How to make comics cheaper

[Proverbs22_2]

[/And the brief times that most people get exposed to comics, it's when they come across a comic book shop, where decidely abnormal comic fans hang out and scare them away because they don't want "those normal people in their club".

 

Kev

 

WOOOO! You pegged that one right, Kev!

 

When I had my store, back in the day, I remember my partner and I just shaking our heads in disbelief at some of the characters that came in, most of them on a near-daily basis! "The Legions of The Unwashed", we called them...

 

My wife, a committed basher of all things Comic, is that way EXACTLY BECAUSE she once visited a comic store to buy a me a gift...

 

Now, beacuse of them , she wonders what's wrong with me "an otherwise intelligent adult male" in her words...

 

-Joe

[Kevin Boyd]

Now, beacuse of them , she wonders what's wrong with me "an otherwise intelligent adult male" in her words...

 

I guess that's guilt by association!

 

Sometimes when I meet a collector friend's girlfriend or wife, I get the comment, "you're surprisingly normal, I expect the worst when I hear about __'s comic collecting friends".

 

Then again, sometimes I don't....

 

Kev

 

 

[Aman619]

Im getting a deja vu...didnt you and I have a similar conversation once?

 

Let me ask you: how many comics do you buy, read and enjoy each month. Ill assume that whatever th etotal, you buy etc all the comics that fit that description for you. o what percentage in YOUR opinion are "good" comics? ) meaning how many divided by 300 or however many are published.) I'll guess its a pretty low percentage isnt it? Perhaps the total cost prohibits you from actually purchasing evrey single comic you would 'like' to.

 

As for your friends liking comics when put into their hands... what does that really say? If they are not motivated to actually go get them themselves each week, the, IMO, they dont really like them all that much do they? Whenever Ive been turned on to something I like, I make it my business to track them down. If I dont...well, that speaks for itself dont it?

 

We have been discussing ways to get MORE comics buyers. Its been suggested that if only they could be put into the hands of non-buyers, then sales would take off as they see what they are missing. Thats the reason there have been Free Comic Book Days. Seems YOU have them all the time...but it STILL doesnt get them to become buyers...

 

also, I dont kno wwhat business you are in. But iit is not surprising at all to me that the guys writing and drawing comics for a living are for the most part (taking ALL of them as a whole) just "mailing it in". Sure there are guys at the top of their game most of the time....but as a whole, why should comics "workers" be putting any more effort into their 'jobs' than any other working man? Look around your office sometime. Who is putting in 110% every day on every project? And whats the percentage who work their 9 to 5, doing just enough.

 

I'm thinking you may think that guys who are lucky enough to get to be in the comics biz dont think this way. Well, not at first when the blood is boiling and its all excitement, and dreams and goals reached etc etc. But monthly deadline after deadline has that effect - - makes you a little deader month after month. And the 20th time you get off the elevator at Marvel, well, its not the same magical place it was the first few times they actually let you in the door. Again: Im not talking Jim Lee, not Jeff Loeb, not (fill in YOUR favorite artist/writer)

 

All Im saying is that the comics biz is just like any other business. People with varying amounts of talent and committment. Its work.

 

And I like comics too. I have for over 40 years. But I feel Im realistic about their appeal in society...or lack of it. It will never be a mass medium agian if in fact it ever was. I wish there was a magic pill, or an MBA who could figure out what steps to take. But I fear he'd have to be some kind of Superman!

[Kevin Boyd]

Im getting a deja vu...didnt you and I have a similar conversation once?

 

Probably.

 

Let me ask you: how many comics do you buy, read and enjoy each month. Ill assume that whatever th etotal, you buy etc all the comics that fit that description for you. o what percentage in YOUR opinion are "good" comics? ) meaning how many divided by 300 or however many are published.) I'll guess its a pretty low percentage isnt it? Perhaps the total cost prohibits you from actually purchasing evrey single comic you would 'like' to.

 

I buy approximately 40 new comic books a month, not including tpbs and hardcovers (as there are some books I don't buy because I would rather read them in tpb storyarcs). Thankfully I'm in a position financially and by working on the conventions to get what I want. But what I don't get I don't automatically dismiss as [!@#%^&^]... it's just not my thing. There are many books that people tell me are great that don't really interest me, but sales seem to support that most people who buy comics think that they are great.

 

As for your friends liking comics when put into their hands... what does that really say? If they are not motivated to actually go get them themselves each week, the, IMO, they dont really like them all that much do they? Whenever Ive been turned on to something I like, I make it my business to track them down. If I dont...well, that speaks for itself dont it?

