tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post8342575879774816738..comments2023-09-20T08:18:51.678-04:00Comments on SHAZHMMM...: I take quarter water sold it in bottles for 2 bucks...Garrett Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09581824403171265877noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-5629874719854772672008-04-14T09:33:00.000-04:002008-04-14T09:33:00.000-04:00Yeah. Let me state that I still don't think the pr...Yeah. Let me state that I still don't think the printing quality is particularly good. I mean, the registration is on nowadays, or at least not noticeably off, but if you compare most comic books to something like the <I><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Bizarro-World-Various/dp/1401206573/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208179934&sr=8-5" REL="nofollow">Bizarro World</A></I> anthology (one of the most gorgeously printed books around), you can see a massive difference. They're printed at about magazine quality, on slightly better paper than most magazines.hillaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11115290007190070450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-19421152328946771562008-04-12T21:12:00.000-04:002008-04-12T21:12:00.000-04:00about the paper and printing....the big two compan...about the paper and printing....<BR/>the big two companies still use substandard colors and paper...i don't think the mark up is completely justified...compare DC and MARVEL titles to something like a jordan crane issue of NON...and the quality will be plain to see. (to be fair... an "alternative" press comic can be up to $6-7 bucks)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-52558822371522958512008-04-11T08:39:00.000-04:002008-04-11T08:39:00.000-04:00Here's what Paul Levitz has to say about trade sal...Here's what Paul Levitz has to say about trade sales affecting the status of an ongoing series:<BR/><BR/>* Johnny Blaze asked how do sales (both single issues and TPB) contribute to determining which books stay and which go (i.e. Exterminators).<BR/><BR/>We try to look at the combine profitability. Transmetropolitan was the first periodical that we were losing money on where the profits from a successful trade paperback series made the difference in keeping the periodical going some years ago, and now that’s not an unusual pattern, at least for Vertigo. Over on the DCU side, for the most part our successful collected editions are almost always collections of reasonably successful periodicals.<BR/><BR/><BR/>You can read the rest of the article here:<BR/>http://blog.newsarama.com/2008/04/03/paul-levitz-question-timeChrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15209187927624275026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-47865068883446069242008-04-11T00:24:00.000-04:002008-04-11T00:24:00.000-04:00First - thanks for addressing my suggestion! Feeli...First - thanks for addressing my suggestion! Feelin' a little warm inside...<BR/><BR/>Second -- Newsarama just recently posted the costs of reading the first half of Secret Invasion - http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=152565<BR/><BR/>No context or background, but it's interesting to see it tallied up like that.<BR/><BR/>I agree with Garrett that it's an addiction -- which is why I've been staying away from it. It's like going out for "one beer with the guys" which invariably turns into many, many more... Deep down, I'm a sucker for the crossovers and events -- if I start buying one comic, I'll easily get pulled into many more. And after my binge, I'll look at the scattered issues, like so many discarded beer cans, and shamefully wonder if it was really worth it.<BR/><BR/>Garrett, it sounds like you're saying that the industry has fully accepted the trades, seeing trade sales as the final step moreso than issue sales. If so, what sort of metric do the publishers use in deciding whether to maintain a series, or creative team, or storyline? Do they wait to see how the first trade collection sells before dropping the ax?<BR/><BR/>Dini's Detective Comics and All Star Superman were both high on my list when those runs started -- but the closest comic shop changed owners, and the new folks started focusing on card games - I don't even think they were stocking new issues after awhile. On the plus side, they were liquidating a lot of trades, so I was able to pick up things like We3, an Astro City collection and Robocop vs. Terminator (had to do it, but man, talk about hangover-like shame) on the cheap.<BR/><BR/>It's good to know that I'm not the only one preferring trades, and who thinks that newsprint is fine. And great bit of info from Hillary on the cost difference in different methods of printing.<BR/><BR/>I agree that successful digital distribution seems far off - I've got to have the book in my hand - but isn't the industry complaining about pirated digital copies being distributed via bit torrent, etc? How big of a problem is it really? Is it just a convenient scapegoat? And what about those "50 Years of Spider-Man" DVD-ROMs that collect an entire series? How are those doing?<BR/><BR/>Great discussion, good reading, way more than I can comment on. I love the big picture discussions - you guys obviously have the smarts to do it, which is not always the case with some reviewers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-5231466351424462122008-04-10T16:17:00.000-04:002008-04-10T16:17:00.000-04:00Computers are a good example of a product which ha...Computers are a good example of a product which has dropped in price over time. Ten years ago it would have been impossible to find a computer for under $1000, but now almost every manufacturer has an option for less than $700. Not to mention that the quality of the computer has only ever increased, which means you're not only paying less but you're also buying a lot more. Imagine if you could still spend just a quarter on a comic book that was of the highest print quality and also contained 1,000 times the content. It'd be like that.