Nothing, yet, but I am excited to see Futurama uncancelled.
Also nothing yet as its only 10:30 am, but I’ve been catching up on the last few weeks, and wanted to say that I liked your recent Wolverine First Class story, especially the “Thor Heyerdahl” bit.
Big week for me today:
Flash Rebirth #3 I’m just not feeling it in this storyline
Red Robin #1 Interested to see Tim in the Red Robin costume
Batman 687 Winnick gets one shot with me
Spider-Man 597 Pretty good but 3rd artist for this arc?
Deadpool 11 Wearing thin
FF 567 Haven’t read it yet but enjoyed last ish
Wolverine 74 Tommy Lee Edwards art….awesome
X-Factor 44 Another great read
Walking Dead 62 Wow
Uncanny 511 why am I still buying this?
X-Men Forever #1 Not bad…bought it mainly to get signed next week at Heroescon
Ouch! I remember when picking up 11 comics cost me $3.85
Just picked up the novelization of the new Star Trek movie (Alan Dean Foster). And a copy of the new Star Trek magazine.
Not a big fan of fan magazines but I got this big middle-aged trekker fan in my church and she has mobility issues, and probably can’t get out to see the movie. So when I’m done, I’ll give em to her so she can put the new actors faces in the roles.
Anyone read the novelization?
–Captain Naraht
PAD
when i went into my local shop i found out that xfactor was short shipped the LCS got 0
was there a delay or is this diamond not able to fufill the LCS orders?
Wolverine 74 blah i hate filler books before a new story arc
Uncanny Xmen 511 real cool
Deadpool 11 deadpool vs hawke i mean bullseye
Flash Rebirth #3 i like johns and van sciver but why put a quote from ain’t it cool news on the cover ?
Punisher max 71 i will allways read the Pun frank rarely disappoints
Red Robin #1
Batman 687 couldnt DC resist the urge for a 3.99 book? or is this an event that they feel that they can tax us an additional dollar for?
Action 878 will read tonight
Beta Ray Bill Godhunter #1 will read saturday (its another whole week till stash day)
is anyone else sick of the 3.99 books? i got the notion that marvel was possibly backing away ? ..
i always make 2 piles at the LCS one for 2.99 books and one for 3.99 books it makes interesting debate when you look at the differences week to week
I am not saying that i will drop books because they are 3.99. But i will be holding them to a higher standard for me to keep reading them.
Nonsense tie ins gone
Useless filler issues before a major story change Gone
Follow up and aftermath books to cross overs that were months late because they wanted to print “I am Superboy”
Gone
what do you guys think?
A store getting shorted on a particular comic is usually the result of a SNAFU at the local warehouse.
is anyone else sick of the 3.99 books? i got the notion that marvel was possibly backing away ?
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I think it’s likely that most if not all of Marvel’s stuff will be $3.99 by the end of the year.
Blue Ray player. Finally.
I got the newest issues of X-Factor, Green Lantern Corps and Fantastic Four, though I’ve only read the first two.
I continue to enjoy the story in X-Factor, and the Alan Davis-inspired art of the present-day timeline portion.
I have two questions, though:
If Sean was a dupe, how was he conceived? I mean, when Jamie’s dupes are created, they’re created through some type of physical impact, and fully-formed as adults. How was one created as a blastocyst/embryo/fetus/baby? Is it that when Jamie er, spreads his seed, his “seeds” are dupes too? Even if so, don’t they have to combine with Terry’s eggs, which are not dupes?
Monet mentions she introduced Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, whom she convinced to do a movie together, and that after that, she next saw them “at the wedding”. Lenore remarks that Monet leads the most incredible life. But Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not married.
But Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not married.
Heh. She obviously was talking about some other wedding that she ran into them at and just assumed everyone would get the reference about which one was THE wedding…or she didn’t care if they got it. This was Monet, after all.
As to the whole Sean-Dupe thing, it’s important to keep in mind that it was a dupe that “conceived” Sean. Therefore all of the, uhm, seed was dupe…material. As to why/how this situation led to a dupe growing in Theresa like a pregnancy, I still don’t understand that myself. Maybe the version that we’ve gotten so far isn’t right. All we’ve got up to now is Jamie’s conclusions about what really happened. He could have been wrong.
However, assuming Jamie was right, then he could father a child in the normal fashion, but he couldn’t “delegate” that task to a dupe. It would have to be the original Jamie doing the deed. Jamie’s conclusion was that any dupe of his can’t father a child and would only produce a child-dupe and the child would be involuntarily re-absorbed by the “father” as soon as he touched the “kid.” Note: I know the Jamie “Prime” was not the actual “father” but he already absorbed the “father” earlier. Whether Jamie would have absorbed Sean if he hadn’t re-absorbed the dupe that “fathered” Sean is an interesting question…
As for the $3.99 books, I am staying away from as many of them as possible and in July I am ordering my comics from an online mailorder company that will save me 30% in costs (I hope).
