COMICS PORTAL: Crossing the Line at $9.99!

As pointed out in the Major Spoilers review, Avengers #50 came with a price tag of $9.99. Granted it was a triple-sized issue, but now that the $10 mark is in our sights, can issue prices continue to rise beyond that?

WHOEVER HITS THE HIGH PRICE FIRST!

As a long-time comics fan, I’ve watched it happen many times. Somebody breaks the price barrier, then everyone else follows suit!

This time, it’s Marvel. Of course, Avengers #50 was also Avengers #750 if you include all the previous issues regardless of their numberings. It was a big event. It’s just that these prices used to be in the realm of annuals and such, not an individual issue.

I have to warn you that the next time we see an issue selling for $9.99, it won’t have the same number of pages involved. There will be fewer pages, but the price will remain the same.

That’s how the industry functions.

WHY THE PRICE INCREASES

I know that I’ve discussed this several times previously, but I always have to allow for someone who comes to my column for the first time. Some people think comics companies and creators make them simply for the love of them, that money has nothing to do with it. Think again!

There are serious reasons behind price increases. It’s important that we cover the important ones.

First of all, it’s pretty obvious that the cost of printing has gone up. If you ever take a publication to a printing press, you’ll be aware of that. That includes the advances of technology, and that requires printing companies to update their machinery to keep up with it all.

Then there’s the cost of transporting the product once it’s ready for delivery. These days, there’s no guarantee they’ll arrive on time, either, given the increase of items being sent rather than being picked up in person. And if they are published outside the country, your publication could run into long lines of materials trying to enter the country. Yikes!

Now, it’s important to realize that the talent involved in making comics wants to get paid, too! And those people have to pay bills and raise their families! This always includes writers and artists and letterers and colorists! People often forget that there are editors and other management involved, and they also need to receive money! As someone who has worked behind the scenes in Indie comics, I can tell you that all these levels matter!

And I bet that you just might be able to recognize other professionals related to the industry who need to be paid as well! I can’t mention them all!

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ADVERTISING?

As someone who used to work at a “known” daily newspaper, I’m familiar with how things function in publications.

Every copy of the publication that ran off the press would lose the company money, the saying goes. Advertisements made up for a lot of those losses.

In previous days, we used to see plenty of ads in issues of comics. And it wasn’t only for other books coming out from the same company, either!

I belong to a Facebook group that occasionally sends around copies of ads that used to run in comics. They’re fun to read. You may remember some of them—they sold sea horses, exercise equipment, and certain toys. I actually ordered some sea horses from a comics ad once. They didn’t survive long once they arrived, sadly.

Now, if you look at DC comics recently, you might see some adverts for The CW shows based on their properties, including Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow. As happy as I am to see them there, I don’t think they raise as much money as ads from other companies would. This is kind of like borrowing money from your sister—they just don’t charge as much to other members of the “family.”

It kind of points out just how small the audience for comics has shrunk. There just isn’t as many eyeballs on them as there is on the TV or even ears listening to the radio.

NOW WHAT?

As I mentioned previously, now that the $10 barrier has been shattered, look for the next regular (non-annual or unusual) book that costs $9.99 to not have as many pages of new content in it. And that trend will continue with the book after that and the book after that.

Then we’ll reach the point where we’re used to paying $10 for comics, and then it will go up again, maybe to $12 or even $15 an issue.

When I talk with some of my friends about this, they recoil in horror if I point this out. “Never!” they say. But they weren’t around when comics used to cost 99-cents an issue, then burst through the dollar barrier. I’ve been around long enough to see that happen again and again.

The thing is, I want my comics! I’m willing to pay a significant amount of money per issue to get them! As I always say, though, if they reach a certain level too quickly, well, there are lots of other ways I could spend my entertainment dollars besides comics. And this goes for every fan of comics.

It’s just important that the industry do it slowly and do it in a way that we as fans feel is justified. If they rocket up to $15 an issue in a hurry, well, they’ll lose a lot of the fan base, and it won’t mean the industry will still have a future.

So, watch things go along at a very slow pace. However, it will increase. You can count on that… especially if a high rate of inflation continues!

Also, we need to continue to bring in more new fans! Every person who comes in and buys comics gives the books we buy a better chance of being around in the years ahead.

What do you think? What is the price limit beyond which you’re not willing to pay for an individual issue of a comic? Are there some books you are willing to pay more for than others? What can the industry do to keep costs down? Whatever your thoughts, be sure to share them in the space below!

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