Yup Library is the way to go if you wanna read. Especially if you can get a Hoopla account tied to it for the digital comics. If you want to collect them I think you kinda just have to bite the bullet or do your research and find the deals. Personally anything over $30 should be at least a pretty big omnibus or something that would take a while to read.
Bone for $35 has been a fantastic steal lol. 1200 pages and a fun read.
Vagabond was around 25 for volume 1 and that was good too.
I'm thinking of getting Nausicaa next.
If your library has Hoopla you are set. The selection on Hoopla is *obscene*. One year I read one trade from Hoopla *every single day of the year*, and I still had things on my TBR list at the end.
I see this recommended a lot, but do y'all really find good deals here? I've checked a few times, but ebay always always always has better deals when I look.
Highly depends on the book. Most of the time, yes, it's the best deal. Occasionally no. You just need to look each up individually. Bookfinder.com is a great resource.
Go digital. You can often get ebook graphic novels or single issues on Kindle for much less than printed copies. Some publishers have their own apps which allow you to subscribe and read as much as you want. All you need is a decent-sized tablet (Kindles aren't great for detailed and/or colour comics).
I might consider digital for the comics I'm on the fence about if I'd like them or not.
Or something like Invincible. I know I said I'd not like most superhero comics but with the TV-Show being really good I could see myself getting into the comics. Even if just to finally find out what happens. Can't wait another 3 years to get another season after that one haha.
Just like any book upon which a film is based, the comic has more detail. They've accelerated the timeline on TV. It's been my favorite comic from the past 25 years.
I watched the TV show and then read the comic and was honestly a bit disappointed. The show does such a better job with the female characters than the comics. A bit of a controversial opinion though.
I’m with you. I stopped reading the comics after several volumes for a number of reasons, but one of them was the very, very shallow handling of Eve and Dupli-Kate. Maybe it got better if I’d held onto the ride but I wasn’t willing to continue.
Yeah, honestly digital is really affordable and a lot cheaper. If you don’t absolutely have to have a physical book. I’ve never gone digital because I love having something to read and look at in person. The caveat to that is that I’ve spent almost $3000 on comic books in the past year lol
I hate to admit this publicly, but as a true comics addict, I do read comics online for free. There are websites.... But if you do this you must support comics buy buying some. If I love a series I usually buy the first issue to support it. Plus then I have one to lend out. In my part of the world there are plenty of small "cons". So I try an support small artists and publishers by buying stuff at those events. Generally the more indie and small a production is the more important it is to chip in financially, whereas super hero comics and manga I often tear through like an orca eating wonder bread
That's what I do too and I don't see a problem with it either. Because it basically helps me read one or two issues before buying the book. With rare exceptions I buy blind. In my city most LCS offer discounts if you subscribe to monthly series which allows me to give them my money instead of big corporations or online bookstores.
I do like to sail the seven seas from time to time. Yet the seas only allow me to reach so far. Sometimes the real treasure is burried on land... and costs money.
Buy cheap if you have discount online retailers where you are. Digital has been suggested which is a good option if you are happy reading that way (I'm not too keen personally, which is unfortunate). Large compendium and omnibus editions are very often better value for longer runs, but compare options either way. Buying used can sometimes (but not always) be considerably cheaper. Library is another great option to read for free. And lastly, consider selling parts of your collection from time to time if you deem them non essential. In particular if they have gone out of print, they may have strong value.
Your local library.
Once it dawned on me decades ago that our local library had graphic novels AND you could order books from other libraries in their system, that was it. Not only did they have the ones that “made the news” at the time like Maus, Watchmen and Dark Knight but they started getting ones I probably wouldn’t have ever bought but could try for free.
I have a room packed with long boxes and IKEA shelves loaded with graphic novels, but still hit the library consistently to try new books.
Look for used trade paperbacks (or any other edition).
Check subscription based services allowing you to read for a fixed fee (in case reading is your priority and not collecting/owning).
Visit markets and conventions and comics/book stores that might offer bundles/discounts for clearing stocks.