Action Comics- Superman is like the economy, it has its ups and downs and I will go years without collecting, but when the old Legion showed up, it made me a fan of all the titles and I think the stories are still going strong.
Booster Gold – Not crazy about the new price and the Blue Beetle storyline. I do love Booster and I started off loving Blue Beetle in his old magazine. We shall see.
Flash Rebirth – I think I will have to re-read these once the story is done, right now I am just confused and bored.
Amazing Spider Man – Peter Parker has the worst luck in the world. I really enjoyed this issue.
Uncanny X-men – Im trying to enjoy it, but I think I fell out of love with the Xmen a few years ago, I dont collect any of the X-Titles with any degree of regularity.
X-Men Forever – Wow. Every so often I get a comic that is so unreadable I just toss it aside into a pile to give to my 7 year old nephew. This made the pile.
X-Factor – always a joy and the new art is wonderful. Perhaps the only X-Title I enjoy on a consistant basis
Walking Dead – always the first comic I read when it comes out. Amazing what good writing can do.
Was disappointed in the Star Trek novelization. Expected much more background and fill in from Alan Dean Foster.
Spoiled by his writing of the Animated series back in the day.
Cool final scene in the book though. ( I won’t spoil it you just have to read it.:)
Liked the movie much more than I expected. (as an old Trekker had my reservations about this reboot, but they did a good job.
I only go to the LCS once every 2 months or so and have all my comics held for me. I just find it easier that way i can read partial to whole arcs of a comic book. I don’t know how i survived going week to week for as long as i did.
I’m enjoying alot of the X-books lately which is honestly a bit of a surprise. Normally its on a bell curve with a few being sucky, a bunch being good and a few being awesome. The one book I was really excited for was X-Factor as I just picked up the last five issues (they were on BO for me). I’m really liking the direction, but worried as to how everything is going to pan out. I’m also concerned/curious as to what the main cast of the comic is going to be in the near future as there are many characters that are on the verge of leaving or joining the team (or so it seems). Also got Captain America (always awesome) the Avengers books (love the stuff with the hood and Dr. Strange) and waiting to see how everything pans out.
Looking forward to these books coming out: The Twelve (seems to get slower and slower as far as its release or did i miss the last issue(s)?) and Atomika.
Nothing bad…i think with money being in short supply that i’ve stopped buying any comics that i thought were iffy.
Hey guys,
Amazing Spider-man – (B+)I thought was good and curious to see where this road will ultimately go
Uncanny X-men – (B+) the sisterhood storyline was okay, I’ve enjoyed Psylocke’s comings and goings, but I really like Beast’s comments at the end of the issue.
X-factor – (A) the really only consistent X-book other than Captain Britain. I really have enjoyed the crazy journey of Layla and now Madrox, but I could easily have imagined myself in Darwin’s position (which made me chuckle).
X-men Forever – (A) this should be a fun series and I like the way it started. You don’t have to read X-men 1 – 3 just read the intro and accept it and move on. Can’t wait to see what twists and turns Claremont has in store.
Action Comics – (A) I’ve really enjoyed the turn that the superman books have taken. Since they brought back the number much like they did in the 90’s for the post-death of superman you get a sense of purpose in that series again.
Batman (A-) I say screw battle for the cowl this issue more or less said what needed to be said.
Green Lantern Corps – (A) It’s all good and my favorite DC title along with Green Lantern.
Flash Rebirth (A-) – Interesting to see how it all ends and in some sense I feel detached from this mini-series because I don’t know the history of the character that well…even though you get most of it as you read.
All in all a good week in comics
Hmmm. I continued with my disappointment with the third issue of Flash: Rebirth. I usually like Johns writing, but I find this story lacking. I would drop this title but for the fact that I have already placed my order for the rest of the series.
Take a book that’s popular but not a big seller like BG. Add on a second feature that most of the readers don’t care about so you can raise the price. Make sure more people drop it or don’t try it due to price.
That’s some sound financial thinking they got there.
Personally, I think this is kind of backwards.
It’s like a lot of people are kinda stuck in a rut and think comics can only be certain thing, about certain topics and in a certain format.
You can just as easily say, hey! Here’s additional material! And I got a lower page count cost!
Your talking to someone who goes back to the Astonishing Tales and tales of Suspense days, so it’s not about “what comics should be about”. And I don’t take out my calculator to factor the “page cost”. I just know that DC wants more of my money every month for an extra story about a character I don’t care about and is only tangentially related to the titular hero, whose story is the same length.
In the end I have a limited amount to spend each month, and increasing the price will make me rethink purchasing the book.
I know this is way over simplifying it, but when I compare the cost of comics vs books, the inflation stands out like a sore thumb:
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A Star Trek novel in 1984: $3.50. 2009: $7.99
A comic book in 1984: $0.75. 2009: $2.99/$3.99
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In the end, I think more people are balking at this increase because not only is it a $1, 33% increase (yeah, yeah, we saw a similar 33% increase like 30 years ago), but that the entertainment vs cost of a comic book is, well, crap.
