value in todays comics ?

wisper · 09-17-2008, 11:09 AM

so i go to my local CVS to get an eye drop scrip filled...and looking @ madazines..there in hard plastic case..is spiderman with a little toy spiderman...ROWE ? manfacutre from canada..it retails for $5.99

when i was young I bought comics because I could afford them on my kid budget..

but today indys don't compete witht he big two..their are the same retail price without any insentive then storyline/character..why

why no extras..seems that indys are just ego trips...click groups...not business @ all..like a hobby business that I have stated b4.
kinda garage comics publishers

where's the VALUE > ! ?

MrGranger · 09-17-2008, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wisper

seems that indys are just ego trips...click groups...not business @ all..like a hobby business that I have stated b4.
kinda garage comics publishers

where's the VALUE > ! ?

Wisper...I think indy books (and novels for that matter) have always been 90% hobby/for-the-love-of-it ventures. Everyone wants to be in the top 10%, but only 10 in 100 can be.

**L Jamal** · 09-17-2008, 11:29 AM

Look at the direct market The top 4 publishers account for over 90% of the business.
The rest of the direct market is the other 10% and that's well over 100 publishers. However, there is more to the comic book market than stores. The online audience is much larger than the DM and more willing to buy outside of superheroes

wisper · 09-17-2008, 01:42 PM

so the word is why try new ideas/broden our creative promotions...seems a catch 22 mind set...like lost b4 the journy..

MTV never had that complex thought..they went and did something new..and made history $$ doing it.

might as well do a journel with comic characters...this is me geting a speeding ticket..this is the cop..he was a cameria on a pole by a dodge caravan dude with dark windows clicking the camera..

oh.....and this happened in da hood 2 weeks ago too...lifes a hoot!

mattchee · 09-18-2008, 02:41 AM

I think a lot of indie publishers are either banking on movie options for their properties, or the reverse, making money continuing already established properties from other media (note the success of "last season" Buffy series, Angel series, upcoming Farscape series, etc).

The price of comics, i think, make them impractical to be what they were to us when we were kids. Its unfortunate but true.

**Buckyrig** · 09-18-2008, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattchee

The price of comics, i think, make them impractical to be what they were to us when we were kids. Its unfortunate but true.

I don't see this happening, but in the mainstream, as a reader I'd like to see a paring down of titles and maybe a replacement of a lot of monthlies with higher-page-count, lower-cost-per-page bi-monthlies and/or quarterlies. Sort of a newer version of the Golden Age books like All-Star Comics, Action Comics, Detective Comics, Flash Comics...

I just don't think that most readers would be cool with dropping down to just one Superman, Batman, Spider-Man monthly and the loss of some second-tier titles altogether.

**L Jamal** · 09-18-2008, 10:34 AM

I think it was Jimmy Palmiotti that suggested just that years ago.

Pnce the 32 page comic breaches the $4 barrier, I think they are going to have to seriously re-evaluate the format. Between the printing costs and the industry rates something will have to give to reduce the price. I think ultimately, we'll see more content and more ads and an increased effort to increase readership outside the DM to justify increased ad costs. I think the ideal format would be 64 pages of content with 30 pages of ads for around $4-5. With this format, I think you'll see anthology style family books. With Batman, you'd get Batman, Nightwing, Robin. Detective might have Batgirl, Birds of Prey.

Marvel tried this with it's Universe books (X-Men Universe), but those were just reprints and have few ads.

wisper · 09-18-2008, 12:12 PM

whats the rule of thumb for trades..page out vs words...Jon Dahl has a contest using 1500 word short story format...Has anyone made a comic book using 1500 word count on one story line...with art work / not 100% sequal work but sequal's for dialog and storyline background imaging..with bottem of page aditional text like a 3rd person talking (story).. a book more then a coimcs format.

Sean C · 09-18-2008, 04:31 PM

I work at a CVS - that's supposed to be a toy/comic pack, so they can charge more. Smaller places like CVS do tend to be a bit pricier for most things, too. I remember those things when they came in; they charged the same for a mini-comic/gro-sponge FF package.