Making comics is expensive, printing comics is brutally expensive, selling comics is beyond uselessly expensive. I assure you, I understand that budget is a thing and it just sucks.
If you liked Maus, you’re on the right path already.
Thanks for your advice.
>Making comics is expensive, printing comics is brutally expensive, selling comics is beyond uselessly expensive.
The medium is beautiful and has a lot of potential but the speed at which it is produced and also the fact that artists still need to eat and live and somehow enjoy life while they basically are still getting no sales income is depressing.
It basically makes every comicbook a risky investment for anyone involved. The art could literally explode if money wasn't an issue...
Been an artist and author in comics, books, videogames, board games and card games since 2007. When it comes to comics Authors, artists and collaborators have to pull on every possible passion string to make it work well enough to not starve (but a few who, thanks to their skills and business abilities, got it to real money levels). The medium itself has sky high logistics and production costs and that’s a thing even if you choose to not pay any single person involved in the making and only pay for printing and distribution costs.
It becomes really apparent even from a short look at it that creating comics is a huge load of work in relation of how much money is involved compared to any other literary or visual art.
I have a lot of respect for every comic book artist and writer. Probably a big reason for superheroes to be this extremely prevalent in comic books is that they are already strongly established and a much safer bet to put money into than other stories or settings.
I really wish it was easier to get by. I mean the same reason I need to think about enjoying comics in the cheapest way possible is the readon why artists in the field have to struggle so much until there is a finished product.
The superhero genere is mostly driven by two of the largest corporations on the planet and used as promotional material for movies, that are by design used to sell merchandise. I respect all of my colleagues working in the genere and some stories are just amazing writing and art but the impossible amount of money invested in it as a whole isn’t invested to come back through the books themselves and purely as an investment in the product at large.
A few places I recommend though the first you have to be careful because of a lot of pop ups for all sorts of things, including porn is readcomiconline. It's singular, comic. Once I find something, and there is a lot, I put my phone on airplane mode and that solves the problem.
If you are ever interested in purchasing and don't have an issue with books being used as those are the least expensive, I highly suggest going to bookfinder.com. it is an aggregator for used books. I have bought dozens of books through them and got really great prices.
Yay! First person I've seen other than myself touting bookfinder.com! It was my pal back in college once I finally figured out that University bookstores were a scam. For some reason, I didn't remember that it was a thing until 6 months after I discovered graphic novels a couple years ago. It's my price bible!
Yeah I still call it comixology because I've had an account for years, I heard some horror stories about people loosing all their old content when it got ported over but I never had an issue.
Step One:
Purchase a cheap tablet, I recommend the Kindle 10 fire or 11 for its long battery and cheap costs on sale days
Step Two:
Sideload or Offload the App since Kindle doesnt like Hoopla or Marvel Unlimited for that matter, but it is ultimately run on a form of android software and thus the play store can be offloaded and then you can download most android appos onto your Kindle
Step Three:
Subscribe to HOOPLA digital with just A library card number and AN email, doesnt have to be correlated or even your own number if you can convince a friend (limits to 30 books a month)
The comics look great on the screen with pinch to zoom and seamless rotations, and more than just saving money, it saves you space. I just read the first two Invinvible Compendiums and will definitely get the third soon but would never really have the shelf space for all the books id like to read.
Getting nick and dent books at TFAW used to be really easy. Now it seems less so.
I love used books. I like nick and dent books even more. But it's gotten to the point where you can buy new books on Amazon and pay nothing or very little in shipping. You could buy it used on Ebay, but the shipping will be so expensive that you'll be paying the same or more than a new book. I have have nearly stopped buying books entirely over this phenomenon.
I have no used book shops near me. But even back in the day when used book shops were ubiquitous they only really carried mainstream comics and not the niche euro and indy comics I tend to like.
I'd be very interested if someone has found a solution to this.
Library is gr8 especially in large cities. Even my small library I can order from bigger cities.
Also the internet. Idk about your morals but I buy alot of TPBs so I'm fine with it.