Among other things, my Cover Girls of the DC Universe — Wonder Woman statuette was waiting for me when I got to my shop. What’s more, thanks to my shop having a nifty layaway service, the statuette was all paid for by the time it arrived.
Now, when is DC going to do the life-size DC Real Girls series, preferably starting with Power Girl? Granted, it might take a year to pay for it, but I’m game if DC is.
Flash:Rebirth, only because I am a Flashnatic
Wolverine – so, Old Man Logan will be finished as a one-shot at some time down the line? That’s what my LCS owner told me, anyway. That’s just sick if true.
Punisher – this will be one of the few titles that makes the cut if they all go $3.99. Thought I was going to drop the MAX title after Ennis left but it still has steam.
Batman and Robin – I just loooove Quitely’s art, so that might make the cut too!
$3.99 books might spell the beginning of the end of my monthly comic book habit, after 24 years of regular buying. Wish I were earning more over the years to support the cost, but the strain is just not worth it. Plus, my Spidey is once again dead to me and I’m not having fun anymore. That money is better spent filling back issue holes.
“…and I’m not having fun anymore.”
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Many a time over the years, I found the fun had left. Curiously, or maybe not so curiously, I think I found the problem to be me. When I was suffering from depression, comics seemed boring. Pretty much for the last 5-6 years, I have been depression free, and enjoying the heck out of comic books.
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Not to say you are suffering depression, or that the problem is you. It might just be that you and comics are having an unsteady relationship right now.
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Let’s start with what I didn’t get yet: The Unwritten. I was late getting to my shop, and this was sold out. And it was sold out at my back-up shop, too. I think Vertigo has a hit on its hands.
Did buy:
Flash: Rebirth 3 – I enjoyed this more than the other two issues, even though it’s still not what I want from a Barry Allen story. I am starting to see, if nothing else, that Johns has something in mind for the big finale.
Fables – part seven of the crossover, and still entertaining, if a bit all over the place. I also tracked down the third and fourth TPBs of Jack’s series in the library, and find them to be more fun than I expected, but rather lightweight.
REBELS 5 – All plot, all the time, to the detriment of the book. The cast is getting huge and the time spent on developing any of it, even the star, is tiny. There is potential here, but I don’t see it becoming fulfilled. Am dropping this one for now.
I think Craig’s inflation analogy is why I don’t buy comics unless they are compliation of multiple issues. I buy novels for the bang-for-your-buck factor. Or I’m just really cheap.
–Captain Naraht
The price of comics is much discussed today.
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At $2.99, a comic book is just over 13 cents a page. At $3.99 with extra pages, the cost is just over 13 cents a page. At $7.95 for 60-61 pages (the Disney comics from Gemstone, which are no longer being published), the cost is just over 13 cents a page. My LCS only sold 2 copies of each Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories–one to me, and one to the other customer. He tried, for a while, to carry an extra copy or two, but they never sold. They were just too expensive for people to want to give them a try, even though I’d argue that most of their stories were better than 75% of anything from the big two.
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And now DC is trying to package thicker comics (at the higher price), and customers are saying they cost too much. Many people have said that the big two should put out more anthologies, giving the customers more bang for their buck, but the resistance to spending more money per book is causing much turmoil, as evidenced in a post above.
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I certainly don’t have the answer, but I fear the day may soon come where monthly comic books are no longer published. Both DC and Marvel insist they are in the business of monthly comics for the long term, but sales levels continue to fall. Comic books have been a major part of my entire life. New comics, new creators, and new artists continue to bring me great delight. But perhaps that is a moot point.
actually i think the slight erosion of sales on a per title basis
is based not on the price of the comic
but mainly because of the number of titles being released
DC and Marvel are publishing more books per month then they ever did
throw in the number of non-big 2 titles on the racks
and it has been a very long time
since this many titles hit the racks each week
in the non-direct market and DC and Marvel’s total monthly $$$’s
are the best they have been in 12 years
you would have to go back to the 90’s “pretend” boom to see better overall numbers (and i mean pretend because the majority of those books were never read)
the real question is , why are DC and Marvel publishing so many titles , are they just not creating competition amongst their own titles?
