Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2022 14:31:17 GMT -5
I realise this is old ground and has been discussed many times, but I am always keen to read other people’s thoughts about a topic that isn’t going anywhere.
I was chatting with a friend recently about how the price of some things has increased while others have decreased. We were on about things that we spend money on in our leisure time.
We discussed the cost of DVDs and Blu-rays in modern times. When I was a kid, something like E.T. or 1989’s Batman could be £12-13 or more on VHS. Hell, even a rental from Blockbuster could be quite pricey. Nowadays, I can pick up a DVD for £10 or less. Some DVDs may be five or six quid. Stores such as HMV will sell films - not necessarily classic films but modern ones - that can be in the 3 for £10 range. With the low prices of streaming, I don’t find buying/watching films to be a burdensome expense. I often spent £16 (in the 90s/early 2000s) or more buying the likes of WCW videotapes via mail order. Now, £16 might get me 3 DVDs.
And that brings me to comics as we are the CCF after all. They’re not cheap. They don’t necessarily represent value for money, not because of the stories (which can be good), but due to other factors, more on that in a moment.
Will the bubble burst? Is it guaranteed that comics, certainly in their current form, will always survive? Could they become extinct, or semi-extinct, e.g. graphic novels rather than monthly periodicals?
(This topic is from a US/UK perspective, I have no idea how comics are doing in Europe, Japan, etc)
When I was a kid, 2000 AD was 32 pence. It is now £3.50 - for 32 pages. That means 4 issues of 2000 AD costs you £14 a month. I know things rise in price. This isn’t 1989 or 1995 or 1997 anymore. But the reality of prices is neither here nor there, if my wallet can’t afford it, it cannot afford it.
Then there are US periodicals. I’ll pick an arbitrary year or two, such as 1990-92. Back then, £5 got me WWF Magazine (£1.95), WCW Magazine (£1.95) and a copy of, say, Action Comics (80p). That’s £4.70 in total - and the 30p change could probably have been spent on a chocolate bar. Well, in 2022, £5 will get me one - just one - comic. Comics can be £3.50 or £4. So it’s expensive. Please don’t think I consider myself to have a God-given right to entertainment. Not true at all. I would like a 1950s Porsche, but that isn’t going to happen. That’s fine. I’m merely making a comment on prices.
If I wanted to buy four US comics one week, we’re talking nearly £14. £28 if you have four issues of 2000 AD saved for you. How is that sustainable?
They say nature finds a way. Well, comic fans often find a way to afford these things - as I did. Until I couldn’t.
It becomes more problematic with the “writing for the trade” mindset of the modern era. I can’t just decide to get one issue of The Incredible Hulk in a month because the story appeals to me, not when it could be Part 2 of a 6-issue arc, which also ties into “War of the X-Realms Age of Apocalypse: Epilogue” or something. Also, it does not feel like value for money when some modern comics - thinking Marvel and DC here - don’t really do thought balloons and captions with the same frequency as they used to. There often are not letters pages, although you will sometimes find them. And we’re not even getting “extras” like Bullpen Bulletins and Stan’s Soapbox.
In the 90s, an 80p issue of Uncanny X-Men could take half an hour to read. Nowadays, a £3.30 or £4 X-Men comic, with fewer word balloons and zero extras, could be read in ten minutes. And I’m not even getting a complete story in most cases. No wonder folk buy the trades.
I don’t blame the industry for this. The consumer is not privy to overheads. I mean, the price of fish and chips is rising in the UK, which causes all of us to complain, but then owners of fish and chip shops will, as they have done via the media, talk about how vegetable oil costs and the costs of potatoes are rising. We’re not getting fish and chips for £1.95 like we used to. It could be £4 or more. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I realise chip shop owners can’t give us the £1.95 meal now as they would go out of business; but, still, the consumer complains because £4 out of your wallet is tough for a few chips and a piece of cod.
But I feel there’s logic and there’s emotion. The logical side of me knows that £3-4 is no doubt the cost a comic store has to charge for what is a niche product. And that is the way it is. The emotive side of me just looks at a comic and says, “No way can I afford that.” The will and desire to read Judge Dredd or the Hulk is “overruled” by the cash in one’s wallet. I get that.
However, put the logic aside for a moment: why are people, and I get that the audience might be shrinking, so willing to pay £3 or £4 (or whatever your currency is) for a monthly periodical which, quite frankly, takes less time to read than it used to, isn’t always a complete story and doesn’t offer the same value for money that, say, a novel or streaming platform gives you?
Will it last? Will the bubble burst? Are monthly periodicals going to end up like the dinosaurs, or, like certain animal species today, will they survive, but with fewer numbers? What do you think?
