot artists, scantily clad heroines and violent anti-heroes. Ridiculed for their silliness (and I can't in all honesty put quotation marks over that adjective), Silver Age comics rarely got the respect they deserved.
_____I'm not sure why this attitude vanished. Was it a function of the backlash against the Image and "grim 'n' gritty" schools of comics (quite seperate, though frequently and erroneously considered equivalent)? Was it simply that the speculators went away and those who were left bought for quality? And does the advent of TPBs present a chicken and egg problem, as their very existence might have tapped into and re-inforced, if not created outright, a demand for the material they supplied?
_____But you're probably wondering why your humble host NWJ is giving you the five minute history of reprints in the 90s instead of telling you what his title promised. Why should you buy reprints?
_____Not for historical reasons, unless you have a particular interest in the evolution of the genre or a character. But there's no intrinsic value in a comic just because it's older than you are. I'm sure Archie Comics' line of Mighty Comics could tell you something of historical interest, but you don't need to hunt them down if all you want is an enjoyable read. They are, to be blunt, not good.
_____No, buy reprints for quality reasons.
_____Before you protest that I just indicated age wasn't synonymous with quality. That's true. But here's the catch... Mighty Comics HAVEN'T BEEN REPRINTED.
_____In order for a comic to be reprinted, it usually has to be seen as something of sufficient quality that there is a potential audience. True, sometimes this means that there are a lot of idiots out there and the company knows it (I'm sorry, but did we really need 2 issue long TPBs re-collecting EVERY Witchblade?).
_____There have been a huge amount of comics printed over the years. That's an obvious statement, of course. The number of reprints is significantly lower. Thus, only certain comics have been reprinted. It's simple math.
_____What gets reprinted? Things which are popular or significant or just plain good.
_____Essentially, buying a reprint is like buying a comic with a seal on it blaring "This story stands out from the pack."
_____And, quite simply, THAT is why you should buy reprints. Because they are, by consensus of readers and publishers, the creme de la creme. The wheat pre-selected from the chaff.

On to Reprints Part 2: Affordability?