the answer i am told is; the break even point of the monthly titles is anywhere from 7k to 25-30k depending on the talent involved
as long as the monthly title breaks even
DC and Marvel are ok
the 1st thing is the obvious trade collection
it seems every title ends up in trades
the 2nd is the new monies coming into DC and Marvel from the non-direct market (mainly via the trades , but there seems to be a little more life in the monthlies in the non direct market )–the non-direct market $$ are climbing at such a pace that soon they may be close to equaling the direct $$
the 3rd is the $$$ generated via licensing the material outside of the US
i have been told that this avenue ,
is another “cash-cow” for DC and Marvel and have never been better
the monthly comic book is not going anywhere
the companies will continue to use the monthly to recoup their costs and in many cases still make a profit
“look at the growth the US comic book market has had in the last 10 years
2000 $255-275 million
2001 $260-285 million
2002 $300-330 million
2003 $350-400 million
2004 $420-480 million
2005 $475-550 million
2006 $575-640 million
2007 est $660-700 million
2008 est 700 million
as a long time sellers of comic books-i have been doing conventions (and supplying other sellers )
for nearly 30 years
there are more readers now , then there has been in the last 20 years
we will never return to the early/mid 90’s
but during that time
the majority of books purchased were not read
and staying in the framework of the last 10 years
the growth has been tremendous
now much of the growth has been in the TPB format
but the singles still do well
the “doomsayers” have been “making noise” about the comic book marketplace falling
but never have any facts to back up their claims
yes the market is changing
single book sales will never equal what they did
comic book store sales may remain flat or decrease a bit
but the health of DC and Marvel in $$$ generated
is stronger then it has been in a decade
it’s interesting
to just take a look at Battle For The Cowl
and using Batman as an example
so we can safely state BFTC did 100,000+ monthly when non comic book stores are added in
in 1981 Batman averaged 110,000
in 1985 75,000
in 1987 193,000 (Frank Miller year one)
in 1997 59,000
in 1999 49,000
in 2003 145,000 (Jim Lee)
in 2007 69,000
(81,85,87 are the total sale #’s)
(97,99,03,07 are the Direct market only) (i used January for each year to take a sampling)
so all in all
pretty consistent
the new break even point for a monthly DC/Marvel title is anywhere from 7k to 25k
depending on the talent involved
why?
a few things
TPB sales obviously
sales in the non-direct market in the US (some of the Wildstorm “game” titles sell 50 to 100k in the non direct market , alone)
non USA sales of the material
with the new math (and the new ways to sell comic book material-TPB’s , licensing the material to be sold outside of the US) Marvel and DC
produce 3 times
as many titles a month as they have at pretty much , any time in their history
it is the reason their publishing profits last year
were at the highest levels in the last 10 years
DC probably had more profit from just TPB’s last year then their entire line produced 10 years ago
the market is changing
and soon the Direct market (Diamond)
will not be the biggest revenue generator for either DC or Marvel
another comparison is this
in the time frame of the last 5/6 years
CD/music $$’s have decreased 60% (and this is with even factoring in legal paid downloading)
general magazine $$$’s have decreased 75%
general book $$$’s have remained flat
newspaper $$$’s have decreased 40%
that comic books total $$$’s have risen in the last 5/6 years
is pretty amazing
this totally goes against the grain of what is going on with their competition (CD’s , Newspapers , General Mags , General Books )
all in all the Big 2 are in great shape right now
people have to stop with “the sky is falling”
But what if the sky IS falling?
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BTW, smarter…, the easy way to make a paragraph break here is to hit ENTER, then a period, then ENTER again.
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Also, you make some very passionate arguments, but it is hard to get through a long post such as yours without better punctuation. Even if the punctuation is not perfect, some punctuation is better than none. Cool?
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While the numbers can’t be argued, the fact is that the sales numbers in dollars is going up because of higher cover prices, not because of an increase in customers.
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Keep an eye on the sales of Batman over the next year or so. Don’t be surprised if they fall quite a bit. Sales levels on specific titles are usually dependent on the creative team, or if there is a crossover involved.
Small week for me both this one and last.
And I have to admit the last couple of weeks have been somewhat unfullfilling now that Trinity has concluded.
Trinity gave me something I could look forward to every single week. I’m not saying every single issue was an absolute all-out winner, but it was still a good series that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was something I could come out of my LCS each week knowing I could appreciate and be entertained by.
DC will still get my 3.99. I love the idea of the backups, if not the execution so far. I will support all books with backups just to keep them around. Maybe we will get something as cool as the Airwave backups in the Green Lantern book years ago.
Marvel upping prices with no additional content has saved me money, as those books are off my pull list.
As for Flash Rebirth, I just don’t know whats going to happen to Wally. Though a huge Barry fan, I am not sure how much this return needed to happen.
The Star trek adaption was lean. I would love to have seen a more fleshed out story. Mr David of course being my writer of choice for such a book.
Speaking of that, PAD, were you approached at all regarding the adaption? You seem like the clear choice to have done it.
Since we have a Claremont series of X-Men on where he would have picked up..
Is it possible for a Peter David series of the Incredible Hulk picking up where you left off? I recall the last issue of your original run was a summary of the comics you had planned.
Peter, know you didn’t draw it but you did inspire it I’m sure!
Well done on you comic being voted the best Marvel cover of all time!
• 
Nothing, yet, but I am excited to see Futurama uncancelled.
