Are Modern Comics getting to Expensive?

[NewWorldOrder]

Hey Everyone,

 

I have been collecting comics for about 15 years, and I am now 27 years old. I started collecting comics right at the transition of the pricing going from .75 to $1, and everyone one knows today that comics are basically $2.99. I was okay when comic books were at $1.99 or even $2.25, but at $2.99 I think they are pushing a fine line.

 

What upset me was that I was buying an Ultimate Spider-man issue and it was $2.25 and then all of a sudden it was $2.99 the next month, so at .75 cent increase which to me is a huge difference (25%). I only read/buy about 5-10 titles a month now due to the prices, and my point here is that in the past if I was on the fence about buying a comic book, I would just buy it becuase it was only 1 or 1.99, etc. However at 2.99 a book I am a little less likely to give into buying an issue, which I think sucks for both the issuing company/buyers because now the chance of gaining a new reader is lost.

 

I def am more of a bronze/silver age collector, but I still wan to read the mainstream books like ASM, Ult Spidy, Captain America, etc, but at the way prices are going I am not so sure.

 

I would rather the page quality go back to newstand print so the cost of making the comic is cheaper.

 

Do you any of you guys want to chime in?

 

take care,

 

John

[Pirate]

I have moved almost exclusively to trades that I buy when they are solicited for 50% off at my online retailer. Figure 6 issues or so in trade format for $10 which brings the price down tremendously and lets me pick up a few extra things. Everything is reprinted in trade it seems like so no real chance of missing anything important.

 

I buy maybe 10 regular books a month and that's pushing it now. Just so much nicer to have a book to read and place on a shelf. I also look for board members selling trades very cheap and pick alot of that up also.

[CDaBruce]

Prices are too high. I have found myself spending more and more of my comic budget on bronze and silver back issues. About a year ago I was buying between 7-10 moderns a month. Now I am down to two: Walking Dead and ASM. I think I might even drop ASM after the whole OMD mess. I might pick up Ultimate Spidey again for my Spidey fix.

 

I am appreciating trade paperbacks more and more. I enjoy reading the stories all at once and have found some great reading suggestions from these boards.

[NewWorldOrder]

I do like TPB's as well, I usually buy them at 50% off at comic book shows!

[HouseofComics.Com]

John, I think you'll find pretty much complete agreement with your points. We all think they are pricey and just about all of us feel the pull of trades vs. single issues. My LCS was shorted on Jonah Hex last week and the only two copies they have left are way too beat up for me to consider paying $2.99 for. I will find a copy somewhere but it really made me consider dropping the title right there and waiting for the trades.

[CDaBruce]

That is one of my favorite things about going to the conventions are the endless boxes of 50% off trade paperbacks.

 

Walking Dead, Y:The Last Man, Fables...

[Pirate]

I do like TPB's as well, I usually buy them at 50% off at comic book shows!

 

why wait for shows when you can buy them each month at 50% off new releases

[Pirate]

newest dcbs order. How can you beat these prices?

 

 

BATMAN THE RESURRECTION OF RAS AL GHUL HC

[JAN080194] $14.99 1 $14.99

PREVIEWS VOL XVIII #3

[JAN080032] $1.12 1 $1.12

IRON MAN VS DOCTOR DOOM PREM HC DOOMQUEST

[JAN082215] $9.99 1 $9.99

X OMNIBUS TP VOL 01

[JAN080077] $12.47 1 $12.47

STARMAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 01

[JAN080203] $24.99 1 $24.99

THOR BY J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI PREM HC VOL 01

[JAN082208] $9.99 1 $9.99

RED SONJA VOL 2 ARROWSMITH ADAM HUGHES CVR TP

[JUL073423] $9.74 1 $9.74

RED SONJA VOL 3 RISE OF GATH HC

[AUG073502] $16.24 1 $16.24

CONAN HC VOL 05 ROGUES IN THE HOUSE

[JAN080051] $16.22 1 $16.22

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN TP VOL 03

[JAN080053] $11.67 1 $11.67

JLA PRESENTS AZTEK THE ULTIMATE MAN TP

[JAN080199] $9.99 1 $9.99

JONAH HEX TP VOL 04 ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

[JAN080200] $7.79 1 $7.79

SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER HEROES TP VOL 02

[JAN080208] $10.19 1 $10.19

 

 

 

PAYMENTS

 

SUB TOTAL: $155.39

TAX: $0.00

SHIPPING: $5.95

ADJUSTMENTS: $0.00

CREDITS: ($0.00)

ORDER TOTAL: $167.29

PAYMENTS: ($0.00)

BALANCE DUE: $167.29

[NewWorldOrder]

dcbs?

