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03-16-2010, 07:59 AM | #101 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2,294
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Quote:
Dark Horse, IDW, Boom Studios and Dynamite are inching up sales through their use of tv/movie properties (hence the additional costs to cover royalties etc) but it's working. In our shop Buffy and Angel outsell any Marvel or DC (when we include eBay and internet store sales). The thing is, once someone comes in looking for Buffy, they usually veer towards other comics (mostly Vertigo, Indie etc). I think DC has done a great job of diversifying its product and does a top notch job with their trade paperback distribution. The other thing which I don't think has been mentioned that really sent people to comic shops in the 90's was the overwhealming success of the first Batman movie in 1989 (?). Superhero movies had been done before (Superman) but the original Batman movie brought a darker, edgier more adult twist to the genre and really moved alot of books back then. |
03-16-2010, 08:04 AM | #102 |
Cartoon Action Hour RPG
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 341
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I'll admit that I've only read the first few pages of this thread, so if I end up rehashing what someone else has already said, I apologize.
Anyway, sure the collector's market helped screw up the comic industry, but that's only one piece of the puzzle. I feel that another piece is that most comics just aren't that good any more. Let me get more specific. When I read an issue of a modern comic, I don't feel like I've received much of the story. At the end, I'm left saying, "Is that IT??" It seems like not much happens during a single issue. As I mentioned in another thread, I've recently read The Essential Defenders (vol. 3 and 4) and the TPB of GI Joe: Cobra. The latter was an okay story, but I think that entire story could have been effectively told in two issues rather than four. To contrast that, when I read a single issue of the Defenders, I feel as if a lot of things happened; you had the main plot, 1-2 subplots and perhaps even a scene that hints at a future plotline. I think the art of comicbook writing is largely lost. Another piece of the puzzle, I believe, is the prohibitive price per issue. This largely happened during the '90s. Let's look at it for a moment. In 1990, most comics were $1 each. By the end of that decade, they were about $2. That's double the price! By comparison, let's take a look at another similar span of time. In 1980, comics were typically 60 cents and by the end of the decade, they were $1... a mere 40 cent price increase. The two factors above combine to create one hell of a strike against comicbooks. You get very little story and have to pay a good amount of money for it. Another thing that bothers me is that comicbooks are now written to snuggly be compiled into TPBs. I love TPBs, but you no longer get the sense of a long term continuity for the most part. Storylines fall neatly into 4-6-issue story arcs with little or no lingering story elements. This may not contribute to the downturn of comicbook-dom, but it sure keeps me from wanting to keep up with various series.
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03-16-2010, 08:27 AM | #103 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Liverpool, Pennsylvania
Posts: 12,546
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Most recently I think comics are down because, like everything else, people are having to make a choice between buying $100.00 worth of groceries or buying $100.00 dollars worth of comics.
I held on as long as I could with my monthly order but the cost got ridiculous and was not worth the final product that I was getting. Thankfully I waited until after the Astonishing X-Men run to quit collecting. |
03-16-2010, 09:20 AM | #104 |
I SMELL VICTORY
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Bridgeport CT
Posts: 1,516
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i think the Internet kill the comics, if you want to read the back issues just down load it from a torrent, or any free comic site, plus new issues are up before wednesday release,
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03-16-2010, 12:58 PM | #105 |
Hisstank Ninja
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Mint on Card
Posts: 8,956
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TV, video games, and cell phones. There's just more interesting things to do for kids these days than read comic books.
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03-16-2010, 01:42 PM | #106 |
Master of Annihilation
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Michigan
Posts: 947
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simple the price tag is what killed comics..... for me anyway... I used to hit my local shop every week and drop $100 easily, with all the damn variants, special covers, and bullshit it wasn't that hard to do. I just got sick of buying 5 of the same book because it had 5 different covers, and I know your gonna say "well you didn't have to buy all 5" well yes I did, when the artwork is kick ass on all 5, I will buy them... but it got old, fast.
When I started collecting comics back in the 80's they were 75 cents to $1.25, and with all the good titles out it was easy to keep up with all the current issues of your favorite books. Now days, it would cost a weeks pay check just to keep up, there are a ton of great books out there, but with todays prices I just can't afford to keep up with them, and for me its all or nuthing... if I can't keep current with my favs then I might as well not bother. I know the price of production and inks and all that shit has gone up, but come on... take me back to the good ol days I miss collecting my comics... theres nuthing like going to your local comic shop, buying a bunch of books, coming home and reading them all, and then bagging and boarding them up.... it was always something I looked forward to.
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03-16-2010, 01:43 PM | #107 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: U.S.A.
