andreashock

January 18, 2013 2:06 pm Absolutely. The backend of the database is severely lacking, but if you get creative with your searching you can find all the back issues. If you're using the beta, sennd them a note for anything that's mislabeled.

January 18, 2013 2:04 pm I don't know if it's only for annual subscribers, but it wasn't invite-only in December. In the My Account setting on marvel.com you could opt-in to the beta. Can any current subscribers who didn't set up the beta confirm?

January 18, 2013 12:20 pm For the most part, I agree with what you're saying. I've been a Marvel DCU annual subscriber for a couple of years now, and I absolutely echo your frustrations...I hate that it's via browser only, and I especially loathe how it exists independently from the app...but I obviously still continue to subscribe. It's a pretty great database for back issues, and newer stuff gets added roughly six months after it hits stores, so if you are woefully behind on something, or missed the hot run of 2011/early 2012 (or earlier, obviously), you might be in luck. I think it's pretty invaluable for any new readers wanting to catch up on classic events like Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, Fear Itself, etc. before jumping into some of the current titles...but then again, libraries are also a great (and free!) resource for hard copies of all of that stuff. Ultimately for me it's been a convenient resource for reading for the fun of it, but not an alternative to purchasing from my local shop or digitally. The one thing I will add is that the new beta they're testing is a couple steps closer to a game changer. With a data plan on my iPad the entire database is now portable in a way it wasn't when everything was Flash based. The development team has been really responsive to bug reports, and I honestly appreciate what they're doing with this. I'm still frustrated by the divide you're describing, but I've come to terms with the fact that I use the Marvel DCU for a slightly different purpose than my personal back issues, purchased print comics, purchased digital comics and borrowed library volumes. I might be an outlier here (and a slightly obsessive reader), so I'm interested in what other people have to say on this topic.