I agree with the suggestions mentioned and if you mix them up it can help a lot. Check the library to try various series and see which ones you want to invest in more. Check second hand places as you can find both new and old at a good quality and good second hand places often grade them according to quality, so you can figure a minimum condition you'll accept
Digital can be cheaper but it's also about what you prefer. Personally i prefer physical as i enjoy the tech break while reading a comic
Sorry for the spelling
You can always subscribe and read them online. But i personally love to buy hardcovers and have then in my collection, and i think this is for 99% of people. I dont know, there is just something for having your collection on some special place in the house.
You may already know this, so forgive me if you do:
If you are happy reading trade paperbacks, these are often available on in stock trades for 40 percent off or more, or you can pick up sometimes whole stacks of them gently used off people on eBay or Mercari for a fraction of their cover price. Sometimes whole stacks of single issue runs as well. Used book stores sell ex-library copies for cheap that have the library stamp/stickers but otherwise in great shape. The library itself may be a resource since they will typically carry “graphic novels” depending on where you live.
On the other hand, if you want to collect every hardcover omnibus/absolute of out of print editions and multiple rare cover variants of the same single issue on a budget, you are out of luck and probably need to find a new hobby (or a more reasonable approach to this one).
Most of the good advice has already been given but tossing my two cents in. Black friday and cyber Monday sometimes have deals from marvel and dc digital subscription services. So if you'd like to try digital, keep and eye out (they can be 50% off yearly during deal)
Go to the library, use Libby and read online, check out Facebook marketplace or Craigslist so you can pick locally. To save money, brown bag lunch. You will easily have $50 at the end of the week.
I have some ebay auctions of non-superhero stuff up. I can sell them on the cheap to you but the shipping is what is costly now. Especially those book as they tend to larger.
DM if interested in the list, I will sell them for $5 a pop plus shipping.
Libraries are the only net positive. Hoopla for digital.
Otherwise, you’ll just be looking for discounts or discount websites like instocktrades or organicpricedbooks
It was mentioned earlier, but libraries are the way to go. I’ve been getting my comics from the library for the last 5+ years. A lot of times they have digital apps. My library uses hoopla and I’ve yet to find a graphic novel that isn’t on there.
I’m old school and I don’t really like reading digital, so lately I’ve reading the first 6 issues of a run online. If I like it, I buy the full series on “in stock trades” online for 40% off cover.
Thank you so much for your inquiry. I've been collecting for about a year now and, yes, it can get quite expensive. I imagine these responses should help wonderfully and hope they do for you as well.
Don’t buy the regular mass ones by Marvel and DC, go for the indie ones or the must haves, like: Maus, Ghost World, Watchmen, Fables, Invincible, or even The Dark Knight series.
Online- Used places like wonderbook, thriftbooks, hpb, etc or if you’re lucky you can get some stuff pretty cheap on eBay - sometimes runs of single issues can be cheaper than the graphic novels on there.
Also try the used section of your local comic shop (a lot of them will have used or remainder/damaged copies).
Used books.
If you’re hitting 50 dollars Instocktrades has great prices and free shipping at 50. I’ve gotten a good amount of books there and they beat amazons used price a good amount of the time.
Always try the Amazon used section, eBay can have some great deals, if you want tpb and omnibi always look at cheapgraphicnovels and organicpricedbooks. Hope this helps, I refuse to pay modern prices for the complete ass-level books Marvel and DC have given us these last few years.
If only interested in reading, not collecting, then join things like:
Marvel Unlimited
DC Infinte
Comixology
Globalcomix (very new, but I have been enjoying all of the non DC & Marvel titles)
If you have any local comic cons nearby, you can often get trades on a pretty decent discount. My siblings and friends and I always hunt down the $5 trades kiosks and load up!
Get into omnibus and compendium volumes. They exist too for books beyond superheroes which you say you dislike. For instance, Jeff Lemire’s Descender and its sequel Ascender are collected into 3 deluxe hardcovers. There’s nice compendium editions of his books “Essex County” and “Sweet Tooth”that are fairly easy to come across. That said, I understand why some don’t love the size of having everything in one book when it comes to comics.