Also nothing yet as its only 10:30 am, but I’ve been catching up on the last few weeks, and wanted to say that I liked your recent Wolverine First Class story, especially the “Thor Heyerdahl” bit.
Big week for me today:
Flash Rebirth #3 I’m just not feeling it in this storyline
Red Robin #1 Interested to see Tim in the Red Robin costume
Batman 687 Winnick gets one shot with me
Spider-Man 597 Pretty good but 3rd artist for this arc?
Deadpool 11 Wearing thin
FF 567 Haven’t read it yet but enjoyed last ish
Wolverine 74 Tommy Lee Edwards art….awesome
X-Factor 44 Another great read
Walking Dead 62 Wow
Uncanny 511 why am I still buying this?
X-Men Forever #1 Not bad…bought it mainly to get signed next week at Heroescon
Ouch! I remember when picking up 11 comics cost me $3.85
Just picked up the novelization of the new Star Trek movie (Alan Dean Foster). And a copy of the new Star Trek magazine.
Not a big fan of fan magazines but I got this big middle-aged trekker fan in my church and she has mobility issues, and probably can’t get out to see the movie. So when I’m done, I’ll give em to her so she can put the new actors faces in the roles.
Anyone read the novelization?
–Captain Naraht
PAD
when i went into my local shop i found out that xfactor was short shipped the LCS got 0
was there a delay or is this diamond not able to fufill the LCS orders?
Wolverine 74 blah i hate filler books before a new story arc
Uncanny Xmen 511 real cool
Deadpool 11 deadpool vs hawke i mean bullseye
Flash Rebirth #3 i like johns and van sciver but why put a quote from ain’t it cool news on the cover ?
Punisher max 71 i will allways read the Pun frank rarely disappoints
Red Robin #1
Batman 687 couldnt DC resist the urge for a 3.99 book? or is this an event that they feel that they can tax us an additional dollar for?
Action 878 will read tonight
Beta Ray Bill Godhunter #1 will read saturday (its another whole week till stash day)
is anyone else sick of the 3.99 books? i got the notion that marvel was possibly backing away ? ..
i always make 2 piles at the LCS one for 2.99 books and one for 3.99 books it makes interesting debate when you look at the differences week to week
I am not saying that i will drop books because they are 3.99. But i will be holding them to a higher standard for me to keep reading them.
Nonsense tie ins gone
Useless filler issues before a major story change Gone
Follow up and aftermath books to cross overs that were months late because they wanted to print “I am Superboy”
Gone
what do you guys think?
A store getting shorted on a particular comic is usually the result of a SNAFU at the local warehouse.
is anyone else sick of the 3.99 books? i got the notion that marvel was possibly backing away ?
.
I think it’s likely that most if not all of Marvel’s stuff will be $3.99 by the end of the year.
Blue Ray player. Finally.
I got the newest issues of X-Factor, Green Lantern Corps and Fantastic Four, though I’ve only read the first two.
I continue to enjoy the story in X-Factor, and the Alan Davis-inspired art of the present-day timeline portion.
I have two questions, though:
If Sean was a dupe, how was he conceived? I mean, when Jamie’s dupes are created, they’re created through some type of physical impact, and fully-formed as adults. How was one created as a blastocyst/embryo/fetus/baby? Is it that when Jamie er, spreads his seed, his “seeds” are dupes too? Even if so, don’t they have to combine with Terry’s eggs, which are not dupes?
Monet mentions she introduced Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, whom she convinced to do a movie together, and that after that, she next saw them “at the wedding”. Lenore remarks that Monet leads the most incredible life. But Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not married.
But Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not married.
Heh. She obviously was talking about some other wedding that she ran into them at and just assumed everyone would get the reference about which one was THE wedding…or she didn’t care if they got it. This was Monet, after all.
As to the whole Sean-Dupe thing, it’s important to keep in mind that it was a dupe that “conceived” Sean. Therefore all of the, uhm, seed was dupe…material. As to why/how this situation led to a dupe growing in Theresa like a pregnancy, I still don’t understand that myself. Maybe the version that we’ve gotten so far isn’t right. All we’ve got up to now is Jamie’s conclusions about what really happened. He could have been wrong.
However, assuming Jamie was right, then he could father a child in the normal fashion, but he couldn’t “delegate” that task to a dupe. It would have to be the original Jamie doing the deed. Jamie’s conclusion was that any dupe of his can’t father a child and would only produce a child-dupe and the child would be involuntarily re-absorbed by the “father” as soon as he touched the “kid.” Note: I know the Jamie “Prime” was not the actual “father” but he already absorbed the “father” earlier. Whether Jamie would have absorbed Sean if he hadn’t re-absorbed the dupe that “fathered” Sean is an interesting question…
As for the $3.99 books, I am staying away from as many of them as possible and in July I am ordering my comics from an online mailorder company that will save me 30% in costs (I hope).
Action Comics- Superman is like the economy, it has its ups and downs and I will go years without collecting, but when the old Legion showed up, it made me a fan of all the titles and I think the stories are still going strong.
