WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE COMIC INDUSTRY NOWADAYS

[HouseofComics.Com]

Given the price of current comics, any kid that pursue them for entertainment is an insufficiently_thoughtful_person. A comic cost at least $2 and takes 15 to 30 minutes to read depending so the entertainment cost is $4/hour best case. If I buy the latest computer game, it cost me ~$50 and I get about 200 hours of play time (much more for some games) so that is ~$0.25/hour. Pretty much a no brainer. No, I don't see much of a future for new comics, especially given the art and writing quality. I myself don't care if it is printed on glossy paper if the substanance is complete [embarrassing lack of self control].

 

Haven't you read the current Jonah Hex or Conan or the recently completed Batman and the Monster Men? I feel those are a reasonable value. Because it goes in the library and can be reread every X years. Or probably resold on the boards for at least half-cover. But yeah, if you only read them once and will dump it eventually at $15 a box, not the greatest value...

[HouseofComics.Com]

How's the entertainment value if our hypothetical kid waits for the trade, buys a couple at a time, and gets free shipping and 30% off cover. Pretty reasonable, I hope. Considering he still has the book and might be more likely to reread it in a few years whereas the video game usually has no replay value. Of course lots of games are really lame and a waste of the $50 too...

[BassGMan]

Given the price of current comics, any kid that pursue them for entertainment is an insufficiently_thoughtful_person. A comic cost at least $2 and takes 15 to 30 minutes to read depending so the entertainment cost is $4/hour best case. If I buy the latest computer game, it cost me ~$50 and I get about 200 hours of play time (much more for some games) so that is ~$0.25/hour. Pretty much a no brainer. No, I don't see much of a future for new comics, especially given the art and writing quality. I myself don't care if it is printed on glossy paper if the substanance is complete [embarrassing lack of self control].

 

That makes me think.... Although many of you, including myself never buy new comics anymore, if they ceased being published altogether, would it affect your enthusiasm for the old books at all? I gotta admit, even though I'm not buying new titles, I still like seeing the hype surrounding new issues and I enjoy reading Wizard.

[joe_collector]

if they ceased being published altogether, would it affect your enthusiasm for the old books at all?

 

Nope, not one iota.

 

Moderns ceased to exist for me a long time ago.

[Mr. Spider-Woman]

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE COMIC INDUSTRY NOWADAYS

TOO MANY PEOPLE TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

 

No fair, I was excited about making this very same comment when I saw the title of this thread.

[Calamerica]

Like other hobbies, there are pros and cons.

 

In a nutshell, the cinema has directly had an impact in recent ( last 10 years) rekindled and newbie interest in comic books. eBay and like it or not, CGC also has contributed to the hobby.

 

There is not that much wrong with the comic book hobby that can't be fixed or otherwise will run it's course; it is still a great hobby and just surround yourself with like-minded collectors and all will work out.

 

CAL the Collector!!!

[OldGuy]

1. people are nice to you when you are at the top or big into the industrym if you are just a everyday collector tough [embarrassing lack of self control] give us your money and like it is the attitude ive been seeing recently

 

It's always been this way to one degree or another. There are plenty of dealers that are happy to work with the "little guy".

 

2. people are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get up top just to show off to people

 

Again, nothing new here.

 

3. if you are small and want to get a local comic shop open you better have plenty of money and be albe to take some loses because there are people who will cheat you out of money and lie their asses off to you.

 

I've been collecting for 25 years and I don't remember a time when this wasn't true.

 

4. most of this industry is very corrupt( how so you ask) i have seen it where it is as simple as you scratch my back and ill scratch yours and steal some money from you in the process.

 

You're starting to repeat yourself.

 

5. If you dont want to put every minute of the day into this industry then ta-ta ad dont look back

all and all in the past year i have had people lie, cheat, and steal from me and try to drag my name in the mud with other people which have lost me some sales and money. I am truly wondering how long this industry willl last with people who dont mind taking money even though they lie their asses off

 

Ok, at this point it's obvious you have some kind of ax to grind. Name names and tell us what happened or get over it.

[valiantman]

dear collectors,

when i got into comics it was something fun, I stayed in due to the fact that it was still fun to collect, I also noticed that people were nice and all were easy to get along with. Within the past year or so when comics became more "popular" I was noitcing some important things

1. people are nice to you when you are at the top or big into the industrym if you are just a everyday collector tough [embarrassing lack of self control] give us your money and like it is the attitude ive been seeing recently

2. people are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get up top just to show off to people

3. if you are small and want to get a local comic shop open you better have plenty of money and be albe to take some loses because there are people who will cheat you out of money and lie their asses off to you.

