News on price cuts and the ending of co-features comes to us from DC's The Source blog:
DC COMICS DROPS PRICES ON $3.99 TITLES; MOVES TO $2.99 PRICE POINT FOR ONGOING COMIC BOOK SERIES
New York, October 7, 2010– Beginning January 2011, DC Comics will implement a line-wide pricing adjustment, lowering the prices of all standard length 32-page ongoing comic book titles currently priced at $3.99 to $2.99, it was announced today by DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio.
“Today’s announcement re-affirms DC Comics’ commitment to both our core fans and to comic book store retailers,” said Jim Lee, DC Comics Co-Publisher. “For the long term health of the industry, we are willing to take a financial risk so that readers who love our medium do not abandon the art form.”
“As Co-Publishers, we listened to our fans and to our partners in the retail community who told us that a $3.99 price point for 32 pages was too expensive. Fans were becoming increasingly reluctant to sample new titles and long term fans were beginning to abandon titles and characters that they’d collected for years.” said Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher. “We needed a progressive pricing strategy that supports our existing business model and, more importantly, allows this creative industry to thrive for years to come. With the exceptions of oversized comic books, like annuals and specials, we are committed to a $2.99 price point.”
When taking into account mini-series, annuals and specials, more than 80% of DC’s comic books will be priced at $2.99.
As of January, the following titles standard length ongoing titles, previously priced at $3.99 for 32 pages/22 story pages, will be priced at $2.99 with 32 pages/20 story pages:
American Vampire;
Batman: The Dark Knight;
Batman Incorporated;
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors;
JSA All-Stars.
As of January, the following licensed titles, previously priced at $3.99, will be priced at $2.99:
Gears of War;
God of War;
Kane & Lynch;
Ratchet & Clank.
As of January, the following ongoing titles previously priced at $3.99 for 40 pages/30 story pages including co-features, will no longer include co-features and will be priced at $2.99 for 32 pages/ 20 story pages:
Action Comics;
Adventure Comics;
Batman: Streets of Gotham;
Detective Comics;
Doc Savage;
Justice League of America;
Legion of Super-Heroes;
The Spirit.
In January, five books are $3.99 for 40 pages/30 story pages:
Batman: Europa # 1
First Wave # 6
DCU: Legacies # 9
Weird Worlds # 1
World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen
The following oversized anniversary issue will be $4.99 for 48 pages/38 story pages:
Hellblazer # 275
“Fans of our co-features should stay tuned. Some of these characters will find a new platform,” said Dan DiDio. “Going forward, mini-series and special events may feature a different price point and page count to best allow writers and artists the flexibility of format and story pages they need to tell their stories best.”
In case their was any confusion, DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee has confirmed that "every 32pg standard comic book" will be $2.99. The real news is more that DC plans to maintain the $2.99 price point that most of the publisher's books already currently boast. In a market where Marvel's biggest books are $3.99 in print, and (in the case of yesterday's day & date release of Ultimate Thor #1) $3.99 for digital releases too, there is solace in keeping the bar at three dollars, especially on hotly anticipated upcoming books like Morrison's Batman Inc. and David Finch's Batman: The Dark Knight.
Also important to note is that while prices are dropping, so are page counts. 22 pages of story currently vs. 20 under the new January-launching plan, though whether that extends to the rest of the line is still to be seen. Wizard of Oz artist Scottie Young weighs in on the change, saying, "DC is dropping their prices from 3.99 to 2.99. But cutting off pages from 22 to 20. That's a page rate I would hate lose every month."
The news about co-features is most intriguing. With the excellent recently launched backups spotlighting Jimmy Olsen in Action Comics and The Atom in Adventure Comics, along with the forthcoming Detective Comics Commissioner Gordon co-feature by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla, I can not imagine DC is going to let those fall by the wayside. Perhaps a move to a monthly anthology? Or could those co-features expand and become exclusive digital offerings? Marvel has played with the digital-exclusive format in the past, and with all the new digital comics infrastructures popping up, it might be a great way for the "lesser known" properties to flourish.