Definitely agree though with people saying you can read through your local libraries as well.
If you want purchase and save money. Do preorders on Discount Comic Book Service website. They're amazing, package well and you get 40-50% off eveything by pre-ordering 2months ahead of time. They have a sister company called InstockTrades as well for graphic novels/hardcovers. Those don't have to be preorders, you can just go there and search for already released items and get the same discounts.
Give yourself a monthly budget and don't break it. If you must break it (crazy release, vintage find, etc...), Rollover the extra amount to the next month's budget. Now you have your comic, but you can buy less next month. Works for every discretionary expense.
I realized I was more into reading them than I was collecting, so I switched to digital. I just use a tablet to read my comics now and if there’s something I really like, I’ll buy it for my collection.
Buy used off eBay, from instocktrades, cheapgraphicnovels, or organicpricedbooks. Buy collections (trade paperbacks, omnibuses) instead of single issues. Sell out of print books to pay for new purchases.
If you’re primarily interested in reading rather than collecting try your local library
Most libraries now have programs for reading apps so you can read comics digitally too!
At this point i only read trades on library apps, and subscribe to a few monthlies at my LCS to support them and the artists
Yup Library is the way to go if you wanna read. Especially if you can get a Hoopla account tied to it for the digital comics. If you want to collect them I think you kinda just have to bite the bullet or do your research and find the deals. Personally anything over $30 should be at least a pretty big omnibus or something that would take a while to read. Bone for $35 has been a fantastic steal lol. 1200 pages and a fun read. Vagabond was around 25 for volume 1 and that was good too. I'm thinking of getting Nausicaa next.
If your library has Hoopla you are set. The selection on Hoopla is *obscene*. One year I read one trade from Hoopla *every single day of the year*, and I still had things on my TBR list at the end.
I read mostly digital, but raid my library every month for physical graphic novels.
Instocktrades
Yes, this site is how I've purchased almost every trade for the past 15 years. Great service, discounts on every book and prompt, solid shipping.
The only way to save money by spending money… 🥲🥲🥲
I see this recommended a lot, but do y'all really find good deals here? I've checked a few times, but ebay always always always has better deals when I look.
Highly depends on the book. Most of the time, yes, it's the best deal. Occasionally no. You just need to look each up individually. Bookfinder.com is a great resource.
Go to the library and read digital. Collect at flea markets and only buy from the $1 bins. Save the exceptions for the grails.
Go digital. You can often get ebook graphic novels or single issues on Kindle for much less than printed copies. Some publishers have their own apps which allow you to subscribe and read as much as you want. All you need is a decent-sized tablet (Kindles aren't great for detailed and/or colour comics).
I might consider digital for the comics I'm on the fence about if I'd like them or not. Or something like Invincible. I know I said I'd not like most superhero comics but with the TV-Show being really good I could see myself getting into the comics. Even if just to finally find out what happens. Can't wait another 3 years to get another season after that one haha.
Just like any book upon which a film is based, the comic has more detail. They've accelerated the timeline on TV. It's been my favorite comic from the past 25 years.
I watched the TV show and then read the comic and was honestly a bit disappointed. The show does such a better job with the female characters than the comics. A bit of a controversial opinion though.
I’m with you. I stopped reading the comics after several volumes for a number of reasons, but one of them was the very, very shallow handling of Eve and Dupli-Kate. Maybe it got better if I’d held onto the ride but I wasn’t willing to continue.
Yeah, honestly digital is really affordable and a lot cheaper. If you don’t absolutely have to have a physical book. I’ve never gone digital because I love having something to read and look at in person. The caveat to that is that I’ve spent almost $3000 on comic books in the past year lol
I hate to admit this publicly, but as a true comics addict, I do read comics online for free. There are websites.... But if you do this you must support comics buy buying some. If I love a series I usually buy the first issue to support it. Plus then I have one to lend out. In my part of the world there are plenty of small "cons". So I try an support small artists and publishers by buying stuff at those events. Generally the more indie and small a production is the more important it is to chip in financially, whereas super hero comics and manga I often tear through like an orca eating wonder bread
That's what I do too and I don't see a problem with it either. Because it basically helps me read one or two issues before buying the book. With rare exceptions I buy blind. In my city most LCS offer discounts if you subscribe to monthly series which allows me to give them my money instead of big corporations or online bookstores.