Booster Gold – Not crazy about the new price and the Blue Beetle storyline. I do love Booster and I started off loving Blue Beetle in his old magazine. We shall see.
Flash Rebirth – I think I will have to re-read these once the story is done, right now I am just confused and bored.
Amazing Spider Man – Peter Parker has the worst luck in the world. I really enjoyed this issue.
Uncanny X-men – Im trying to enjoy it, but I think I fell out of love with the Xmen a few years ago, I dont collect any of the X-Titles with any degree of regularity.
X-Men Forever – Wow. Every so often I get a comic that is so unreadable I just toss it aside into a pile to give to my 7 year old nephew. This made the pile.
X-Factor – always a joy and the new art is wonderful. Perhaps the only X-Title I enjoy on a consistant basis
Walking Dead – always the first comic I read when it comes out. Amazing what good writing can do.
Was disappointed in the Star Trek novelization. Expected much more background and fill in from Alan Dean Foster.
Spoiled by his writing of the Animated series back in the day.
Cool final scene in the book though. ( I won’t spoil it you just have to read it.:)
Liked the movie much more than I expected. (as an old Trekker had my reservations about this reboot, but they did a good job.
I only go to the LCS once every 2 months or so and have all my comics held for me. I just find it easier that way i can read partial to whole arcs of a comic book. I don’t know how i survived going week to week for as long as i did.
I’m enjoying alot of the X-books lately which is honestly a bit of a surprise. Normally its on a bell curve with a few being sucky, a bunch being good and a few being awesome. The one book I was really excited for was X-Factor as I just picked up the last five issues (they were on BO for me). I’m really liking the direction, but worried as to how everything is going to pan out. I’m also concerned/curious as to what the main cast of the comic is going to be in the near future as there are many characters that are on the verge of leaving or joining the team (or so it seems). Also got Captain America (always awesome) the Avengers books (love the stuff with the hood and Dr. Strange) and waiting to see how everything pans out.
Looking forward to these books coming out: The Twelve (seems to get slower and slower as far as its release or did i miss the last issue(s)?) and Atomika.
Nothing bad…i think with money being in short supply that i’ve stopped buying any comics that i thought were iffy.
Hey guys,
Amazing Spider-man – (B+)I thought was good and curious to see where this road will ultimately go
Uncanny X-men – (B+) the sisterhood storyline was okay, I’ve enjoyed Psylocke’s comings and goings, but I really like Beast’s comments at the end of the issue.
X-factor – (A) the really only consistent X-book other than Captain Britain. I really have enjoyed the crazy journey of Layla and now Madrox, but I could easily have imagined myself in Darwin’s position (which made me chuckle).
X-men Forever – (A) this should be a fun series and I like the way it started. You don’t have to read X-men 1 – 3 just read the intro and accept it and move on. Can’t wait to see what twists and turns Claremont has in store.
Action Comics – (A) I’ve really enjoyed the turn that the superman books have taken. Since they brought back the number much like they did in the 90’s for the post-death of superman you get a sense of purpose in that series again.
Batman (A-) I say screw battle for the cowl this issue more or less said what needed to be said.
Green Lantern Corps – (A) It’s all good and my favorite DC title along with Green Lantern.
Flash Rebirth (A-) – Interesting to see how it all ends and in some sense I feel detached from this mini-series because I don’t know the history of the character that well…even though you get most of it as you read.
All in all a good week in comics
Hmmm. I continued with my disappointment with the third issue of Flash: Rebirth. I usually like Johns writing, but I find this story lacking. I would drop this title but for the fact that I have already placed my order for the rest of the series.
Take a book that’s popular but not a big seller like BG. Add on a second feature that most of the readers don’t care about so you can raise the price. Make sure more people drop it or don’t try it due to price.
That’s some sound financial thinking they got there.
Personally, I think this is kind of backwards.
It’s like a lot of people are kinda stuck in a rut and think comics can only be certain thing, about certain topics and in a certain format.
You can just as easily say, hey! Here’s additional material! And I got a lower page count cost!
Your talking to someone who goes back to the Astonishing Tales and tales of Suspense days, so it’s not about “what comics should be about”. And I don’t take out my calculator to factor the “page cost”. I just know that DC wants more of my money every month for an extra story about a character I don’t care about and is only tangentially related to the titular hero, whose story is the same length.
In the end I have a limited amount to spend each month, and increasing the price will make me rethink purchasing the book.
I know this is way over simplifying it, but when I compare the cost of comics vs books, the inflation stands out like a sore thumb:
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A Star Trek novel in 1984: $3.50. 2009: $7.99
A comic book in 1984: $0.75. 2009: $2.99/$3.99
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In the end, I think more people are balking at this increase because not only is it a $1, 33% increase (yeah, yeah, we saw a similar 33% increase like 30 years ago), but that the entertainment vs cost of a comic book is, well, crap.