But not to be outdone, Comic Book Resources is reporting that Marvel's SVP of Sales and Circulation David Gabriel has also announced that starting in January, new books will no longer be debuting at $3.99, as has become the norm in the past 18 months, attributing the sales of digital comics, including the successful digital launch of yesterday's Ultimate Thor as part of the decision. When Marvel's December solicitations were released last month, the details for Ultimate Spider-Man #151 (which appears to keeping its new numbering) surprised folks with a 32-page, $2.99 price point. On his message board, Brian Michael Bendis said the price was incorrect, but perhaps the sales department was being sneakier than anyone realized. Or maybe it was just a typo.
Look for more clarity as New York Comic-Con kicks off for the weekend, iFanboy will be there to bring more on these developments as they unfold.
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HOLD THE LINE AT $2.99!
See everybody? Bitching works.
Wow the consumer one for a change? I guess August seriously hit hard.
While it sucks that the page count is going down, I’m glad that the big two are back to 2.99.
Damn, I wish Detective and Action would have kept its co-features, Francavilla on Gordon sounds so awesome.
I hope the DC books that were still $2.99 aren’t going down to 20 pages also. I’m sure I’d get used to it happening that way though, as opposed to growing accustomed to paying $3.99 for every title I read which would have ending up being the norm if somebody hadn’t stepped in the shit finally.
The only thing I’m really disappointed about is a couple of the back up features. We didn’t even get enough time with Jimmy Olsen to let it grow on us, and I was really excited about having a Commissioner Gordon backup story as well.
I’m very happy about this though!! I’m going to be pulling a fucking BOAT LOAD of Batman books soon I now I don’t have to feel reluctant as to leave a few of them on the rack.
I wish MARVEL would at least drop Amazing Spidey back down to $2.99 too. Damn Marvel, get with the times. Comics that are way to expensive just aren’t in style anymore, guys. You guys have been copying off of DC for years upon years now, maybe it’s time that you copied them on this maneuver as well!!
Dear lord, I meant to say won. Ugh.
Marvel is copying them on this as well.
This is all very interesting. I’m looking forward to a Jason Wood article on this. But nice speculation what to do with the backup stories, Ben. I, for one, would love a DC anthology series, especially with the likes of Jimmy Olsen, Gordon, and The Atom.
@ottobot no. writing letters and emails, and cutting back on your weekly pull list works:)
Gee maybe the worst comics sales ever had something to do with this
Glad to hear that DC is considering its customer base. Backup stories are nice, but I buy the comic for the main story usually. So basicaly this announcement really means that the big 2 are freaking because sales are trending waaaay down?
It does suck that the page count is going down, and for artists as well. Maybe its time they try to negotiate something different? I know decades of precedent is tough to change, but the pay structure of metered labor sets itself up for this kind of thing. Its the same discussion that proffessional photographers have with day rates vs. creative fees. When your money is tied up in something that can be metered instead of the creative value you always get the shaft.
Is this a pre-pre April Fools joke?
I would settle for $3.25 if the price must go up. Back in the 80s and 90s the price would always go up a quarter, it wasn’t a big deal, but the dollar jump is too much
@Heroville: "Hold the line at $2.99" needs to be a slogan on a T-shirt.
@roi blasphemy!!!
Losing 2 pages doesn’t seem too bad. I’m hoping this means fewer delays on books.
Francavilla Gordon, where did you go? 🙁
Bravo DC! that means I’ll keep buying your books in issues… As for Marvel, I’ve been reading more and more of their titles in trade/hardcover.
@greenbillblue.. see using logic, that would make perfect sense! Less art/story for a lower price would in turn give the fans their titles on time right? I’ll believe it when I see it!
Thank You DC! Now to celebrate this fact I’m going to blindly jump on 2 titles that I wouldn’t normally buy!
@vadamowens – People wrote letters?
Well I was being partially cheeky, but I’m assuming there was quite a bit of writing involved whether it be letters or emails regarding how unaffordable our hobby has become. That’s how you get your Representative or Senators attention, so I’m pretty sure that and low sales is what got their attention.
I guess like myself many of us were just not buying the 3.99 titles and when we did they were so much easier to cancel when they dipped in quality.For the last little while many titles have looked intriguing but if they were priced at 3.99 they rarely got chosen.
How long will this last though?
I’m fine with the price cuts, to the point where I may pick up a few more books in the coming months instead of stalwart 16. But am I reading this right, Theyre getting rid of the co-features? Damn I was really looking forward to that Commisioner Gordon Co feature. still I guess this may be one of those situations where "You dont look a Gift Horse in the Mouth"
As a trade waiter, this does not effect me much (unless they lower trade prices) but I’m glad that they are aware of market conditions and are open to planning accordingly. Also wonder if and how this will effect digital costs.