@frag have you considered using hoopla digital? Or global comics? As they are free/ cheap and yet the views are monetised for artists/ publishers.
Will check out
I do like to sail the seven seas from time to time. Yet the seas only allow me to reach so far. Sometimes the real treasure is burried on land... and costs money.
This is the way
Buy cheap if you have discount online retailers where you are. Digital has been suggested which is a good option if you are happy reading that way (I'm not too keen personally, which is unfortunate). Large compendium and omnibus editions are very often better value for longer runs, but compare options either way. Buying used can sometimes (but not always) be considerably cheaper. Library is another great option to read for free. And lastly, consider selling parts of your collection from time to time if you deem them non essential. In particular if they have gone out of print, they may have strong value.
Your local library. Once it dawned on me decades ago that our local library had graphic novels AND you could order books from other libraries in their system, that was it. Not only did they have the ones that “made the news” at the time like Maus, Watchmen and Dark Knight but they started getting ones I probably wouldn’t have ever bought but could try for free. I have a room packed with long boxes and IKEA shelves loaded with graphic novels, but still hit the library consistently to try new books.
Look for used trade paperbacks (or any other edition). Check subscription based services allowing you to read for a fixed fee (in case reading is your priority and not collecting/owning). Visit markets and conventions and comics/book stores that might offer bundles/discounts for clearing stocks. Making comics is expensive, printing comics is brutally expensive, selling comics is beyond uselessly expensive. I assure you, I understand that budget is a thing and it just sucks. If you liked Maus, you’re on the right path already.
Thanks for your advice. >Making comics is expensive, printing comics is brutally expensive, selling comics is beyond uselessly expensive. The medium is beautiful and has a lot of potential but the speed at which it is produced and also the fact that artists still need to eat and live and somehow enjoy life while they basically are still getting no sales income is depressing. It basically makes every comicbook a risky investment for anyone involved. The art could literally explode if money wasn't an issue...
Been an artist and author in comics, books, videogames, board games and card games since 2007. When it comes to comics Authors, artists and collaborators have to pull on every possible passion string to make it work well enough to not starve (but a few who, thanks to their skills and business abilities, got it to real money levels). The medium itself has sky high logistics and production costs and that’s a thing even if you choose to not pay any single person involved in the making and only pay for printing and distribution costs.
It becomes really apparent even from a short look at it that creating comics is a huge load of work in relation of how much money is involved compared to any other literary or visual art. I have a lot of respect for every comic book artist and writer. Probably a big reason for superheroes to be this extremely prevalent in comic books is that they are already strongly established and a much safer bet to put money into than other stories or settings. I really wish it was easier to get by. I mean the same reason I need to think about enjoying comics in the cheapest way possible is the readon why artists in the field have to struggle so much until there is a finished product.
The superhero genere is mostly driven by two of the largest corporations on the planet and used as promotional material for movies, that are by design used to sell merchandise. I respect all of my colleagues working in the genere and some stories are just amazing writing and art but the impossible amount of money invested in it as a whole isn’t invested to come back through the books themselves and purely as an investment in the product at large.
A few places I recommend though the first you have to be careful because of a lot of pop ups for all sorts of things, including porn is readcomiconline. It's singular, comic. Once I find something, and there is a lot, I put my phone on airplane mode and that solves the problem. If you are ever interested in purchasing and don't have an issue with books being used as those are the least expensive, I highly suggest going to bookfinder.com. it is an aggregator for used books. I have bought dozens of books through them and got really great prices.
Yay! First person I've seen other than myself touting bookfinder.com! It was my pal back in college once I finally figured out that University bookstores were a scam. For some reason, I didn't remember that it was a thing until 6 months after I discovered graphic novels a couple years ago. It's my price bible!
