After X Years Redeemed My First Bonus Digital Marvel Comic

Hey, did you know if you buy a Marvel comic book you can redeem a bonus Marvel digital comic?


Yes, Matt, bonus digital copies have been standard practice with Marvel Comics for a number of years now.


Okay, got me there. I've been aware of bonus digital copies for awhile now.


I just didn't buy them because I already owned a physical copy of the issue. Plus, there was my on-and-off dalliances with Marvel Digital Unlimited. Frankly, I didn't really see point to redeeming them.


Have to admit, I was also kind of a Luddite regarding them. Ahem. This from the guy who bought Nook copies, bought Dark Horse Digital, and has a subscription for both Marvel Digital Unlimited AND DC Universe?


Eh, maybe I just too lazy to figure out how to. Plus, I wasn't keeping up with reading my physical copies...


So why the change?


First, when a Marvel comic retails for $3.99+ is the bonus digital really a bonus digital?


Second, one of my goals for 2019 is to reduce my bulk. All those comics I bought to sample yet had no intention of keeping. Redeeming a digital version (for those issue in which the deadline hasn't elapsed anyway) is a way to keep a copy while freeing up physical space.


Third, my gift Marvel Digital Unlimited subscription was far more transformative than previous subscriptions. Don't really recall checking Marvel emails regularly when I had a normal subscription before. That changed with the gift subscription I received as part of Christmas 2018. I'd check it weekly. During that time, I stumbled over Marvel Insider. It's kind of hokey; but Marvel Insider got me checking out the Marvel site about as much as I checked out ANY comics site. In the process I discovered...


Fourth, redeeming my bonus digital copies would net Marvel Insider points. Sure, there's a limit. And hokey. Yet, it's the extra carrot that spurred me onto redeeming my very first bonus digital Marvel comic.


So my thoughts:


One: It took me quite a bit of flipping and reading until I found the page with redemption instructions. It was kind of irritating but not quite as irritating as...


Peeling the label off!
If you're not careful, you can peel of both the sticker AND the label off of the page! Plus, the stickers don't peel off equally. It's also best to peel on as flat of a surface as possible so as not to mangle the comic itself. After all, one reason to redeem the bonus digital comic is to preserve the physical comic. I am assuming this is an anti-theft feature as it would be quite noticeable if someone tried doing so in a comics shop!


Third: Will there be back issue market based on whether or not the sticker covering the redemption code has been removed or not? It is a mere sticker after all. The grader or prospective buyer would need to flip through the given issue to notice it missing. On the other hand, the speculation market has been based on plenty curious things. Can't really say the comic is Mint or Near Mint if an issue is missing the sticker, can you? Guess, it depends on how copies of X-Force #1 removed from their non-archival plastic AND missing the card are graded as. Then again, if you're careful enough removing the sticker, the comic isn't really damaged. A question for ten or twenty years down the road, perhaps.


Fourth: Sometimes the redemption process leads to multiple copies of the same issue being "redeemed". Didn't actually redeem these multiple "copies" to see if they were phantom redemptions or not. Therefore, I didn't discover whether multiple digital copies of the same issue would become available. I just deleted them. After all, Marvel Insider has limit on how many Insider points one can accrue so why waste slots on phantom copies? One caveat: the multiple copies available for redemption only occurred before I discovered...


You can only redeem ONE comic at a time
That's right. You can only redeem one comic per redemption. I tried to redeem three separate issues; and only the most recent entry was redeemed. Most of the 'duplicate' occurred during this time. Then again, the phantom issue may have just been a bug. The message is clear: can't skip the process of re-loading the redeem page. Can't just redeem the ten Marvel issues you were planning on redeeming on a given week all in one go.


Now, I haven't read any of my bonus digital copies yet. A blog post for another time? Okay, probably not an entire blog entry. More like a side comment.


Overall, I am surprised I didn't redeem my bonus digital copies sooner. I spent plenty of money after all. Wasn't as bad as I made it out to be.


Happy reading!


Next time.