Damn, I enjoyed the Jimmy Olsen co-feature.
this is great news. I can only imagine that a lot of comic fans were like me and cut back a ton on books because of the price hike. Any time any one complained, people would just say, that’s the price now. So, I spoke with my wallet and went from 30+ books down to 15. I may increase once again.
This clearly is in response to the low sales numbers the past few months. I’m not sure how much fans complaining factored in. If sales didn’t change any and profits went up, all the complaining in the world wouldn’t matter. DiDio mentioning that people aren’t trying out new titles says it all. They’ve taken notice of the backlash that the $3.99 price tag received. I give them credit for realizing the mistake they made. Losing pages sucks. Mostly for the creators. But as a reader, I’m more than fine with sacrificing two pages to save $1 an issue. In general, I just can’t get past a $4 comic book.
awwww I only got Adventure Comics for the Atom backup D:
SWEET! NOW I CAN BUY SOME JEPH LOEB COMICS! #sarcasm (yeah i used twitter lingo there)
Really hoping Atom, Comissioner Gordon and Jimmy Olsen find a home online.
It’s nice to see them responding to a weak market by lowering prices rather than raising them. I know I probably would’ve bought Time Masters if it was 2.99 (though still not clear if this will include all 32p minis).
I’d rather pay $2.99 for 20pg than $3.99 for 22pg (though I don’t mind paying 3.99 for 30pg). But I guess all 32pg DC comics will have their story content cut by 2 pages now? Or just on the ones listed?
On Skottie Young’s comment, that may suck for some creators but I also figure the lower page count will allow them to keep deadlines better. Guess it depends on the speed of the artist. Good for fans of consistent art.
Two pages to save a buck? I’m cool with that.
I’ve already made the swing to trades, so no big deal to me.
Though losing two pages is a real bummer.
Very interesting development if Marvel’s digital distribution really did undercut any dollar loss they’d sustain with the price drop. I’m more liable to believe it’s them covering their flipflop after 18 months of swearing to us they couldn’t stand or afford to sell comics any cheaper.
Maybe it’s a combination of the two.
You can all thank me for not buying the Big Two’s $3.99 comics. I assume they are replacing two pages of comic with two pages of ads? It’s not like there was a page in the middle they can rip out.
This is very surprising. I almost wonder if I would have noticed the 2 less pages if it hadn’t been pointed out. I am super disappointed about Commissioner Gordon’s back up, which I think fits well at the back of Detective. Didn’t Detective have lots of extra stories for much of the early 2000s, with no price? Maybe the paper wasn’t as nice. Any one else remember the 87-part "The Jacobian" that backed up the Rucka/Martinborough Detective issues? Or Winick’s Josie Mac?
Yay now everyone can stop bitching :). Actually this is cool news, now I won’t have to cut back as much on the pull list.
@Ottobot: I’ve always heard Quesada say Marvel’s charging 3.99 because that’s what people will pay, not because they have to charge that much. Bendis has pretty much said the said the same thing.
While I enjoyed Sts. of Gotham w/ more story, DC is pulling a classy movie here. Losing 2 story pages for is bad but it is better than a buck higher on a few titles for 22 pages of art/story.
I am likely dropping (the not so) Amazing Spider-Man at the end of 2010; I will pick up another DC book in its place.
DC 1 readers 1 Marvel still 0.
Matthew
Eh, kind of a mixed bag announcement. I actually didn’t mind paying $3.99 for the books with a co-feature, but it was too much to pay for a regular length book. On the other hand, I’m not crazy about comics getting any shorter even if it’s only by 2 pages, but I guess it beats a $1 price increase. At least DC doesn’t seem hellbent on gouging their addicts for as much money as they can like Marvel does.
I will be rewarding DC by trying more DC books
The funny thing about people complaing how Amazing Spider-Man is 3.99. If you do the math, when Amazing Spider-Man came out three times a week, that was 9 dollars, where as it coming out twice a week is 8. Its a dollar less
@bigben – But shouldn’t it be about value compared to price rather than just price? It’s 3 issues rather than 2 for just a dollar more. Plus, Amazing jumped to $3.99 back in June so it’s been $12 a month for a bit. It has an 8 page backup so at least ppl have always been getting some extra pages for the extra dollar.