Posts: 602
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Quote:
Well I dont think the industry got killed so to speak..I mean maybe there are less comic book shops now, but back when we were all reading how Superman got beaten to death and stuff..there was'nt the movies we have today. Before recent times Keaton's Batman was all the rage...now we have a comic book movie every other day, a video game and an action figure to go with it...regardless of how good or bad the film is.
I think its the same as music or magazines, its called the Internet. When I was "growing up" a trip to the comic book shop or an independant record store was almost a personal experiance. Especially when I found "my niche". Right until I stopped buying comic books and music on a regular basis it was to the point where the owners of both stores would just put things aside for me. That right there is out the friggin window, mom and pop places cant compete with franchises, the chains, the online stores...part of being a business owner is being personable. I used to drive 35 min to go to my comic shop, just because he was a nice guy, knew what I liked and he was cool to talk to. I could get comics anywhere...I went to him for a reason. Now kids are just born into the "add to cart" thing and its just the changes we're going through. In the early 90's everything was a #1 or a #50..it was die cut and stupid kids thought they would retire on it. Hey whatever, it kept them comming back.... More kids nowadays hear Spider Man and think "Tobey Maguire"...not Stan Lee, comic book shops or waiting impatiently till next month. Though I think Stan Lee said something that holds true..to me anyway, reading a comic online will never be the experiance it is holding it and being in your favorite chair..etc. It is what it is, I just think the newer generation is missing out on a lot of personal things. That said, you pretty much nailed my opinion on the matter and I agree I think you have pretty much summed it up. The only thing I will add is that these days kids don't seem to be in to the same things we were. I have fond memories of riding my bike as well up to the comic shop and spending my lawn mowing money on comics to see what the X-men were up to this month. My nephews AND nieces have grown up with all the same opportunities to enjoy the same things I did and they have gravitated towards video game systems, cell phones and movies (guess movies are still popular as of course they always were with me!) with their friends. It's just the way it is. With my oldest nephew I sat down and watched all 6 SW films and he gained some serious interest in the lore. He NEVER seeked out SW comics or even the toys for that matter though. Now he watches Clone Wars on TV and plays the SW games on his Wii and DS and he's completely content. This kid likes to read too, but not comics. It's just once instance, and I know all kids are different but I always kind of wondered how he would turn out after I showed him the movies. My best friends kid on the other hand, oh and he's a tanker too, he's totally into all of it and now just getting started on comics. Lastly, (geez this turned into a big post!) with torrent files and downloads for free it's hard to go out and spend $3.95 or whatever it is on a comic that you have to store. Not when you can download all your monthly titles for free and even browse ones you don't collect. I know that is stealing, I get that, but these companies haven't done anything for the consumer really either. They continue to do the crossovers to try and drive up sales of other books or all the covers, etc, etc, etc, etc. This might not sound like a big deal to some but I collected comics for probably 15 years and it grated on me the ENTIRE time I collected. I came up with the money typically, but in the end it was one thing that helped me decide to quit collecting. It never ends and I think people figured if they can get it for free then why not. Same thing with mp3's. If Marvel and DC want to turn this thing around, IMO, they better start offering an online service and make it very reasonable price wise. Much like iTunes are about a $1 a piece to download....they better be competitive to try and lure people away from the free downloads. It's too bad too, I LOVED my comics growing up. I just recently sold the 1200+ I had left. Well 4 boxes out of 5 and I'm content on getting TPB's now if there is a story I want to read. It's all collected in one book, at one price, and I don't have to ride my bike anymore, haha!
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03-16-2010, 09:19 PM | #108 |
Laser Rifle Trooper
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Chi-Town
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Stupid people and people who don't read...and stupid people.
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08-10-2010, 12:01 AM | #109 |
Hisstank.Com General
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 8,089
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I remember in '95 I tried to sell my small comic collection... and I thought I had some pretty good stuff too from the 80's like Wolverine 1-4, some Dark Horse comics that had the first appearance of Aliens and Predator. I looked in a price guide and it said they were all worth something... not much... but something.
But then the guy at the comic book store gave them a look and passed on all of them... I was sort of stunned. So I just sold everything to a friend of mine for 20 bucks and bought the Dark Forces Star Wars game for the PC. LOL.
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08-10-2010, 12:03 AM | #110 |
I come from the Net.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Montreal, Canada
Posts: 4,262
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Quote:
I remember in '95 I tried to sell my small comic collection... and I thought I had some pretty good stuff too from the 80's like Wolverine 1-4, some Dark Horse comics that had the first appearance of Aliens and Predator. I looked in a price guide and it said they were all worth something... not much... but something.
But then the guy at the comic book store gave them a look and passed on all of them... I was sort of stunned. So I just sold everything to a friend of mine for 20 bucks and bought the Dark Forces Star Wars game for the PC. LOL.
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