<BR/><BR/>However, I think this model only holds true for a small number of (primarily electronic) consumer products. As long as they keep finding ways to make the components smaller, cheaper and faster then there will always be room for the price to drop.Bobbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17846407732392176239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-9562937920772992032008-04-10T14:45:00.000-04:002008-04-10T14:45:00.000-04:00Yeah, Blue Beetle isn't really a trade type of com...Yeah, Blue Beetle isn't really a trade type of comic. I wouldn't call it disposable, but it's so light and frothy and close to the superhero comic ideal, and the monthly format only adds to the experience. Hopefully people are buying the trades, though, because damn next to nobody is picking up the single issues.Garrett Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09581824403171265877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-2236239878515672572008-04-10T11:03:00.000-04:002008-04-10T11:03:00.000-04:00Storage is also way easier with trades. And organi...Storage is also way easier with trades. And organization. You can see the spines.hillaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11115290007190070450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-72712145250429083272008-04-10T09:48:00.000-04:002008-04-10T09:48:00.000-04:00I purchase my comics from an online distributor fo...I purchase my comics from an online distributor for a couple of reasons. True, I miss the weekly interactions at the comic shop but the shops in my area are awful. Their discount programs are limited to laughable or they focus more on card games than comics. So the "how's that new Spidey selling" interaction is fun but not integral to enjoying the medium.<BR/><BR/>Also, Wal-Mart sells comics off the rack. And I've always thought a magazine format with three or four recent issues of different titles centered around a theme would be a hit (maybe two months after direct market shipping). The problem with grocery/book store sales is that profit margins for selling comics over, say, Maxim are much lower. If Marvel packaged an Avengers monthly with an issue of Iron Man, Captain America, New Avengers and Mighty Avengers, the reader would have a complete monthly experience in that corner of the Marvel universe for about $5. Throw in some ancillary stuff like creator interviews or message board discussions to break up the issues and that's a complete piece of media. For casual fans just interested in reading the stories, this would work. I don't know why the Big Two have not explored this yet.<BR/><BR/>And, yeah, paper is the killer in pricing. Printing on cheaper pound stock is not an option either with the level of artistic detail today. If you tried to print Hitch on newsprint, the pages would be a muddled mess. This is similar to DCs choice to print the New Gods Omnibuses on a lesser stock of paper because Kirby's art would appear awkward on today's higher stock.<BR/><BR/>Regarding trade v. singles, I do either depending on the series. For Fables, I'll buy the trades because the series is something non-comics readers can enjoy and the trades are easier to lend out. Something like Blue Beetle, I prefer the singles because, really, I'm the only person that will ever read that copy.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15209187927624275026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-12905691612986261702008-04-10T09:10:00.000-04:002008-04-10T09:10:00.000-04:00And when it comes to digital distribution being ch...And when it comes to digital distribution being cheaper, well, CDs still cost $12 to $18 in stores, but are uniformly ten dollars on iTunes. I'm not saying the physical product will ever get cheaper, but the price for a digital download (or monthly subscription to a publisher's site) will be less than what you'd pay at a store. I'd think, during the eventual transition period from print to digital, the big two would have to offer financial incentives to get people to make that change.Garrett Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09581824403171265877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-38262542688099510582008-04-10T07:36:00.000-04:002008-04-10T07:36:00.000-04:00The only thing I can think of that has dropped in ...The only thing I can think of that has dropped in price (and not much) is DVDs, which started out priced at $25 quite a bit and seemed to settle down to an average of $20 or sometimes less. That's not to say that's the list price, though.hillaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11115290007190070450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6486055300803742318.post-79281732300066249982008-04-09T17:48:00.000-04:002008-04-09T17:48:00.000-04:00I'm curious, albeit that kind of curious that mean...I'm curious, albeit that kind of curious that means "answer my question" and not "let me do the research myself" but has any item in the cultural landscape ever really dropped in price? It reminds me of the old arguments about CD manufacturing, and how people spent what seemed like years talking about how it would drop eventually. The only time it ever seems to actually happen is when the item gets replaced by a newer version, or completely discontinued. Comics strike me more like cheap trade paperback books--constantly experiencing a price increase due to the vagaries of inflation and so on.<BR/><BR/>On that note, I can't really see the argument that digital distribution would lower the price--the same doesn't seem to be happening in the music industry. Of course, following the music industry is even more of a surefire bad idea than the current three dollar pricetag on Aquaman: Swords of BanaltisTucker Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10793079084633425826noreply@blogger.com