It seems like people sometimes focus on the price tag because it’s higher and don’t consider the amount of content or the personal value of that content. I’d kinda prefer individual issues were more expensive and longer. I’d buy less titles but I’d get more value out of each one I bought.
Well $3.99 comics were never a problem for me. Since I get little (in comparison to most of you guys) it never bothers me too much. But why shouldn’t I be happy though? I have been getting a lot of $3.99 ongoings lately so my weeks could be $3-$4 cheaper then they are now. Of course that is a great thing.
So finally!!!!!! We never, ever…..EVER have to hear people bitch about this EVER again.
Ok, now all we need are 99¢ digital comics and all will be right with the world!
now I’m seriously considering dropping all my marvel books and just going with DC, good for DC!!!
2 pages may not be noticed by us but it will be by freelancers who just got a 10% paycut. If sales dont go up accordingly i wonder if we will see more cuts. When i first started reading comics in the 70’s comics were only 17 pages. They had been cutting page counts for years until they added pages and raised prices.
and its not just saving the costs of creating 2 pages, its also 2 more potential ad pages. Not a huge offset, but several thousand dollars a month.
Love the price drop, the 2 page drop sucks, but I wouldn’t pay a whole buck for two more pages. I like the comment about that may allow artists to make deadlines better. It was just plain stupid to raise the price to $3.99 during an economic crisis, never mind it was the largest price jump as 25-50 cents would have gone over better, not a whole buck. I wonder if they’ll drop the price on their $8 DC Comics Presents and Vertigo Presents titles that start coming out this month? It sucks about the Detective backup though, I was looking forward to that. Here’s hoping it becomes a mini or ongoing of its own.
Hm, hasn’t Conor been lecturing on how this would "Never happen?"
Glad prices are lower. Though I pay $1.50 per comic through http://www.marvel.com/subscribe Prices were never my problem. (Options)
http://412.laxallstars.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ric-flair-woooo-779108.jpg
@Stasisbal I usually don’t focus on price tag, I’ve been buying JLA since the price became 3.99. I was just merely pointing out a fact that I think few people thought of.
The 2 pages less is equivalent to a price raise to $3.25 really. Which is okay.
Also the Marvel announcement reeks of a last minute "oh shit!" decision.
@KickAss: I don’t believe I have, no.
I would buy the hell out of a monthly anthology book featuring 3 or 4 ten page stories.
i hate back-up stories nearly as much as paying $1 more for my books. this is a double-whammy.
i’m now going to look at which Marvel books i can drop with a view to picking up some of them reasonably priced DC works.
unprecedented!
bravo, DC.
Finally….maybe I’ll head back to the store now.
Top work by DC. At the very least I’ll be going back and picking up Emerald Warriors which I skipped because of the price point.
As someone else said, Marvel’s announcement seems to be a less than impressive reaction to DC’s.
Six months from now I think we’re all going to be looking at our new comics saying "…I thought they were going back to $2.99?" In other words, I think DC and especially Marvel are still going to be selling many comics at that pricepoint. Really Marvel has always been the biggest culprit here, but if you look at the DC announcement it only effects a handful of titles. DC was never the problem, especially not when they almost always gave you extra pages whenever the comic was more than $2.99. Really the only 22-page $3.99 comics from DC haven’t even come out yet: Batman Inc and Dark Knight.
And Marvel’s announcement is really pathetic in my opinion: "new books will no longer be debuting at $3.99"? So that means that we’ll still get $4 books from established series? Does that also mean that Marvel can start charging $4 on issue #2 of a series, after a $3 #1 issue? I applaud them for trying to match DC, but the announcement is kinda insulting to my intelligence. How could Ultimate Thor play a factor into this? They’ve had pre-orders for the print version of that for a long time now. And if it has to do with the digital sales, uh, how could they even evaluate that information when the digital release has only been out for 24 hours? No company moves that fast. In my opinion, Marvel’s had this idea for a while too, but they just scrambled to release this statement after DC went first.
On the other hand, though, if Ultimate Spidey (not really a "new" title) is going back to $3, then that’s a great move.