Among other things, my Cover Girls of the DC Universe — Wonder Woman statuette was waiting for me when I got to my shop. What’s more, thanks to my shop having a nifty layaway service, the statuette was all paid for by the time it arrived.
Now, when is DC going to do the life-size DC Real Girls series, preferably starting with Power Girl? Granted, it might take a year to pay for it, but I’m game if DC is.
Flash:Rebirth, only because I am a Flashnatic
Wolverine – so, Old Man Logan will be finished as a one-shot at some time down the line? That’s what my LCS owner told me, anyway. That’s just sick if true.
Punisher – this will be one of the few titles that makes the cut if they all go $3.99. Thought I was going to drop the MAX title after Ennis left but it still has steam.
Batman and Robin – I just loooove Quitely’s art, so that might make the cut too!
$3.99 books might spell the beginning of the end of my monthly comic book habit, after 24 years of regular buying. Wish I were earning more over the years to support the cost, but the strain is just not worth it. Plus, my Spidey is once again dead to me and I’m not having fun anymore. That money is better spent filling back issue holes.
“…and I’m not having fun anymore.”
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Many a time over the years, I found the fun had left. Curiously, or maybe not so curiously, I think I found the problem to be me. When I was suffering from depression, comics seemed boring. Pretty much for the last 5-6 years, I have been depression free, and enjoying the heck out of comic books.
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Not to say you are suffering depression, or that the problem is you. It might just be that you and comics are having an unsteady relationship right now.
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Let’s start with what I didn’t get yet: The Unwritten. I was late getting to my shop, and this was sold out. And it was sold out at my back-up shop, too. I think Vertigo has a hit on its hands.
Did buy:
Flash: Rebirth 3 – I enjoyed this more than the other two issues, even though it’s still not what I want from a Barry Allen story. I am starting to see, if nothing else, that Johns has something in mind for the big finale.
Fables – part seven of the crossover, and still entertaining, if a bit all over the place. I also tracked down the third and fourth TPBs of Jack’s series in the library, and find them to be more fun than I expected, but rather lightweight.
REBELS 5 – All plot, all the time, to the detriment of the book. The cast is getting huge and the time spent on developing any of it, even the star, is tiny. There is potential here, but I don’t see it becoming fulfilled. Am dropping this one for now.
I think Craig’s inflation analogy is why I don’t buy comics unless they are compliation of multiple issues. I buy novels for the bang-for-your-buck factor. Or I’m just really cheap.
–Captain Naraht
The price of comics is much discussed today.
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At $2.99, a comic book is just over 13 cents a page. At $3.99 with extra pages, the cost is just over 13 cents a page. At $7.95 for 60-61 pages (the Disney comics from Gemstone, which are no longer being published), the cost is just over 13 cents a page. My LCS only sold 2 copies of each Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories–one to me, and one to the other customer. He tried, for a while, to carry an extra copy or two, but they never sold. They were just too expensive for people to want to give them a try, even though I’d argue that most of their stories were better than 75% of anything from the big two.
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And now DC is trying to package thicker comics (at the higher price), and customers are saying they cost too much. Many people have said that the big two should put out more anthologies, giving the customers more bang for their buck, but the resistance to spending more money per book is causing much turmoil, as evidenced in a post above.
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I certainly don’t have the answer, but I fear the day may soon come where monthly comic books are no longer published. Both DC and Marvel insist they are in the business of monthly comics for the long term, but sales levels continue to fall. Comic books have been a major part of my entire life. New comics, new creators, and new artists continue to bring me great delight. But perhaps that is a moot point.
actually i think the slight erosion of sales on a per title basis
is based not on the price of the comic
but mainly because of the number of titles being released
DC and Marvel are publishing more books per month then they ever did
throw in the number of non-big 2 titles on the racks
and it has been a very long time
since this many titles hit the racks each week
in the non-direct market and DC and Marvel’s total monthly $$$’s
are the best they have been in 12 years
you would have to go back to the 90’s “pretend” boom to see better overall numbers (and i mean pretend because the majority of those books were never read)
the real question is , why are DC and Marvel publishing so many titles , are they just not creating competition amongst their own titles?
