The Outhouse - The Greatest Comic Book Forum

[Dragavon]

I know Marvel is putting some of there old stuff online but has anybody heard anything about them or DC ever putting out the latest stuff?
I haven't bought comics regularly for years, just the odd trade, and while there is a bunch of titles I be happy to follow I wouldn't even consider it at the present cost never mind this new increase.

They are never going to do that as long as it profitable to sell issues at stores.

This may make me a villain but I either Byrne-steal or download what I want, and then buy it in trade.

[outsider]

Why do comics companies go with the ass-opposite approach to price increases as the USPS on stamps (who should really quit beating about the bush and increase by a whole nickel every five years instead of this penny crap)? Why not small incremental increases of a nickel here and ten cents there? A frickin' dollar is too much to ask a lot of consumers.

[MoneyMelon]

This may make me a villain but I either Byrne-steal or download what I want, and then buy it in trade.

I think it just means you aren't full of shit. I bet a lot of people do the same thing.

Hell, I'd do it myself, but I just don't like reading comics on my computer.

[Punchy]

Just means I'll drop more DC books.

[Dragavon]

I think it just means you aren't full of shit. I bet a lot of people do the same thing.

Hell, I'd do it myself, but I just don't like reading comics on my computer.

It's cheaper than buying the issues and I hate waiting for the trade. Plus it's a lot easier to organize.

[Zenguru]

Just means I'll drop more DC books.

Even though DC books are generally cheaper? And better?

[Punchy]

Even though DC books are generally cheaper? And better?

Better?

Get real.

[JL_Amato]

Better?

Get real.

This.

The only title I'm really enjoying from DC right now is Secret Six.

[GLX]

Better?

Get real.

In all seriousness, Punchy is right. Marvel has a deep list of talent to work with.

Writer side examples: Aaron, Bendis, Millar, Fraction, Brubaker, Hickman.

Artist side examples: McNiven, Rivera, Pacheco, Choi, Hitch, Immonen.

[Derm]

They are never going to do that as long as it profitable to sell issues at stores.

This may make me a villain but I either Byrne-steal or download what I want, and then buy it in trade.

My own version of the "Byrne-steal" is I just read my brother's copies.
His about 10 years younger then me, single and doesn't drink so he has a healthy disposable income.
On the point of online versions vs. print I don't see why they can't do both. If they had some monthly charge where you could read all their titles online and still sold the physical copies in the shop. Your comic book collector isn't going anywhere and might even end up going both routes. Buying the ones he has always read and subscribing just so he could keep up with the universe as a whole.
Then once you are online start selling that shit where the kids are hanging out. Facebook or whatever they are doing these days.
Or work out a deal with some MMO's to make yourself part of that experience.
Might not suit a setting like Warcraft but if you can order Dominos Pizza through the game then why not comics.
Give you something to do through those boring grind parts.
I don't know if my ideas are practical but I just think they really need to try and advantage of the net because that’s where everybody is now.

[Midas]

It's funny that Joey Q says that production values are what sells comics and there's no going back. Maybe that's true for new readers, but how many new readers can you attract at a $3.99 price point? I don't think the core audience is buying this argument.

For me, I've almost entirely given up on modern super-hero comics from Marvel and DC. I go where the stories are, production values be damned. That means I buy a lot of classic collected materials, including Essentials and Showcases, where the production values of the collected comics (if not also the collections) were lower than modern comics but the stories were better (not as decompressed, lots of new characters and ideas being introduced all the time, etc.). I also buy a lot of indy books. Finally, I find myself buying more and more manga, which are generally published in black and white on cheap paper (low production values). But the stories can be original and compelling and you get over 200 pages for about $10-$12. Marvel and DC have lost me.

[kingbobb]

Why do comics companies go with the ass-opposite approach to price increases as the USPS on stamps (who should really quit beating about the bush and increase by a whole nickel every five years instead of this penny crap)? Why not small incremental increases of a nickel here and ten cents there? A frickin' dollar is too much to ask a lot of consumers.

They used to do that...when their comics audience was mostly teenaged boys getting their books from the spinner racks, using their allowance/paper route/lawn-mowing/saved lunch money funds.

Then those kids grew up into, well, us, with jobs and stuff, mostly, who love our comics, and are willing to pay hefty monthly fees just to get them. They increase the price so much now because they feel they can.

Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them. Yes, I think it's collassally dumb to be thinking price increase right now for any other reason than critical cost increases. People are cutting back everywhere. Say you collect 10 books a month. At $3 a book, that's $30. Now they go to $4, and your income isn't increasing. Assuming you have to stay on a budget, you have to cut 3 books out of your collection, although you could probably pick one of those up in trades with the $2 a month extra you get.

Now that Marvel has control of their own movie arm, they should be using some of the Hollywood $ to keep the street price of their comics down. They're the best advertising vehicles they have for testing out potential future product.

[C20Percent]

This.

The only title I'm really enjoying from DC right now is Secret Six.

That and Green Lantern. I have hope for John's Flash.

[Apache Chef]

Things are worth what people are willing to pay for them. Yes, I think it's collassally dumb to be thinking price increase right now for any other reason than critical cost increases. People are cutting back everywhere. Say you collect 10 books a month. At $3 a book, that's $30. Now they go to $4, and your income isn't increasing. Assuming you have to stay on a budget, you have to cut 3 books out of your collection, although you could probably pick one of those up in trades with the $2 a month extra you get.

You're right about people's budgets. I think what it'll lead to is the cancellation of a lot of lower selling, yet good, comics. Nova, Captain Britain, Agents of Atlas. Stuff like that. The average customer is going to want to keep reading the "important" stuff, and seeing as it's those very books that are going up in price, it doesn't leave much budget room for the little guy.

[chap22]

"And while some would like to argue that we should print on cheaper paper and use cheaper coloring, it doesn’t wash, because the minute we do that, we’ll notice a significant decline in readership and interest in comics."


i call HORSESHIT. i'm not saying go back to .25-cent comics, but if you drop the price a buck a pop or more, you will NOT lose a significant amount of readers due to the drop in fucking paper quality. for one thing, as others have mentioned, most comic readers today (and the number of us left ain't that big to begin with) are the lifers like me who are so ingrained in the system that we're willing to fork over 4 bucks now for some 5-minute piece of shit Bendis craps out with rehashed panels and talking heads. you really think cheaper paper and a decrease in price is gonna be the straw that breaks our back? not hardly, Quesadilla.

plus, if you make books actually affordable again, you may even pick up a few more kids with paper routes/allowances/etc if you put the books a) where they can readily find them and b) in a tax bracket they can afford. this is the demographic that's already not buying your product, so what is it gonna hurt you to try something new to change their minds? it ain't fucking rocket science, Joey Cheese.