Just bought my last monthly comic book. I'm done. No Joe, even for a buck.

[Kaisugi]

I just thought I'd share this. I went to my comic shop, one I've been going to for over a decade, and I canceled my pull. I wasn't getting that many books anymore to be honest, just GIJoe and Transformers. I used to get lots of manga, Powers, Batman, Spiderman, Star Trek, and so on... But I had to end it. IDW's continued push to raise prices, $3.99 a book now, and constantly spin things off into multiple titles really made me realize my money has to be spent elsewhere. I started to notice how many pages were full of ads and crap at the end of the book.. well sometimes as many as 10 pages! That's like 1/3 of the book. It's the same crap as a movie theater - $9 for a ticket, $6 popcorn, $3 Water and you have 10 minutes of regular TV Commercials to sit through before the previews even start!

And in the end, my last book was TF Sideswipe, just to end that storyline once and for all. Lame as it was, it's done.

I had the new $1 Joe book in my hand too, but I put it back. I flipped through it, gave the art a look, and just left cold and empty. I didn't read it, so forgive me if it was interesting, but the art failed to catch my eye for even the low low price of a buck.

So now, I'm going to pick up the occasional TPB - Adam Warren's "Empowered", and Yukito Kishiro's "Alita Last Order." And of course I'm getting the new Marvel Reprint TPBs starting next year, since it's much cheaper than filling in the pile of missing single issues. I am looking forward to those very much.

So I just wanted to share. Thanks for reading, and to all of you that can still afford it, enjoy!

[The Batman]

I have been collecting from my local comic book store now for 8 years. I have all Batman, all the Joes, and Transformers up until now. I have like 3 to 4 comic boxes full of comics and since it's not too very expensive right now. I will continue to collect. If the GI Joe ones don't pick up alot of speed I can kick them to the curb... but Batman continues to get interesting especially with the R.I.P series right now. But I spend around 20 - 40 bucks a month on comics so not too terribly bad.

[xcobrasoldierx]

wish i could spend 40 a month on books i spend about 120.00 i need to cut down on titles i got about 21 boxes of comics id like to get rid of some

[Shin-Gouki]

A long time ago I decided I was done. At this point I only get Trades of storylines that catch my interest. In my opinion the Comics industry has gone way down hill.

[spazzy]

I only have my joe comics left, sold the rest, I still will get Joe books, but that is all, although I do pick up the trade of Ult Spidey.

[jdizz76]

A friend of mine from work collects comics, while I read comics; we have an arrangement where we each take turns buying monthly issues and I keep the one's that really catch my attention, while he keeps the rest. In the end, we save a little money and it works out for both of us.

I'm not a collector, but I do enjoy the read...

[Apeiron]

I stopped collecting over a year ago. After it started hitting $50, almost half of which was tax, at the comic shop I knew it was time to stop. I now only buy the occasional comic book from the book store.
I got tired of all the large scale in-house crossovers so close to each other and all the weird need to retcon things. It's out of control.

[artiepants]

when everything hits $3.99 i'm out, i'm already not picking up stuff i would be otherwise because of the cost (i bailed on IDWs TF when the jacked the price up ~ plus the slloooooooow, drug-out, meandering story, passing on the Joe books for the same reason)

[Griff]

Comics are just too expensive these days. I killed everytitle i had and ditched all my comics cept for my warlands comics. Imma finish dark tide rising then Im done. Everything is too ridiculous these days. Screw comics hell screw toys and going to the movies too.

[Imperial_Ozma]

funny I'm pretty sure here in Canada comics have gotten less expensive after we hit parity with the US for several months... used to be a comic would be 2.99 US and close to 5 dollars CDN now a lot of comics are only 3.99 in both currencies so I'm happy. And the GST has gone down too, so all is good!

I'm not a heavy comic book reader though, I do pick up trades mostly and only follow a few more titles regularly.

Supergirl
Deadpool
Trinity (which is a year long series then it will end)

to those I will add the 3 GI Joe titles that will be a total of 9 issues a month, which works out to about 37 dollars with tax... but once Trinity is over... I'll be back down to 5, so assuming prices stay about the same I should be looking at about 20 dollars a month.

[Shin-Gouki]

when everything hits $3.99 i'm out, i'm already not picking up stuff i would be otherwise because of the cost (i bailed on IDWs TF when the jacked the price up)

That was one of the reasons I got out as well, and man I was pissed when IDW got Joe too.

[Bernit69]

I gave up on all comic books for about 10 years now. I wonder how much money I saved.

[B.A.T.]

I gave up way back when Howard the Duck showed up in Ghost Rider. I collected the entire series plus all the crossovers only to get kicked in the nuts in the end. Friggin Howard The Duck!?!? As if!!!

[Kaisugi]

I think every comic line has its own "Howard the Duck" moment. It's like tv's "Jumping the Shark." Even my #1 manga, Battle Angel Alita, has strayed into vampires with recent TPBs. Vampires? Space Vampires to be correct.