I’m rather surprised. If I had to guess, I’d say this is a response to at least two things: the weak august sales and the increased competition from digital. You guys should thank graphic.ly (perhaps at their booth at NYCC this weekend.)
@Kickass – I too seem to recall a fair amount of "this is just the way it is, it’s never going backwards, comic companies can’t make money at the $3 price point, it’s all the paper manufacturer’s fault, you should all be buying digital comics anyway and don’t complain about the prices on those either" kind of talk.
I’m glad my personal boycott of $4 titles held firm, and at least in my eyes, has some sort of impact on DC’s decision. I couldn’t be happier that I’m back onboard the majority of DCU titles and am looking forward to reading Emerald Warrior and Batman Inc.
The two page loss doesn’t bother me that much, as I’ve been rereading books from the 70’s and 80’s where the norm alot of times was 17 pages and they were just as entertaining as current ones. It’s all about pacing and storytelling. I’m sure the writers and artists will adjust, as it’s not like they’re going to be randomly ripping out two pages so our books will no longer make any sense.
@SkottieYoung – Welcome to the real world, dude. In case you hadn’t heard, there’s some sort of a recession going on out here, and there are a whole heckuva lot of Americans working harder and longer for less money and less benefits. I’m glad you have the benefit of a gilded soapbox to stand on, but for the rest of us this is just the status quo.
Add my voice to the cries of ‘well done, DC’. Having been a kid in the days of 17pp story content, 20pp is fine by me. Drop the odd splash page and we get the same content.
The potential for more artists hitting deadlines also pleases me greatly. If they weren’t taking on more pages than they could cope with, they’ll likely be able to pick up something elsewhere to take up the slack.
And wouldn’t it be great if they used of the extra pages to bring back lettercols? I’d write all the time, promise!
And a Jimmy Olsen and co anthology? Yes please.
I wonder if the kids’ books will go back to $2.50 and the nice-smelling, non-glossy paper.
There are 3 ways to increase profitability.
1. Increase sales. despite trades and digital this isnt really happening in a significant way. Trades and digital pull a lot of people from the monthlies which isnt a real increase and drives down ad revenue. There is no demonstrated way to significantly increase the audience. digital is the best but but it hasnt happened yet.
2. Increase prices. This worked for marvel far better than dc. Theres no sign that the avengers books will drop in price. Dc tried to add pages to offset it and its sales dropped anyway. Marvels big books still sold well, it just seemed to hurt sales fro new and lower tier books. People were willing to pay 3.99, they just cut other books to make up for it.
3. cut costs. Cutting page count saves many thousands of dollars a month. i dont think this timing is coincidental either. the standard way of cutting costs is laying off people which was announced a week ago. if sales dont pick up i expect page rates to be cut, fewer exclusive contracts which means no health insurance option. I wonder if they wont go so far as to lower the discount by a few percent to the LCS.
None of this is really a "we hear your pain" this is an "ok we will just squeeze the money out of other people" Marvels reaction is all pr because their 3.99 books sold more. If marvel doesnt cut page count, i wonder if it will drive creators over there?
I’m glad it’s dropping in price. Not so much with less pages. Just means I can buy more issues for my weekly allotment. I think this is a good thing in the end.
and as far as maybe this will mean more books will be out on time, the artists hurt most by this will be the ones getting books out on time. mike norton, don kramer, doug mankhe, guys like that. this also means 2 pages less to sell. Hitch and EVS and mc niven will just wind up doing a few more covers which pay better anyway and piut the interiors on the back burner anyway.
dont get me wrong, im glad im paying less though only 2 books i currently read and one book im planning on reading are affected. im saving 3 bucks a month. i guess ill buy one more book.
@TomO I don’t think there is any reason to take a swipe at a creator, especially one who has been nice to our community, over his opinion of other ramifications of this move. He is no doubt aware that we’re in a recession and has every right to bemoan the fact that he and his colleagues wil feel the effects of this. He isn’t saying it’s a bad idea he’s just pointing out that this move isn’t all wine and roses and creators will be effected financially by this. I imagine if someone told you that you were going to be losing 10% of your pay to make way for cheaper products you might be unhappy too.
Bravo DC! I’ll be slashing 3 Marvel titles and picking up 4 DC ones.
@D – Skottie Young is a grown man, I’m sure he can deal with the fact that I responded to his public statement with a public statement of my own. Last I checked, neither of us worked at DC Comics, so who knows what page rate policies were adjusted or put into place with the rollout from January.
