CCW 2.54: The Rising Cost of Marvel Comics

[cballsack]

I don't see how kids can possibly afford comic books these days. There's no way you can follow an entire universe, like Marvel, let alone also follow DC and other publishers like Dark Horse. I'd much rather return to the days of shittier stock paper if that meant the price would come down.

[LEGOcinema15]

I am a Bendis fan but I will not pay $3.99 for his Avengers books. I'll wait till I see 'em in a dollar box or at used book stores :)

[LEGOcinema15]

Matt Fraction's X-Men stuff is going to #3.99 :( I am really enjoying his x-men work.

[herosymbiote]

i live in canada, and it is still $3.99 here. i expected them to raise it to $4.99, i found that strange

[comicculturewarrior]

Print media in general is suffering and hemorrhaging money. Comics are just a small part of it. I won't say that there's a wall between the fans and Marvel, as they've really opened up channels of communication with their web sites and other media. But raising prices right now is just a kick in the nuts for fans who've been supporting their fave books for a very long time. And to say that we 'ghetto-ize' them is not the way to address fan concerns. I have no idea if I make any sense.Elliott

[XxFloggingMollyxX]

Bottomline is Quesda wants more money. Marvel Comics has always been a company that spoke directly to it's fans. Look at Stan Lee's bullpens from back in the day. The idea that their putting a wall up between us and them is horrible. This will affect their readership greatly. I droped mostly all of my Marvel books except for Daredevil and Thor.

[locusmortis]

I'm just reading a scanned copy of Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen 140 from 1971 and in it Carmine Infantino put in an editorial letter apologising for the price increase in DC comics.

The average age of Jimmy Olsen readers back then must have been about 11 or 12 years old, so if the Editor in Chief of DC then thought it was right to apologise to the kids of that day then surely its incumbent on Quesada to explain and apologise the the adults who pay for marvel comics these days, no?

[comicculturewarrior]

Locus,

any way you can send me a copy of that scan or a link to it?

Thanks!

Elliott

[masonTganes]

Heres the bottom line: QUASADA's answer was BS.

however if hes trying to make comics more legitamit amongst the magazine industry--- then how about having more than 22 pages of story. Magazines have 3 times the amount of content too.

I'll pay more for a read that wont take me 3 minutes to read.

[locusmortis]

Oh yeah lads, the Avengers used to sell 250k back in the 80's when the books were 75c so they certainly have sold more than bendis in the past.

[locusmortis]

About Quesada saying people were downplaying the worth of the books...its not like marvel ispublishing Joe Sacco or Chris Ware....Quesada is talking out of his ass as usual.

[kurumais]

yeah he should have just said we have to raise prices we need more money its a business

i could respect it more

[LordBifford]

Comic book companies should instead try to expand their readership to push up sales. That will put more bread in the mouths of creators.

[Burningbaby]

The fact of the matter is that they would sell more books if they kept the prices lower. That's what it comes down to for me.

And I second what BlackPhoenix said about the price vs satisfaction element of the video game argument. A game typically provides more entertainment (in terms of time spent for lack of better measurement) than the cost equivalent in comic books, approximately 15 issues at $3.99, for the average fan. Although not always months, a good game can last you at least a week.

[deemar325]

Elliot as far as defending Bendis, I feel no need to defend him on the whole I despise him, I just give him props for Luke Cage other than that I'd prefer guys like Waid, Slott, Aaron, Cornell etc..

[deemar325]

Switching out writers on Avengers is a good idea, Bendis revived the franchise great, but we got guys like Jason Aaron, Jeff Parker, Paul Cornell etc..doing just a good if not better stories than Bendis/Loeb.

It al comes down to the collective package, is the art good? solid writer? good concept? Seriously what more does Bendis have left to say in Avengers?

Nothing, just drawn out arcs, talking heads, total disregard for other writers stories/ideas

[deemar325]

The value of the books are $1.00 to $1.99 at best. Their raising the price for more profit just because they can, like Jose said Kirby family ain't getting a penny for reprints.

[locusmortis]

Its not just the high selling books though, its all the mini series as well...like the Marvel Illustrated books which you kinda WANT kids to buy...for education and all that ya know. plus you want schools to buy the collected editions....

Also I used to buy the Anita Blake mini's which were 2.99 for the 12 issue maxi and then it went up to 3.99 for the current minis so I cancelled it. It had Ron Lim pencilling who is great but not a huge name so that can't be an excuse

[locusmortis]

Pencillers and inkers are ten a penny, there are many more than there used to be in history. Back in the 60's when comics were mass market Kirby, Everett, Buscema, Colan, Heck and Ditko drew practically the whole line.

Jack Kirbys family gets very little for reprints, nothing for current comic sales, no "created by" credit and NO MONEY for film or tv rights...NOTHING.

Marvel are out to screw more money out of people, thats it, nothing more. they want more profits for their shareholders.

[killxthexdogs]

bendis' and loeb's exclusive contracts driving the prices up is a good theory, but i don't buy it because they also raised the price on the punisher max book which i know is one of their top sellers, and they did it AFTER garth ennis left. i think they just raised the prices on their top selling books because they knew people would buy them regardless and they wanted to get that extra dollar out of them.

[deemar325]

Agree

[watchwrestling]

Allow me to play the role of devil's advocate. I was there at the panel when this discussion occured at NYCC. Of course, my immediate reaction is I want my comics cheap. However, guys like Bendis, Fraction, Loeb, etc. are worth a lot more to comics than to movies and television.  If it takes a dollar to keep this top talent in the Mrvel stable, it's worth it. I'm a DC guy myself so I don't have to worry about this (yet).

[locusmortis]

Again I kind of disagree with this (although kudos on the dc love) . Loeb and Bendis are the big name writers but this dosen't necessarily mean they're the best. Guys like Hickman, Diggle and Aaron have come into Marvel and are doing great on the mid level books with Hickman getting the step up to FF and Secret Warriors now, and I doubt he gets the same money as loeb or bendis for being a better writer.

[deemar325]

Agree

Theres always going to be new talent, and mainstay writers who don't get their due. Why put all your eggs in one pot with Loeb/bendis.

[deemar325]

Man that's BS talent comes and goes, I'd put as much stock in a new comer like Hickman or a mainstay like Slott or Waid over Bendis/Loeb, it's a "boys club" at Marvel if you ain't suckling off Quesades/Bendo/Loebs' teet ya don't get play at Marvel.

[babybirdjay]

love the show guys keep up the good work, I used to try to collect all the main marvel books, but theres no way im paying extra for a comic thats the same size as a regular priced book or has an old reprint or script in the back. Also what really pissed me off was when Obama appeared in spiderman, making it impossible for me to get hold of a 1st print, marvel just put him in to make a shit load of cash! That was the last straw for me so ive dropped all my marvel books.

[BlackPhoenix06]

A videogame? Months of entertainment. Well worth the $60. Comics? 15 minutes MAX, and if one takes their time to admire the artwork. There's no comparison there. One is worth the money while the other isn't at its current exorbitant price.

[pobra17]

I noticed last wednesday that Red Hulk jumped to $3.99 (not that i bought it), but I did pay f-ing $4.99 for new avengers!! WTF!! I guess it was an extra long issue but it seriously took me all of ten minutes to read that shitty comic, so what am i paying for? I'm seriously gonna drop new avengers after that display, it's been sucking hard for some time now anyways. So, if paying more for shitty comics ups their intrinsic value or whatever, i don't care, count me out.