 

It says to me, "I lead a busy life, I'm interested but I don't know what to do when it comes to buying new comics. What do you recommend?" And most importantly, "since you are the only person I know who goes to a place where comics are sold can you get them for me and I'll pay you when I see you". It also says to me "I don't really like to go to comic shops" and "if I did come across a comic that I liked in person (and I had not already got it for them) I would buy it".

 

Who said they've never taken initiative and gone on their own? Many have.

 

And in your case, so? I've been turned on to many things over the course of my life, but I often have neither the time or the energy to go too far out of my sphere to indulge that interest. And that's what comics are... out of the way for most.

 

We have been discussing ways to get MORE comics buyers. Its been suggested that if only they could be put into the hands of non-buyers, then sales would take off as they see what they are missing. Thats the reason there have been Free Comic Book Days. Seems YOU have them all the time...but it STILL doesnt get them to become buyers...

 

My concern is... does FCBD actually get free comics into the hands of new readers or does it merely give everyone who goes to comic shops anyway a chance to sample books that they haven't been getting? That's the way I feel about it. The shop I go to is still giving out FCBD issues to new people that come in to the store, and he has noticed that his new issue sales ARE increasing.

 

also, I dont kno wwhat business you are in. But iit is not surprising at all to me that the guys writing and drawing comics for a living are for the most part (taking ALL of them as a whole) just "mailing it in". Sure there are guys at the top of their game most of the time....but as a whole, why should comics "workers" be putting any more effort into their 'jobs' than any other working man? Look around your office sometime. Who is putting in 110% every day on every project? And whats the percentage who work their 9 to 5, doing just enough.

 

More than 10%, that's for sure. My day job is a medical research coordinator, and I'm also helping to organize a comic book convention the rest of the time. As a coordinator it's my responsibility to make sure that the work gets done, and while there are people that are burned out, they usually don't stick with it if there boss is telling them to do a better job. If I were the editor or the publisher and someone started doing that it's very easy to fire them or cancel a book for low sales.

 

I'm thinking you may think that guys who are lucky enough to get to be in the comics biz dont think this way. Well, not at first when the blood is boiling and its all excitement, and dreams and goals reached etc etc. But monthly deadline after deadline has that effect - - makes you a little deader month after month. And the 20th time you get off the elevator at Marvel, well, its not the same magical place it was the first few times they actually let you in the door. Again: Im not talking Jim Lee, not Jeff Loeb, not (fill in YOUR favorite artist/writer)

 

Well, actually, working on the convention has put me in touch with a lot of comic book writers and artists, and they certainly seem to me like they aren't burned out on them. Most artists love to draw, and are happy to get a job where they can actually draw for a living. I'm not saying that burnout doesn't exist though.

 

All Im saying is that the comics biz is just like any other business. People with varying amounts of talent and committment. Its work.

 

Okay. By your reckoning then only 10% of people in any business are working to the best of their ability. The rest are just phoning it in. I don't agree with that.

 

And I like comics too. I have for over 40 years. But I feel Im realistic about their appeal in society...or lack of it. It will never be a mass medium agian if in fact it ever was. I wish there was a magic pill, or an MBA who could figure out what steps to take. But I fear he'd have to be some kind of Superman!

 

For a very brief time it was a mass children's medium (essentially the 1940's and into the 1950's). But after that... economics (an entirely different discussion) and other distractions (tv, among other things) ended it's role as such. But other aspects of publishing have also declined over the years as well. Comics are unique in that they are the only wing of publishing that chose to isolate itself from the wider market in order to support only a market of fan shops. It doesn't take an MBA to figure out that in the long run that has hurt comics sales and interest deeply.

 

And I don't believe we should be complacent and hide comics away from the general public. A stereotypical comics fan is ashamed of his reading habits and prefers the club aspects of what he reads and enjoys. Why do we allow people to indulge that stereotype? (I guess because there is a lot of truth to it). Ideally we should be out there telling everyone we know who doesn't read comics to try this them out... since the publishers are doing little to nothing to do promote to non-fans.

 

Kev

 

[Aman619]

you make a lot of good points... SOme i thought of answers to, disagreements to others and clarifications to my statements that would have, if stated more fully the first time, have brought our opinions closer together...

 

but let me leave it at that. I cant match the tenacity of your replies... very thoroughly done! While I, too, think it would be great if comics sold lots more copies to lots more people. I'm just of the opinion that it will not happen, no matter how strenuously we as fans talk them up to others. I agree with the industry leaders whose sales plan is realistically (and sadly really) to just sell as many comics to the same comics loving audience as they can..for as long as they can.