I know subtelty is lost on the internet, but it just sounded like more DC bashing from a Marvel guy again.
At least DC is trying to do something that positively affects the books we read, rather than the "increase the price and the sheeple will just keep buying our books" mentality that we’ve seen elsewhere.
I’m disappointed about the back ups, although I understand that DC say they’ll find another platform for them. A Jim Gordon one-shot by Snyder and Francovilla would be no bad thing. On losing 2 pages of comic an issue I’d say for the consumer it’s probably not too terrible. As mentioned it might well help with scheduling,. More than that though, it might help the reader feel more up with all the product out there. There are a hell of a lotg of books out there and I often feel I might be missing out on something great. Today I was tempted by Ult Thor and (bizarrely) Deadpool Max (for the Baker art), but had too many other comics to feel I could justify it. This kind of price drop might free me up to broaden my pull list.
@tomo
You whats funny? You think comic creators are a bunch of rockstars who get their weight in gold for pay. 😀
With all due respect, Scottie Young’s argument makes no sense. "But cutting off pages from 22 to 20. That’s a page rate I would hate to lose every month." If an artist was capable of producing 22 pages a month prior to this change, he or she can continue to produce 22 pages a month and they will still get paid for it. If you’re getting paid a page rate, by definition you get paid per page produced.
For example, I’ve heard it said that Mark Bagley can draw 30 pages a month. Do you think he’s going to suddenly drop his productivity to 20 pages a month just because DC decides to publish 20 of those pages in collected form instead of 22 pages? That makes no sense.
What is more likely to happen is that artists, not wanting to take a pay cut, will continue to produce at the same rate they were producing before. DC will just publish more issues every year. Instead of the normal 12 issues a year, we will likely see 13 issues. (12*22=264 vs. 13*20=260) Maybe that 13th issue is an annual done by the regular artist instead of a fill-in artist.
As for Bendis, one of the reasons I dislike the man is because of a Word Balloon podcast where he said that $3.99 books sell better, and therefore, all books would eventually be $3.99. Aside from being the definition of a specious argument, Bendis often doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Thank you, DC!
Sad to see the co-features go, but if DC does decide to release them digitally, I would most certainly buy them, especially with how quality they’ve been. I would also buy an anthology issue. Glad to see DC and Marvel think of their consumers and find ways to work within economic limitations. I hope it works out for all parties involved.
Also, I think we’ll see even more annuals and specials hit the racks come this spring. 🙂
Now I’m even more excited about Batman Inc, The Dark Knight, and the next Tec arc!! I am gonna be picking up Batman & Green Lantern books by the bundle!! ACTION is good shit too!! I’m kinda upset about dropping American Vampire now though. I would’ve stuck with buying it in issues if I knew that it was going back down to $3.00!!!
Also, losing a few pages could make artists finish a bit quicker then usual.
Which would be nice considering how many artists have delayed a ton of books for DC this year.
Good news, good news. It will certainly get me to buy a few more books. See, it works.
It’s great that i will be paying 2.99 for almost all my mainstream comics. But, I want my Olsen and Gordon back-ups!!! I’m willing to pay extra for them. Hopefully they will continue.
as many others have said, i’ll def be more willing to check out a new title or mini series with the price being reduced by a dollar. I’m very frugal when it comes to comics, so every buck counts!
@kickass It was more along the lines of talking about how pointless it is to post complaints about something that we couldn’t do anything about.
Great news: losing 25% of the price and only 10% less pages? I’m in!
I thought that I wasn’t going to miss any of the back ups but I forgot about Fracovilla’s Gordon one!
That should be a series in itself really. Or how about just pack all of the back ups in an anthology series? Have Olsen’s, Gordon’s, and others. Maybe bring back ‘DC Comics Presents…’?
@vadamowens – But we did do something about it.
I think this is an excellent move by DC. I hate paying $3.99 for a comic book. That’s just too much. As for the reduction from 22 to 20 pages, I wish they wouldn’t do that – but it’s a fair compromise. And as for the backup stories, I’m glad they are gone.
@tomo No, the current economic climate did something about it.
This should Definitively settle the debate- that the last increase in comics was simply due to "what it takes to produce a comic in today’s market and make a profit.
Anyone who maintained that theory was obviously flat out wrong.