I was chatting with a friend recently about how the price of some things has increased while others have decreased. We were on about things that we spend money on in our leisure time.
We discussed the cost of DVDs and Blu-rays in modern times. When I was a kid, something like E.T. or 1989’s Batman could be £12-13 or more on VHS. Hell, even a rental from Blockbuster could be quite pricey. Nowadays, I can pick up a DVD for £10 or less. Some DVDs may be five or six quid. Stores such as HMV will sell films - not necessarily classic films but modern ones - that can be in the 3 for £10 range. With the low prices of streaming, I don’t find buying/watching films to be a burdensome expense. I often spent £16 (in the 90s/early 2000s) or more buying the likes of WCW videotapes via mail order. Now, £16 might get me 3 DVDs.
And that brings me to comics as we are the CCF after all. They’re not cheap. They don’t necessarily represent value for money, not because of the stories (which can be good), but due to other factors, more on that in a moment.
Will the bubble burst? Is it guaranteed that comics, certainly in their current form, will always survive? Could they become extinct, or semi-extinct, e.g. graphic novels rather than monthly periodicals?
(This topic is from a US/UK perspective, I have no idea how comics are doing in Europe, Japan, etc)
When I was a kid, 2000 AD was 32 pence. It is now £3.50 - for 32 pages. That means 4 issues of 2000 AD costs you £14 a month. I know things rise in price. This isn’t 1989 or 1995 or 1997 anymore. But the reality of prices is neither here nor there, if my wallet can’t afford it, it cannot afford it.
Then there are US periodicals. I’ll pick an arbitrary year or two, such as 1990-92. Back then, £5 got me WWF Magazine (£1.95), WCW Magazine (£1.95) and a copy of, say, Action Comics (80p). That’s £4.70 in total - and the 30p change could probably have been spent on a chocolate bar. Well, in 2022, £5 will get me one - just one - comic. Comics can be £3.50 or £4. So it’s expensive. Please don’t think I consider myself to have a God-given right to entertainment. Not true at all. I would like a 1950s Porsche, but that isn’t going to happen. That’s fine. I’m merely making a comment on prices.
If I wanted to buy four US comics one week, we’re talking nearly £14. £28 if you have four issues of 2000 AD saved for you. How is that sustainable?
They say nature finds a way. Well, comic fans often find a way to afford these things - as I did. Until I couldn’t.
It becomes more problematic with the “writing for the trade” mindset of the modern era. I can’t just decide to get one issue of The Incredible Hulk in a month because the story appeals to me, not when it could be Part 2 of a 6-issue arc, which also ties into “War of the X-Realms Age of Apocalypse: Epilogue” or something. Also, it does not feel like value for money when some modern comics - thinking Marvel and DC here - don’t really do thought balloons and captions with the same frequency as they used to. There often are not letters pages, although you will sometimes find them. And we’re not even getting “extras” like Bullpen Bulletins and Stan’s Soapbox.
In the 90s, an 80p issue of Uncanny X-Men could take half an hour to read. Nowadays, a £3.30 or £4 X-Men comic, with fewer word balloons and zero extras, could be read in ten minutes. And I’m not even getting a complete story in most cases. No wonder folk buy the trades.
I don’t blame the industry for this. The consumer is not privy to overheads. I mean, the price of fish and chips is rising in the UK, which causes all of us to complain, but then owners of fish and chip shops will, as they have done via the media, talk about how vegetable oil costs and the costs of potatoes are rising. We’re not getting fish and chips for £1.95 like we used to. It could be £4 or more. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I realise chip shop owners can’t give us the £1.95 meal now as they would go out of business; but, still, the consumer complains because £4 out of your wallet is tough for a few chips and a piece of cod.
But I feel there’s logic and there’s emotion. The logical side of me knows that £3-4 is no doubt the cost a comic store has to charge for what is a niche product. And that is the way it is. The emotive side of me just looks at a comic and says, “No way can I afford that.” The will and desire to read Judge Dredd or the Hulk is “overruled” by the cash in one’s wallet. I get that.
However, put the logic aside for a moment: why are people, and I get that the audience might be shrinking, so willing to pay £3 or £4 (or whatever your currency is) for a monthly periodical which, quite frankly, takes less time to read than it used to, isn’t always a complete story and doesn’t offer the same value for money that, say, a novel or streaming platform gives you?
Will it last? Will the bubble burst? Are monthly periodicals going to end up like the dinosaurs, or, like certain animal species today, will they survive, but with fewer numbers? What do you think?