09-17-2008, 11:09 AM	#1
wisper Isreal/Iran October 2008 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Send Money. Maryland 20910 ,U.S.A. Posts: 3,557	value in todays comics ? so i go to my local CVS to get an eye drop scrip filled...and looking @ madazines..there in hard plastic case..is spiderman with a little toy spiderman...ROWE ? manfacutre from canada..it retails for $5.99 when i was young I bought comics because I could afford them on my kid budget.. but today indys don't compete witht he big two..their are the same retail price without any insentive then storyline/character..why why no extras..seems that indys are just ego trips...click groups...not business @ all..like a hobby business that I have stated b4. kinda garage comics publishers where's the VALUE > ! ?

09-17-2008, 11:29 AM	#3
L Jamal member of G.R.O.S.S. Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: right here Posts: 10,574	Look at the direct market The top 4 publishers account for over 90% of the business. The rest of the direct market is the other 10% and that's well over 100 publishers. However, there is more to the comic book market than stores. The online audience is much larger than the DM and more willing to buy outside of superheroes __________________ L Jámal Walton UNGOODWISE \| MY BLOG \| SELF-PUBLISHING COMICS

09-18-2008, 10:34 AM	#7
L Jamal member of G.R.O.S.S. Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: right here Posts: 10,574	I think it was Jimmy Palmiotti that suggested just that years ago. Pnce the 32 page comic breaches the $4 barrier, I think they are going to have to seriously re-evaluate the format. Between the printing costs and the industry rates something will have to give to reduce the price. I think ultimately, we'll see more content and more ads and an increased effort to increase readership outside the DM to justify increased ad costs. I think the ideal format would be 64 pages of content with 30 pages of ads for around $4-5. With this format, I think you'll see anthology style family books. With Batman, you'd get Batman, Nightwing, Robin. Detective might have Batgirl, Birds of Prey. Marvel tried this with it's Universe books (X-Men Universe), but those were just reprints and have few ads. __________________ L Jámal Walton UNGOODWISE \| MY BLOG \| SELF-PUBLISHING COMICS

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09-17-2008, 01:42 PM	#4
wisper Isreal/Iran October 2008 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Send Money. Maryland 20910 ,U.S.A. Posts: 3,557	so the word is why try new ideas/broden our creative promotions...seems a catch 22 mind set...like lost b4 the journy.. MTV never had that complex thought..they went and did something new..and made history $$ doing it. might as well do a journel with comic characters...this is me geting a speeding ticket..this is the cop..he was a cameria on a pole by a dodge caravan dude with dark windows clicking the camera.. oh.....and this happened in da hood 2 weeks ago too...lifes a hoot!

09-18-2008, 02:41 AM	#5
mattchee Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Santa Maria, CA Posts: 425	I think a lot of indie publishers are either banking on movie options for their properties, or the reverse, making money continuing already established properties from other media (note the success of "last season" Buffy series, Angel series, upcoming Farscape series, etc). The price of comics, i think, make them impractical to be what they were to us when we were kids. Its unfortunate but true.

09-18-2008, 12:12 PM	#8
wisper Isreal/Iran October 2008 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Send Money. Maryland 20910 ,U.S.A. Posts: 3,557	whats the rule of thumb for trades..page out vs words...Jon Dahl has a contest using 1500 word short story format...Has anyone made a comic book using 1500 word count on one story line...with art work / not 100% sequal work but sequal's for dialog and storyline background imaging..with bottem of page aditional text like a 3rd person talking (story).. a book more then a coimcs format.

09-18-2008, 04:31 PM	#9
Sean C Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 82	I work at a CVS - that's supposed to be a toy/comic pack, so they can charge more. Smaller places like CVS do tend to be a bit pricier for most things, too. I remember those things when they came in; they charged the same for a mini-comic/gro-sponge FF package.