A Few Useful Terms and Definitions

(Note: this isn't intended to be comprehensive)

Print vs Digital vs Web

A print comic is one that is published on paper, while a digital is one that is published electronically. Often these will be two formats of the same comic, but sometimes there are digital-only comics or mini-series. One of the main stores/platforms for digital is comiXology.

A webcomic is a comic that is primarily published online, although there may be print collections offered later. An example of this is Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court.

DRM

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. While there are arguments over the exact definition, in practical terms if a digital or electronic item comes with DRM, this limits what you, the purchaser, can do with it or where you can play or read it. When purchasing a digital comic, be careful to pay attention to if the item has DRM, and if it does, the limits of it.

 Trades vs Floppies

A single issue comic is also known as a 'floppy'. These are the slim books that arrive monthly (or usually monthly) in the store, and it's these that a lot of people think of when you say 'comic book'. A 'trade' or a 'trade paperback' is a collection of floppies bound together to form a single volume. From what I've seen, usually a trade volume is made up of around five to seven single issues. Normally trades are paperback (hence the name), but there are also hardback collections.

A trade (Hawkeye Vol 1, Issues 1-5 + Young Avengers Present issue 6) vs a floppy (Ms. Marvel, Issue 8)

There's a bit of a debate about which is better, trade vs floppy, but to me, both have their advantages. A floppy means that you receive the story once a month instead of whenever the trades are released, they are a good way of telling the publisher that the comic is selling, and there is the 'eeeeee a comic!!!!' factor which, hey, we're geeks - a certain amount of ridiculous squee is built into the premise. On the other hand, the trades are overall cheaper, sturdier, and they are also easier to catch up and keep up with a series than the floppies. For example, I missed most of the run of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, but rather than trying to track down all of the individual floppies (which may or may not even be in stock), I can pick up the trades. As another example, I've heard a lot of very good things about Rat Queens, and buying the first volume in a trade would give me a better idea of the story and feel than a single issue.

(Note to self: pick up Rat Queens Vol. 1 next comic book-run)

Pull List/ Standing Order

These two terms mean the same thing; this is the list that you can set up with your comic book store so they'll collect the issues that you want. This saves you from potentially missing out if the issues sell out or you can't get to the store in time, and also saves you from having to find the issues. This list is also helpful in that it gives the store an idea of how many issues of any comic to order, which in turn lets the publisher know what's selling well.