Droid Comic Viewer

I love comics. I usually subscribe to them even when I stay in South Africa, miles and miles away from the civilized world. The only problem I have is, these comics take up a lot of space, so storing them is usually a mission.

When I want to re-read some of my comics then I need to go and dig it all out again, so when it comes to archiving my comics I like the .CBZ format and re-reading my comics on my PC.

Luckily the Android has a similar application called Droid Comic Reader. It allows you to read .CBZ comics on the Android.

Here is a nice video showing the off the capabilities ...

Searching for comics online

This Tech Recipe shows how to search for electronic versions of comics using Google.

Comic book subscription

My Spider-Man subscription with Sci-Fi Genre was less than ideal. I subscribed with the understanding that my comics will only be shipped once my basket was worth $20, what I did not know was that the will ship my comics every two months regardless, so now my first shipment is on its way but the comics are worth $6 and my shipping costs are $13, so my shipping is double what my comics are worth. So I unsubscribed from the service.

What I will test next is the possibility of using the back issue order feature to order my comics in bulk but in arrears, basically I will order 12 issues at the end of the year and it will be shipped to me in one shipment.

My DC and Marvel subscription has been going strong so far without any hiccups, so I am considering just using the direct subscriptions again and just backorder the issues I am missing.

Superman #661

Superman #661 just arrived in the mail. So far the postal service has not disappointed me, really hope they keep up with the good service.

I like my Superman subscription but I must admit I prefer the Dark Knight (Batman) over Superman. The comics are darker and more mature. I think the Superman/Batman crossover comic books might be interesting.

I also discovered The Outer Limits close to my house. They have older issues available at reasonable prices so I think every now and again I will go and visit them to catch up on some past events in the DC as well as the Marvel universe.

Batman #664

It seems my comics are now arriving in a more consistent manner. I received Batman #664 today. I also received my copy of Star Trek Elite Force from my eBay seller today so I haven't read my Batman comic yet.

Judging from the cover it promises to be an action filled edition.
I will definitely make time to read it tomorrow.

Sci-Fi Genre

I do not have a subscription to Spider-Man yet so I decided to test Sci-Fi Genre and it seems to be a nice service. I added Amazing Spider-Man as my subscription and a set my subscription to mail me my comics as soon as my total cost is $20, this roughly translates to 8 comics. The delivery charge is $19 but then it is 4-10 business day air mail, which I feel is safer and more reliable than the normal Dark African postal service.

If the Sci-Fi Genre service works out fine I will not renew my DC or Marvel subscriptions after the 12 issue expiry. Sci-Fi Genre also gives a 10% discount if you subscribe to 5 or more comics. So Superman, Batman, Uncanny X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man, maybe Justice League America will be my 5th comic book subscription.

Superman #660

At long last I received my first issue of Superman. I am a bit disappointed with the DC Direct service. I placed my order 18 January 2007 and my first Superman comic was only mailed in March 2007. I inquired about my Batman comics and apparently my first Batman issue will be #664 and that will only be mailed to me within 2 weeks time. Adding the 6 - 8 week delivery time I will only get my first Batman comic at the end of May 2007.

In comparison Marvel started shipping comics the same month I ordered them. I also came across Sci-Fi Genre and it seems they may have a better deal for me. I can buy a subscription from them and they will keep all my comics until my counter is reached and then Air Mail all the comics to me in one go. The downside of this is that I will have to wait long periods of time before my comics get to me, but with the current Dark African postal service I guess it can't be worse.

Uncanny X-Men

Staying in South Africa it is very difficult to get hold of comic books, DC as well as Marvel, but I decided to take a leap of faith and buy a year's subscription directly from Marvel and DC of Uncanny X-Men, Superman and Batman.

Now Marvel and DC warned me that the first issue might take up to 10 weeks to reach me. Today was the exact 10th week from when I ordered my Uncanny X-Men and I received my first two issues in the mail today.

Now I am just waiting for my DC shipment.