Period.
p.s.
Now I am just waiting for the vindication that b/c of "server costs" and "digitizing" digital comics should be rpiced at the same point as print- with materials- distribution and retail factors considered.
@vandamowens – True enough, but that didn’t stop the gaming segment from posting an increase in sales this year. So as bad as the economy was, it was the consumer choosing to put their entertainment dollar into a different venue that caused the reversal. If we just would have continued on as if nothing had ever happened when the pricing went up, nothing would have changed…bad economy or no.
Does anyone else see this as the publisher’s hitting "the wall" that’s been talked about for years, where they really can’t raise prices anymore to milk the current readership and need to expand their marketing (such as digital day and date) in order to increase actual readers? Also, boo on Marvel for not lowering prices on current $3.99 titles, only new titles are going down and a select few that are already that price.
@ctrosejr it doesnt matter how many pages an artists can draw, its how many pages they are PAID to draw that determine their income. If pages are cut the artist just cant just draw 2 pages of another book. Its not like there are that many assignments to just do 2 pages. This is 2 pages of lost income.
if these artists have to spend time finding new work to make up for lost work (like every freelancer i know who has lost income due to a client cutting back) then dont expect any increase in speed. I know freelancers who sepnd as much as a third of thie time hunting down work.
@abstractgeek–i totally agree with that. I do A LOT of freelance work, and half the time is spent looking for new work, invoicing, and doing other things related to individual projects that isn’t necessarily the work. I’d rather have one 20 hour project that 2 10 hour projects any day of the week.
@ctorsejr–if an artist tries to take a 20 pg script and turn it into 22 pages of art, he’ll not only piss off his editor, he’ll ruin the entire production flow, and be taking those first steps towards burning the bridges of their career. No one wants to hire a freelancer who refuses to follow directions and goes outside of the project requirements….Its just as or more important than the actual work. And like abstract says, its not that easy to just make the hours up somewhere else. Its why so many creatives who work on day rate scales are starting to refuse the dreaded "half day rate".
artists need to get away from accepting page rates and try for creative fees, but thats a separate discussion
Keep in mind Fell was only 16 pages and that comic was close to perfect, if not perfect.
Not all comics are Fell though . . .
For those of you who did the personal boycott, be proud (But I still hated hearing your bitching . . . ahhaha).
BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK! 😀
The 1.99 image books packed a lot into each issue using pages with lots of panels. We wont get splash pages cut, we will get story pages cut. those sell for more money and the artists wont want to lose any of that revenue.
The 1.99 image books were a great idea, fell was a great book, i love reading it every month…
oh wait…
at least i can read cassanova…
from marvel…
at 3.99…
I can live with that 🙂
For regular artists though, I think it’s a fair point that most of them will be relatively unaffected by the reduction in pages. Say your average regular artist on a book can only manage 11 issues per year at 22 pages per issue, that works out to 242 pages per year. With only 20 pages per issue they’ll be able to do 12 full issues, which comes to 240 pages per year. That’s less than a 1% change, I think they’ll be fine.
@tomo Interesting. Thank you for bringing that to my attention:)
so i guess the pandering to the sell point having to be @ 3.99- was just bullshit…
This is nice to hear.
But my opinion of the integrity of both has been damaged and that will diminish my purchasing behaviour.
@Conor – Were too! 😉
Nice to see all the “it’s 3.99, deal with it” people were just flat out wrong. The industry is apparently smart enough to realize that losing readers is bad thing. Ask anyone who doesn’t read comics what they think of the price point.
@JonSamuelson, tahts some pretty bug iff there. and even assuming that the average artists can only do 11 issues. that means a different artist, the one who did that 12 issue loses loses 100% of his income.
While this si great news for thiose who spend money on comics, it is not for those who make them. Dc isnt just taknig a hit for us. they are cutting costs by cutting work and cutting jobs. And im not trying to paint them as evil. they are doing what everyone who is facing the tough economy has done.
This is not just a"cut the price by 25% cut the content by 10%, what a bargain". all of the books that were 2.99 are losing the pages too without any price drop. Like i said im saving maybe 3 bucks a month, but considering i buy maybe 10 2.99 books, then im losing a book a month in page count. Sounds like a wash in terms of real value, but its a wash im ok with.
I really need to check my spelling before i hit submit