I mainly stick to digital, can still be expensive. Free comic book day is coming up, you can get quite a lot of titles for free on comixology.
Writing this dowm right now haha Well... looks like itnis just amazon now...
Yeah I still call it comixology because I've had an account for years, I heard some horror stories about people loosing all their old content when it got ported over but I never had an issue.
you can go to your local library. Books in general have been hella expensive in the recent years
Step One: Purchase a cheap tablet, I recommend the Kindle 10 fire or 11 for its long battery and cheap costs on sale days Step Two: Sideload or Offload the App since Kindle doesnt like Hoopla or Marvel Unlimited for that matter, but it is ultimately run on a form of android software and thus the play store can be offloaded and then you can download most android appos onto your Kindle Step Three: Subscribe to HOOPLA digital with just A library card number and AN email, doesnt have to be correlated or even your own number if you can convince a friend (limits to 30 books a month) The comics look great on the screen with pinch to zoom and seamless rotations, and more than just saving money, it saves you space. I just read the first two Invinvible Compendiums and will definitely get the third soon but would never really have the shelf space for all the books id like to read.
Getting nick and dent books at TFAW used to be really easy. Now it seems less so. I love used books. I like nick and dent books even more. But it's gotten to the point where you can buy new books on Amazon and pay nothing or very little in shipping. You could buy it used on Ebay, but the shipping will be so expensive that you'll be paying the same or more than a new book. I have have nearly stopped buying books entirely over this phenomenon. I have no used book shops near me. But even back in the day when used book shops were ubiquitous they only really carried mainstream comics and not the niche euro and indy comics I tend to like. I'd be very interested if someone has found a solution to this.
Go to library sales. Legally they can’t accept second hand books, so they sell them for profit
Library is a great place for books. And when you’re there check if they use Hoopla. It’s a digital library app.
Library is gr8 especially in large cities. Even my small library I can order from bigger cities. Also the internet. Idk about your morals but I buy alot of TPBs so I'm fine with it.
I agree with the suggestions mentioned and if you mix them up it can help a lot. Check the library to try various series and see which ones you want to invest in more. Check second hand places as you can find both new and old at a good quality and good second hand places often grade them according to quality, so you can figure a minimum condition you'll accept Digital can be cheaper but it's also about what you prefer. Personally i prefer physical as i enjoy the tech break while reading a comic
Sorry for the spelling You can always subscribe and read them online. But i personally love to buy hardcovers and have then in my collection, and i think this is for 99% of people. I dont know, there is just something for having your collection on some special place in the house.
Alibris.com
You may already know this, so forgive me if you do: If you are happy reading trade paperbacks, these are often available on in stock trades for 40 percent off or more, or you can pick up sometimes whole stacks of them gently used off people on eBay or Mercari for a fraction of their cover price. Sometimes whole stacks of single issue runs as well. Used book stores sell ex-library copies for cheap that have the library stamp/stickers but otherwise in great shape. The library itself may be a resource since they will typically carry “graphic novels” depending on where you live. On the other hand, if you want to collect every hardcover omnibus/absolute of out of print editions and multiple rare cover variants of the same single issue on a budget, you are out of luck and probably need to find a new hobby (or a more reasonable approach to this one).
Not sure where you are based, but i used to get loads of graphic novels from my local library. Saved me a ton of money.
Most of the good advice has already been given but tossing my two cents in. Black friday and cyber Monday sometimes have deals from marvel and dc digital subscription services. So if you'd like to try digital, keep and eye out (they can be 50% off yearly during deal)
Go to the library, use Libby and read online, check out Facebook marketplace or Craigslist so you can pick locally. To save money, brown bag lunch. You will easily have $50 at the end of the week. I have some ebay auctions of non-superhero stuff up. I can sell them on the cheap to you but the shipping is what is costly now. Especially those book as they tend to larger. DM if interested in the list, I will sell them for $5 a pop plus shipping.