4. most of this industry is very corrupt( how so you ask) i have seen it where it is as simple as you scratch my back and ill scratch yours and steal some money from you in the process.

5. If you dont want to put every minute of the day into this industry then ta-ta ad dont look back

all and all in the past year i have had people lie, cheat, and steal from me and try to drag my name in the mud with other people which have lost me some sales and money. I am truly wondering how long this industry willl last with people who dont mind taking money even though they lie their asses off

all i ask is why? why do people think they have to lie to get more money why? Who are you truly going to trust when the people you did trust stab you in the back knowing they are going to the whole time

WHY?

 

You might as well have started this post with "Dear former Enron executives,"

or "Dear my representatives on Capitol Hill,"

 

If you think hobbies are more "sacred" than big corporations or the government

because people "love" their hobbies, but they don't "love" corporations or the government,

then you haven't met the people who "love" their wallets more than the hobby.

[Calamerica]

Comic book hobby is alive and well. In a slump for now( I am on ebay daily and see more unbid & reserve auctions that are unmet than ever before). But like the economy in general, the cycles will repeat.

 

CAL

[joe_collector]

In a slump for now( I am on ebay daily and see more unbid & reserve auctions that are unmet than ever before).

 

Thank God I'm not the only one seeing this. I have a monumental pile of BA books to sell, and I was amazed at the "no bids" data I'm getting from EBay's Closed Auctions.

 

Nicely graded, well priced stuff, just falling by the wayside - it's like half the comic book market took off and someone forgot to tell us.

 

Then again, it has been pretty dead around here..

[topofthetotem]

I do most of my buying on here as opposed to ebay. Now I know I'm just one guy but perhaps alot of other board members have moved their buying other places as well.

[skybolt]

In a slump for now( I am on ebay daily and see more unbid & reserve auctions that are unmet than ever before).

 

Thank God I'm not the only one seeing this. I have a monumental pile of BA books to sell, and I was amazed at the "no bids" data I'm getting from EBay's Closed Auctions.

 

Nicely graded, well priced stuff, just falling by the wayside - it's like half the comic book market took off and someone forgot to tell us.

 

Then again, it has been pretty dead around here..

 

Ebay is definitely a mixed bag to say the least. I just had an auction close on some CGC graded books, and the results were baffling. For instance, I understand that Catwoman has gone downhill after the Halle Berry film, but $4.75 for a #2 9.6 copy of the 1989 mini-series is really disappointing. I think I paid $25 for the book 3 years ago.

 

On the other hand, a 9.0 copy of ASM #312 sold for $35. Very weird.

[Calamerica]

I stopped responding to the posts that kept telling me how good the comic market is. If anyone should know, it would be one who buys almost on a daily basis.

 

CAL

[Lazyboy]

In a slump for now( I am on ebay daily and see more unbid & reserve auctions that are unmet than ever before).

 

Thank God I'm not the only one seeing this. I have a monumental pile of BA books to sell, and I was amazed at the "no bids" data I'm getting from EBay's Closed Auctions.

 

Nicely graded, well priced stuff, just falling by the wayside - it's like half the comic book market took off and someone forgot to tell us.

 

Then again, it has been pretty dead around here..

 

Isn't that how it usually goes in the summertime?

[The Less Blob]

"Thank God I'm not the only one seeing this. I have a monumental pile of BA books to sell, and I was amazed at the "no bids" data I'm getting from EBay's Closed Auctions.

 

I sold about 100 BA and copper books in various grades in the last month out of my store (which had fewer than 500 items in it at the time). Granted, most were inexpensive books priced at 50-75% of OPG. Some were over $10. Many had been listed here with no bites. Probably not the sort of stuff you planned on selling.

 

Seems like there's a good market for $3-$8 books (being purchased for the fun of collecting, not so much for investing). It's the $40 VF/NM copy of some BA book that is encountering price resistance.

[SignatureSelect]

I find it interesting that the person who started this thread hasn't posted in it after his initial post.

[joe_collector]

All I know is that I have officially run out of storage space, so I have to sell off something before I buy a single new comic. So somebody better buy it.

[mica]

I find it interesting that the person who started this thread hasn't posted in it after his initial post.

Why is that interesting?

[Aces]

I find it interesting that the person who started this thread hasn't posted in it after his initial post.

Why is that interesting?

I thought he (the first poster) was going to vent about how somebody really screwed with him on some deal(s).

I really like dirt...

[SignatureSelect]

I thought he would mention something aswell