[Excelsior!-migration]

I would rather the page quality go back to newstand print so the cost of making the comic is cheaper.

 

Another benefit to news print instead of the high gloss stuff is the ability to read by a lamp at night. Maybe I am the only one that has this problem, but trying to read a modern high gloss comic by a lamp can be a pain. The pages are so glossy you have to keep adjusting the comic so you can read it. Might just be a sign of me getting old.

[Pirate]

dcbs?

 

www.dcbservice.com

 

 

 

[seank]

I would rather the page quality go back to newstand print so the cost of making the comic is cheaper.

 

Another benefit to news print instead of the high gloss stuff is the ability to read by a lamp at night. Maybe I am the only one that has this problem, but trying to read a modern high gloss comic by a lamp can be a pain. The pages are so glossy you have to keep adjusting the comic so you can read it. Might just be a sign of me getting old.

 

Been there, done that. Completely agree.

 

But I'm an old fart also.

[CDaBruce]

I do like TPB's as well, I usually buy them at 50% off at comic book shows!

 

why wait for shows when you can buy them each month at 50% off new releases

 

I order most of my trades online but I do like to flip through the boxes. The hunt is part of the fun and I always find something that I haven't seen before.

 

Plus, there is just something about going through boxes of trades and comics.

[NewWorldOrder]

I do like TPB's as well, I usually buy them at 50% off at comic book shows!

 

why wait for shows when you can buy them each month at 50% off new releases

 

I order most of my trades online but I do like to flip through the boxes. The hunt is part of the fun and I always find something that I haven't seen before.

 

Plus, there is just something about going through boxes of trades and comics.

 

 

hell yea

[followtheleader]

Per issue, it's not too bad.

 

But it sure does add up quick.

 

I've found it beneficial as I've started cutting back on titles. Starting to cut the fat and have enjoyed dropping sub-par reads.

 

Seems ridiculous that the companies are giving up the cheaper prices/higher volume sales on the big name books. My bet is that this will be cyclical. It probably peaked out on those books. Not sure why they don't move it to the lesser known new books so they can pull in new readers.

 

Pat

[djpinkpanther67]

Yes!

[the blob]

I dunno, I rarely pay more than a buck a book and I'm not even hunting them down on ebay. Granted, fishing them out of the overstock box can be hard to maintain muh continuity or read things as a run, but most but the "hot" books wind up in there and if something really was a big sell-out/surprise hit, you probably didn't mind paying cover price for it anyway.

 

Of course, my way of buying these things is hardly much of a business model for the comic companies or my LCS. It's more like a going out of business model, but seriously, if I'm just looking for some reading material, 5 books for $14.95 ($2.99 each) or 5 books for $5 is a no brainer!

 

So, cover price is too high, but the actual price out there is not so high.

 

Of course, once the market for variants implodes I suspect there will be less overstock

[toro]

Hey Everyone,

 

I have been collecting comics for about 15 years, and I am now 27 years old. I started collecting comics right at the transition of the pricing going from .75 to $1, and everyone one knows today that comics are basically $2.99. I was okay when comic books were at $1.99 or even $2.25, but at $2.99 I think they are pushing a fine line.

 

What upset me was that I was buying an Ultimate Spider-man issue and it was $2.25 and then all of a sudden it was $2.99 the next month, so at .75 cent increase which to me is a huge difference (25%). I only read/buy about 5-10 titles a month now due to the prices, and my point here is that in the past if I was on the fence about buying a comic book, I would just buy it becuase it was only 1 or 1.99, etc. However at 2.99 a book I am a little less likely to give into buying an issue, which I think sucks for both the issuing company/buyers because now the chance of gaining a new reader is lost.

 

I def am more of a bronze/silver age collector, but I still wan to read the mainstream books like ASM, Ult Spidy, Captain America, etc, but at the way prices are going I am not so sure.

 

I would rather the page quality go back to newstand print so the cost of making the comic is cheaper.

 

Do you any of you guys want to chime in?

 

take care,

 

John

 

been reading them all of my life, try going from the end of the 10cent era to 12 cents to $2.99. Now that really hurts.

[Excelsior!-migration]

Any accountant know what a 10 cent comic from 1940 equates in today's dollars? Is it close to $2.99?

[piper]

I only buy 5 books a month, so $2 or $3 an issue is hardly going to break the bank. That said, I started reading ultimate spider-man via the trades and think it's a great format.