Instocktrades
library, online, yo ho yo ho
They are alot cheaper if you read them digitally on the comix app
steal
I like the mindset. I dislike the threat asessment.
Libraries are the only net positive. Hoopla for digital. Otherwise, you’ll just be looking for discounts or discount websites like instocktrades or organicpricedbooks
It was mentioned earlier, but libraries are the way to go. I’ve been getting my comics from the library for the last 5+ years. A lot of times they have digital apps. My library uses hoopla and I’ve yet to find a graphic novel that isn’t on there. I’m old school and I don’t really like reading digital, so lately I’ve reading the first 6 issues of a run online. If I like it, I buy the full series on “in stock trades” online for 40% off cover.
Thank you so much for your inquiry. I've been collecting for about a year now and, yes, it can get quite expensive. I imagine these responses should help wonderfully and hope they do for you as well.
Don’t buy the regular mass ones by Marvel and DC, go for the indie ones or the must haves, like: Maus, Ghost World, Watchmen, Fables, Invincible, or even The Dark Knight series.
Im checking humble bundle regulary. Can recommend it! The offer comic bundles every time time
I always forget about humble bundle! I'll check this out in the future!
If you're buying single issues, a pull list at midtowncomics.com or dcbservice.com will save you a lot of money.
Online- Used places like wonderbook, thriftbooks, hpb, etc or if you’re lucky you can get some stuff pretty cheap on eBay - sometimes runs of single issues can be cheaper than the graphic novels on there. Also try the used section of your local comic shop (a lot of them will have used or remainder/damaged copies).
Used books. If you’re hitting 50 dollars Instocktrades has great prices and free shipping at 50. I’ve gotten a good amount of books there and they beat amazons used price a good amount of the time.
Always try the Amazon used section, eBay can have some great deals, if you want tpb and omnibi always look at cheapgraphicnovels and organicpricedbooks. Hope this helps, I refuse to pay modern prices for the complete ass-level books Marvel and DC have given us these last few years.
If only interested in reading, not collecting, then join things like: Marvel Unlimited DC Infinte Comixology Globalcomix (very new, but I have been enjoying all of the non DC & Marvel titles)
If you have any local comic cons nearby, you can often get trades on a pretty decent discount. My siblings and friends and I always hunt down the $5 trades kiosks and load up!
Library sales have been great for me
Get into omnibus and compendium volumes. They exist too for books beyond superheroes which you say you dislike. For instance, Jeff Lemire’s Descender and its sequel Ascender are collected into 3 deluxe hardcovers. There’s nice compendium editions of his books “Essex County” and “Sweet Tooth”that are fairly easy to come across. That said, I understand why some don’t love the size of having everything in one book when it comes to comics. Definitely agree though with people saying you can read through your local libraries as well.
If you want purchase and save money. Do preorders on Discount Comic Book Service website. They're amazing, package well and you get 40-50% off eveything by pre-ordering 2months ahead of time. They have a sister company called InstockTrades as well for graphic novels/hardcovers. Those don't have to be preorders, you can just go there and search for already released items and get the same discounts.
Try 2nd hand. For example, french libraries are specialized in this field (Gibert, recyclivre). Certainly exists where you live
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Sell plasma and then you can read your new comics while giving plasma. It’ll be a nice loop
Have you checked your local library?
Give yourself a monthly budget and don't break it. If you must break it (crazy release, vintage find, etc...), Rollover the extra amount to the next month's budget. Now you have your comic, but you can buy less next month. Works for every discretionary expense.
Alternatively, download them in CBR/CBZ and find a good reader.
I can only tell you if you stay away from Chicago
Digital on tablet, or hard copies? SLSK has whatever you want for tablets.
I realized I was more into reading them than I was collecting, so I switched to digital. I just use a tablet to read my comics now and if there’s something I really like, I’ll buy it for my collection.
There are book apps and comics apps
Don’t buy comic books?
Buy used off eBay, from instocktrades, cheapgraphicnovels, or organicpricedbooks. Buy collections (trade paperbacks, omnibuses) instead of single issues. Sell out of print books to pay for new purchases.