In Japan you can buy a 300 page comic for $2.50 or $3. Yes it's black and white and on newspaper quality paper, but it's 300 pages! There has to be some middle ground for the industry. Just overnight see how many people also say they're done or cutting down? Are you reading this Big-Comic-Industry?

[Imperial_Ozma]

In Japan you can buy a 300 page comic for $2.50 or $3. Yes it's black and white and on newspaper quality paper, but it's 300 pages! There has to be some middle ground for the industry. Just overnight see how many people also say they're done or cutting down? Are you reading this Big-Comic-Industry?

See the difference is that Japan has a much higher circulation in a smaller area. Also those big monthlies are not meant to be kept (and someitmes they are more then 300円 as you imply). They are meant to be read then recycled... then you pick up the tankoubans when they came out. I know I used to collect one monthly magazine for years and I kept all the issues it became impossible for me to manage them in a large canadian house... in a Japanese apartment you'd run out of room very fast. They are totally different, plus more pages but more advertisements as well.

Bigger circulation + less steps in supply chain + less on fuel + being recycled and no collector value = epic savings.

I'm sorry the Japanese comic industry and japanese mentality, can not be applied to american collectors.

On Howard the Duck, I like how during the Marvel Civil War the US Gov't Declared that he officially dosn't exist.

[Dark 5cythe]

screw printing. digital distribution all the way!

[QBERT]

fact: only 10% of all comic book shops in the USA have remained opened since the early 80's.

[Kaisugi]

My point about Japanese comics is just from living over there. It was much more fun to get a book, read and enjoy it, then if it wasn't anything spectacular, pitch it in the recycle bin just like any other magazine. It may be apples and oranges as the world is right now, but wouldnt you like to be able to do that here? Yeah, they have lots of ads, but when you've got 300 pages, it really doesn't affect you as much as it does when you have 30. I'm just saying that IF we had enough people in our culture that enjoyed reading comics we could have the same scenario. I'm not saying manga is better than US comics, not at all. I like US style art and storytelling too. Recently whenever I got a new book, having paid over $4 with tax, and sat down to read it, I'm done in less than five minutes and left saying "Really? That's all?"

[Ewokhunter92]

The last comic story line I bought was Age of Apocalypse. After all that crossover hell, I gave up.

[Imperial_Ozma]

My point about Japanese comics is just from living over there. It was much more fun to get a book, read and enjoy it, then if it wasn't anything spectacular, pitch it in the recycle bin just like any other magazine. It may be apples and oranges as the world is right now, but wouldnt you like to be able to do that here? Yeah, they have lots of ads, but when you've got 300 pages, it really doesn't affect you as much as it does when you have 30. I'm just saying that IF we had enough people in our culture that enjoyed reading comics we could have the same scenario. I'm not saying manga is better than US comics, not at all. I like US style art and storytelling too. Recently whenever I got a new book, having paid over $4 with tax, and sat down to read it, I'm done in less than five minutes and left saying "Really? That's all?"

Don't think it would ever-wash, trust me I enjoy the Japanese monthlies and weeklies too (and we do have a couple manga companies that try to emulate that with English Shounen Jump and such... but again due to circulation it does cost more, for less). but the point is in the Japanese system you don't really save money, you're expected to buy the same story twice if you want to keep it. Where here, it takes 100 issues to take up the same ammount of storage space, and they can grow in value and you have just that one story you want. Yeah you get 300 pages in a Japanese monthly, but that's split between 10 or more different titles, so if you're just reading it for one, that's a lot of extra bulk. Plus people arn't going to want to go from glossy paper to two tone, ink-running newsprint.

Plus, anytime I've seen a company approach an anthology style comic magazine over here (outside of a couple manga ones) it's failed pretty hard.

Sorry, East Asia and Japan is a huge part of my life, and I like manga... and I even get what you're saying, I like the monthly and weeklys from Japan too... but, it just will not wash with the majority of american consumers.

[Kaisugi]

yeah, I know it would never wash, I'm saying I wish it would!

[VandalSavage]

I have been trying to get out from under comics for like 2 years now...I have low will power I guess because DC keeps sucking me back in...Also I get G.I.Joe of course and Star Wars Legacy...I really need to quit...$50 a month is just too much...

Mr. Savage

[Darth Jay]

I don't really read comics except for Star Wars... and I only buy those in trade paperbacks. I'll read all the books as they come out at a store or shop and when the trade comes out I'll buy it and read it again. I like it much better that way.

And no, I do not treat it like a library and read what I want and then leave. I usually buy something...

[UMAN]

I'm still reading a lot of Marvel stuff.. Cap, DD, the new X-Force, and a few others... I keep telling myself to cut back, but never seem to end up doing it. As it is, I spend about $30 a month in comics - not too bad, but it's money I could be saving up for something a little more rewarding.

Hmmm...