What are comic book Subscriptions, anyway?
To ensure you receive every issue of every title you follow, Fantom Comics offers a service of holding the books aside for you. You can then come in at your leisure and pick up your comic(s), without fear that the hot new issue of Longshot Vol 8 #4 has already sold out.
How do I sign up for the Subscription service?
1. Log on to Comixology at www.comixology.com
2. Sign Up for a free account
3. Once you’ve signed up, and are signed in, connect to Fantom Comics so we can pull your books each week. Paste the following link for the store you plan to pull from into your browser for Fantom's page on Comixology:
Union Station: http://www.comixology.com/retailers/1157/Fantom-Comics-Union-Station
Pentagon City Mall: http://www.comixology.com/retailers/2731/Fantom-Comics-Pentagon-City-Mall,Arlington,VA-22202
4. Select the “Retailer Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page
5. Sign yourself up! (Note that the sign-up fields on some computers come up messy. The first field is for your first name, the second field is for your last name and the third field is for your phone number. Fantom Comics requires your full name and phone number for our records. However, it does not change your Comixology username and in no way makes your personal information public!)
6. Once you’ve signed up and connected you can set up your Pull List
a. Search for a title you’d like
b. When you find it, either click on “Pull” for just that single issue, or “Subscribe” for all issues of that series
7. When you’re done selecting the books you’d like, go to the Subscriptions tab to review your choices
8. When you opt to subscribe to a comic book series, the default setting is for the monthly issues of that series. If you hit the Edit button in the Subscriptions page, you’ll have the option to request:
a. Trade Paperbacks of that title as well as the series
b. Just the Trade Paperbacks (by clicking that option and un-clicking the comic option)
c. 2nd Printings when on offer
d. Variants (note that variants can never be guaranteed)
9. That’s it! You’re done!
What are the deadlines for Subscribing to titles?
The deadline for brand new service is 11:59pm of the Sunday preceding New Comic Book Day (NCBD). However, as the books were ordered long ago, we cannot guarantee the availability of them all, especially independent titles. We will, however, add your requests to our weekly reorder list and hopefully have your copy to you by the next week. This rule applies to the first 2 months of subscription service, as orders are placed 2-months in advance.
The deadline for changes/additions to subscriptions each week is 11:59pm of the Sunday preceding NCBD. Changes made after this time will not register on our lists. If you decide on a comic book after this time, you must contact the store itself and ask to be placed on a first-come first-serve list. (Note: the hold list will only be for that week’s copy. If you intend to sign up for all issues of that series, please do so through Comixology. And when you do sign up for a new series, it will not be guaranteed for 2 months. See “The deadline for a guaranteed copy” below for more details).
The deadline for dropping a title each week is…there isn’t one! Even if it’s NCBD and you decide you no longer want that book, we’ll be happy to return it to the shelf. Never feel obligated to buy anything from Fantom Comics! Comics should be fun. However, we do request that you inform the clerk rather than simply returning the book to the shelf, as we want to keep track of our on-shelf inventory. (Note: If you intend to drop a title, please also do so through Comixology, to ensure we do not continue to hold this title for you).
The deadline for a guaranteed copy is 11:59pm of the last Friday of the month of that issue’s Previews. To clarify, if you want Klokel Komix #1, which is featured in September Previews, then you have until the last Friday of September to subscribe to the book. After that weekend our order is placed and we can no longer guarantee we’ll have a copy for you. (Please note that this is based on the month the book is offered, not the month in which it is released. Klokel Komix #1 is offered in the Previews Catalog of September for November, as each Catalog acknowledges the 2-month delay from ordering to receiving).
Is there a minimum to how many books I can subscribe to?
Absolutely not! We have many subscribers who subscribe to just 1 title (Buffy fans are a good example…though we encourage them to try Fables, so they don’t usually stay monogamous).
How often do I have to pick up my Subscriptions?
Fantom is pretty liberal on this policy. The short answer is 4 weeks. After 4 weeks we’ll be getting in touch with you to find out what the deal is. Once we get to know you, and if you let us know ahead of time of expected delays, we can work with you and your schedule.
Are there discounts on Subscriptions?
The short answer is no. Fantom realized very quickly that we have many loyal, cash-dropping customers who buy trades or periodicals off the rack, and we didn’t want to discriminate against them. So Fantom Comics offers Fantom Rewards instead. For every $75 you spend, you receive a $5 gift card. This works out to a 6.25% discount on anything and everything in the store whether you subscribe to books or just stop in once every 6 months to pick up a trade or two. Ask the clerk for your Fantom Rewards card, and he’ll sign you up right away (there’s no cost, of course).
What if I want to drop my Subscription(s)?
Please – PLEASE – alert the clerk at the store or email Fantom Comics at subscriptions@fantomcomics.com that you intend to drop your subscription(s). We won’t judge you. We won’t try to hard sell you into returning. We won’t even make you pick up what’s left in your folder. But it is a huge help to us to know you won’t be returning so we don’t continue to hold books for you (and therefore not sell them to others) for 4 more weeks.
What’s the deal with tie-ins, mini-series, annuals, one-shots and subsequent series?
In the past Fantom has strived to predict books our customers would want and supply them just in case. With Comixology allowing you to take control of your orders, Fantom Comics now takes your requests very literally! If you subscribe to Klokel Komix, but not to the 4-part miniseries Klokel Komix does Disneyland, Fantom will not make the connection unless you yourself subscribe to the miniseries through Comixology. Comixology is trying to make this as easy as possible. Currently, you can request all annuals and mini-series (when they exist) for ongoing titles. Hopefully they will also have a Crossover option as well for big events (like Civil War or Blackest Night). Until then, the responsibility to sign up falls on you. Fantom will do its best, however, to send out lists of upcoming Tie-Ins and Crossovers to its email list.