the answer i am told is; the break even point of the monthly titles is anywhere from 7k to 25-30k depending on the talent involved
as long as the monthly title breaks even
DC and Marvel are ok
the 1st thing is the obvious trade collection
it seems every title ends up in trades
the 2nd is the new monies coming into DC and Marvel from the non-direct market (mainly via the trades , but there seems to be a little more life in the monthlies in the non direct market )–the non-direct market $$ are climbing at such a pace that soon they may be close to equaling the direct $$
the 3rd is the $$$ generated via licensing the material outside of the US
i have been told that this avenue ,
is another “cash-cow” for DC and Marvel and have never been better
the monthly comic book is not going anywhere
the companies will continue to use the monthly to recoup their costs and in many cases still make a profit
“look at the growth the US comic book market has had in the last 10 years
2000 $255-275 million
2001 $260-285 million
2002 $300-330 million
2003 $350-400 million
2004 $420-480 million
2005 $475-550 million
2006 $575-640 million
2007 est $660-700 million
2008 est 700 million
as a long time sellers of comic books-i have been doing conventions (and supplying other sellers )
for nearly 30 years
there are more readers now , then there has been in the last 20 years
we will never return to the early/mid 90’s
but during that time
the majority of books purchased were not read
and staying in the framework of the last 10 years
the growth has been tremendous
now much of the growth has been in the TPB format
but the singles still do well
the “doomsayers” have been “making noise” about the comic book marketplace falling
but never have any facts to back up their claims
yes the market is changing
single book sales will never equal what they did
comic book store sales may remain flat or decrease a bit
but the health of DC and Marvel in $$$ generated
is stronger then it has been in a decade
it’s interesting
to just take a look at Battle For The Cowl
and using Batman as an example
so we can safely state BFTC did 100,000+ monthly when non comic book stores are added in
in 1981 Batman averaged 110,000
in 1985 75,000
in 1987 193,000 (Frank Miller year one)
in 1997 59,000
in 1999 49,000
in 2003 145,000 (Jim Lee)
in 2007 69,000
(81,85,87 are the total sale #’s)
(97,99,03,07 are the Direct market only) (i used January for each year to take a sampling)
so all in all
pretty consistent
the new break even point for a monthly DC/Marvel title is anywhere from 7k to 25k
depending on the talent involved
why?
a few things
TPB sales obviously
sales in the non-direct market in the US (some of the Wildstorm “game” titles sell 50 to 100k in the non direct market , alone)
non USA sales of the material
with the new math (and the new ways to sell comic book material-TPB’s , licensing the material to be sold outside of the US) Marvel and DC
produce 3 times
as many titles a month as they have at pretty much , any time in their history
it is the reason their publishing profits last year
were at the highest levels in the last 10 years
DC probably had more profit from just TPB’s last year then their entire line produced 10 years ago
the market is changing
and soon the Direct market (Diamond)
will not be the biggest revenue generator for either DC or Marvel
another comparison is this
in the time frame of the last 5/6 years
CD/music $$’s have decreased 60% (and this is with even factoring in legal paid downloading)
general magazine $$$’s have decreased 75%
general book $$$’s have remained flat
newspaper $$$’s have decreased 40%
that comic books total $$$’s have risen in the last 5/6 years
is pretty amazing
this totally goes against the grain of what is going on with their competition (CD’s , Newspapers , General Mags , General Books )
all in all the Big 2 are in great shape right now
people have to stop with “the sky is falling”
But what if the sky IS falling?
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BTW, smarter…, the easy way to make a paragraph break here is to hit ENTER, then a period, then ENTER again.
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Also, you make some very passionate arguments, but it is hard to get through a long post such as yours without better punctuation. Even if the punctuation is not perfect, some punctuation is better than none. Cool?
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While the numbers can’t be argued, the fact is that the sales numbers in dollars is going up because of higher cover prices, not because of an increase in customers.
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Keep an eye on the sales of Batman over the next year or so. Don’t be surprised if they fall quite a bit. Sales levels on specific titles are usually dependent on the creative team, or if there is a crossover involved.
Small week for me both this one and last.
And I have to admit the last couple of weeks have been somewhat unfullfilling now that Trinity has concluded.
Trinity gave me something I could look forward to every single week. I’m not saying every single issue was an absolute all-out winner, but it was still a good series that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was something I could come out of my LCS each week knowing I could appreciate and be entertained by.
DC will still get my 3.99. I love the idea of the backups, if not the execution so far. I will support all books with backups just to keep them around. Maybe we will get something as cool as the Airwave backups in the Green Lantern book years ago.
Marvel upping prices with no additional content has saved me money, as those books are off my pull list.
As for Flash Rebirth, I just don’t know whats going to happen to Wally. Though a huge Barry fan, I am not sure how much this return needed to happen.
The Star trek adaption was lean. I would love to have seen a more fleshed out story. Mr David of course being my writer of choice for such a book.
Speaking of that, PAD, were you approached at all regarding the adaption? You seem like the clear choice to have done it.
Since we have a Claremont series of X-Men on where he would have picked up..
Is it possible for a Peter David series of the Incredible Hulk picking up where you left off? I recall the last issue of your original run was a summary of the comics you had planned.
Peter, know you didn’t draw it but you did inspire it I’m sure!
Well done on you comic being voted the best Marvel cover of all time!
http://marvel.com/seventy_years/countdown/winners/covers/rank/1
None.
When will Fallen Angel show up again? I thought it was June but I’ve noticed that there is no current update. I really like this character!
Gayle
Reread the 1st TPB of Powers by Bendis and it’s really great! ;-D