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Monday, March 17, 2014

THE PRICE OF COMIC BOOKS IS TOO DAMN HIGH!


Back when I was ten years old a 32-page comic book cost 60 Cents. 

Nowadays a 32-page-comic book costs $3.99. The same as a gallon of gas and a gallon of milk. Or a delicious frozen pizza.  

The price of comics is. TOO DAMN HIGH.

Especially considering what the customer is getting for their money these days. Back in 1983 a customer got for their 60 cents:

22-pages of original story. A story that was usually finished in one issue or by the most three issues tops.

22 pages of original art with multiple panels telling a complete story filled with action.

Advertising for video games, wrestling, bubble gum Ninja turtle pies and other cool stuff.

Today what do people get for their $3.99? Not much.

20 pages of a mediocre story. A story that’s usually part of a mult-part crossover saga that goes on for at least 100 issues. Entire issues of exposition and talking  heads.

20pages of art, but with mostly splash pages so an artist can resell their art on the secondary market. All those paneled pieces from specific issues don’t sell for as much.

Seriously, why do comic books cost so damn much?

Is it because of the limited distribution? Is it because of the demographics skewering older? Is it because of the high printing and production costs?

Those are the usual excuses. But seriously, $3.99 for 32-pages? That seems like a bit of a rip-off. Back in 1988 when I was buying comics even the independent comics like Now and Fantagraphics didn’t charge that much.

I can see paying $3.99 or even $5 for a self-published indie comic like R.K. Milholland’s Super Stupor.  (GREAT comic BTW) And I’ve done so to support self-published comic artists when I had money. Why? Because it was an original-one-of-a kind piece, and I wanted to show that artist how much I loved their work.

But for a mass-produced Marvel or DC Comic? Come on? The price for Comics is TOO DAMN HIGH.

Today comic books have the lowest entertainment value per dollar out of all the media out there. A customer can get much more entertainment for their dollar out of eBooks, apps, and a redbox DVD. Or they can enjoy that delicious frozen pizza. 

For over two decades the comic book industry has said it desperately needs new readers. However, the high price of comics is one of the things prevented new readers from trying comic books.

For the price of four comics a new reader can go out and buy a 400 page paperback and get a complete story in one volume.

An age ago, comics were affordable. At 60 cents to a dollar people could give them to their kids to read until the covers came off. And the low price gave readers of all ages an incentive to collect and trade them.


At $4, people have no incentive to give them to anyone. And less incentive to buy them for themselves. Most people today wait for a trade paperback to come out so they can mitigate the high cost of 32-page comic books. Trades are much higher entertainment value per dollar, especially if you can pick them up on eBay used.

I would love to see the price of comics come down to something a bit more reasonable so all of the tweens and teens can discover what’s so great about comic books. A 32-page comic from corporate sponsored Marvel or DC shouldn’t cost anything but $2.50-$2.99 tops, a price in line with most apps and eBooks. I can see $3.99 as a starting price for an indie because they have higher production costs, and more limited runs. But there’s no way a comic book from Marvel or DC should be costing $3.99. That price is too damn high.

Support Shawn’s Kickstarter project! I’m trying to raise $500 so I can hire a professional comic book artist to design the cover of Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess! $20 donations will receive a FREE autographed copy of the paperback!

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9 comments:

  1. I can remember a time when I was getting into comics in the late 2000s and early 2010s but then the DC New 52 came along and pretty much destroyed my interest in reading DC comics, to the point where I come up of better versions of the same characters.

    With comics being quite expensive, I prefer to spend my money on something cheaper or more accessible like notebooks, books and food. That I should feel glad for giving up superheroes and turning to robot oriented stuff like Gundam and Evangelion. At least I kind of gave up reading superhero comics and admitted their problems like failed attempts at multiculturalism (Nu52 Weather Wizard is an embarrassing Latino stereotype).

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  2. Link to why Weather Wizard is such an embarrassing character:

    http://fortressofserenity.tumblr.com/post/79824788538/the-failure-of-weather-wizard

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  3. I can relate Ad Mina. I can't think of spending money on comics anymore.When Ihad money I spent it on other merchandise like action figures, publishing books, and DVDS. I get more for my money on those purchases.


    Thanks for the great article! Sounds like Weather Wizard is another pitiful attempt at diversity. Reading Wally's Flash run from the late 80's and early 90's, Diversity was done much better and much more organically with Chunk and Linda Park. They were great characters, first and foremost.

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  4. You make a great point that there are 50 shades of Hispanic culture. I live here in the Bronx and culture has an extremely broad spectrum, from Puerto Rican to Dominican, Columbian, Cuban Brazillian and Mexican. Each culture is different and unique and should be represented. I remember the great job DC did with Fire and representing her Brazillian culture in the1980s in Giffen/Dematteis Justice League. DC just botched the job with Weather Wizard.

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  5. Funny thing is most of those books end up in the dollar bins less than 2-3 weeks after they come out. And if folks were smart enough to wait they could save money.

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  6. I understand why many fans don't want to wait, the anticipation of getting that next issue overtakes common sense. Back when I was a kid, I thought the price would shoot up if I didn't get it then. or the books would be sold out. But now that I know more about the business of publishing I wait for a trade or I check out eBay. Self control can save you a LOT of money when it comes to comics.

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  7. I understand why many fans don't want to wait, the anticipation of getting that next issue overtakes common sense. Back when I was a kid, I thought the price would shoot up if I didn't get it then. or the books would be sold out. But now that I know more about the business of publishing I wait for a trade or I check out eBay. Self control can save you a LOT of money when it comes to comics.

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  8. Comic book prices nowadays have become too ridiculous for the content offered. The art in many are subpar, the stories are bland and too long as well and the "realism" doesn't always apply to a medium that sells fantasy in the first place. I have absolutely no interest in getting immersed in DC's New 52 because I felt that it wasn't needed for such iconic characters I grew up loving. Even my son, outside of his sugar rush for Oliver Coipel's Thor run, has no desire to read anything currently with Marvel nor DC. Surprisingly he finds more nourishment with comics from the 60s, 70s and to a degree, the 80s. Why? He tells me because the artwork alone is more phenomenal than anything he's seen since he's been in existence. With us both being artists, I have to agree. He is a huge Jack Kirby and Tim Sale fan.

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  9. I refuse to buy the New 52 for the same reason Mike. It's change for change's sake IMO.

    Great to hear you're getting your son into comics. A lot of those old comics have an energy, heart and a spirit to them that today's books just don't have.

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