Mega Comic Books?

[sciquest2525]

Anyone feel that a mega sized comic book with 120 new and origninal story pages and $9.99 to increase sales appeal in markets other than comic shops such as newstands, drugstores, book stores ect. a viable future option?

If not, what size book to replace 32 pages @ $2.99 or $3.99?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Remember the episode of the Simpsons where homer was Poochie?

"We can't air cartoons live because the animators cramp up."

Vlog the artists studio and writers den.

Real time comics.

Besides you know that an inker, their job isn't to "trace" their job is to blackout all the super hero sexual organs these sicko comic book artists can't stop doodling where there should be wholesome family values.

Sue storm vs reed richards.

"Look honey I'm naked!"

**Whoop-ishh BAMP!"

"OW!! No you're not!"

(Sigh)

if Americans could make comics faster they would.

You make a big comic, that just means a 1/4ly shipping sqedual rather than monthly

 

[Professor Zoom]

Anyone feel that a mega sized comic book with 120 new and origninal story pages and $9.99 to increase sales appeal in markets other than comic shops such as newstands, drugstores, book stores ect. a viable future option?

Sure.

If not, what size book to replace 32 pages @ $2.99 or $3.99?

Better content.

 

[Captain Craig]

Anyone feel that a mega sized comic book with 120 new and origninal story pages and $9.99 to increase sales appeal in markets other than comic shops such as newstands, drugstores, book stores ect. a viable future option?

If not, what size book to replace 32 pages @ $2.99 or $3.99?

Your essentially talking about a TradePaperBack(TPB). Most TPB's contain 6 issues, which are 20-22 pages of actual story per issue. Also, keep in mind that DC is only doing 20 pages of story on many books now. So a six issue story arc is around 130 pages +/- depending on if its Marvel or DC.

The only way you get the price at $9.99 is if you can get them back to old school newsprint. That would be fine by me for many titles but most TPB's start with a MSRP of $19.99-$24.99 depending on the title.

Seems your advocating for bypassing the monthly floppies, which no doubt will one day come and I'd be for as well.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I believe it would cost more to print on newspaper these days because the old infrastructure is gone. I think Marvel owns it's own presses, does DC?

Although black and white would help, which is why ONI was able to compete so well against the big boys.

 

[sciquest2525]

I was thinking of anthology titles replacing the floppies in the hopes that production economies and increased distribution among traditional outlets might help the huge cost of keeping up with series.

A possible format for an 128 page megacomc

40 page lead feature-Superman
20 page Supergirl
20 page Superboy
20 page Power Girl
20 page Worlds of Krypton
Justice League
40 Justice League
40 Justice League International
40 Justice League Dark

Action Comics
40 Superman
20 Metal Men
20 Blackhawk
20 Legion of Super Heroes
20 Teen Titans

Consolidating five titles into one large book with 128 pages Mega Comic vice 160 pages for five seperate books and one card stock? cover vice five covers for individual books save 20% on interior print bill and 80% print bill plus extra card stock price. DC issued an 80 page+ card stock cover book recently Batman Incorporated for $6.99 so perhaps an all new art 128 page/card stock cover book replacing individual books might be possible and would you buy it and why.

 

[Guy Gardener]

What I wouldn't mind in the nature of a superbook is everything they put out in a month consolidated into one binding.

black and white newsprint just to make the bastard look like and weigh less than a cinderblock.

 

[Leroy]

I believe it would cost more to print on newspaper these days because the old infrastructure is gone. I think Marvel owns it's own presses, does DC?

This is true it would be very expensive to switch their production facilities over to "cheaper" paper. What would happen is that the production cost would go up while leaving us with less quality, at least now the prices may be high but we get it on good quality paper that will last longer than crummy newspaper stock.

The anthology "mega book" really isn't a solution I like being able to pick and choose which title to follow at a whim I can't do that with a large anthology title I would end up paying largely for content I'm uninterested in. It's much better to wait for a tpb if you want to skip the monthlies, imo.

 

[23skidoo]

Only thing is a $9.99 megacomic won't work if you want color. People want color with their comics, especially western ones. Manga gets a pass because it's always been black and white, but there's a reason why Marvel and DC and the others don't do B&W comics now (I don't count the Showcase and Marvel Essential phone books). Yeah, you find guys like Dave Sim doing fine in B&W but they're the oddity. The UK used to do this a lot with their weekly titles that reprinted Marvel US comics in B&W, but people complained and wanted the color originals, which they eventually got.

Having said all that, the 120 pages proposed is only 20 pages more than what DC was doing regularly in the 1970s and 80s anyway with titles like Superman Family and Batman Family, and for a time they went omnibus with others as well. And they were full color.

But Leroy's comment is valid too - if you're only interested in Power Girl, say, would you be willing to pay 10 bucks for a thick magazine that contained only a few pages of her story and the rest featuring characters you have no interest in?

Alex

 

[sciquest2525]

I was looking for a way to save money for us readers. It would cost $17.94 for the same content offered for $19.99 and with Marvel, you would pay another six dollars as they sale for $3.99 vice DC $2.99.
But if the floppies are to be replaced, with what?
I don't like paying a small fortune to keep up with comics. I can't afford it!
Ouch!
Maybeye we should consider that the entire DC 52 could fit into just eleven or twelve books and cost only eight cents a page vice fifteen cents for DC and eighteen to twenty cents for Marvel.
Good, glossy paper is worth it but what kind of price gouging, if any, is going on here.
Another option would be to keep the DC 52 but publish larger comics, say with 80 page size, all new material of a 64 page feature.
Gold Key titles survived quite awhile at quarterly publication.
Price would be $6.99 for 80 pages plus cover less 17 interior/3 cover pages for ads plus two page letter column and cover painted rather than colored.

 

[Professor Zoom]

Good, glossy paper is worth it but what kind of price gouging, if any, is going on here.

What are you considering price gouging? Do you think they have a huge profit margin?

 

[Guy Gardener]

The technology must exist.

Imagine there was a device that looked like a torch.

But what it did was project digital comics 6 feet wide and 8 feet tall on your bedroom wall.

Of course a bulb that strong might turn into a light sabre and burn your house down.

 

[sciquest2525]

Marvel's target profit is 30% and they have cut their basic discount rate from 40% to 28% in comic shops. And though they distribute to newstands of which bring in $40-45,000,000 on a total take by the industry of 270,000,000 with 5,000,000 come from subs. Marvel charges $3.99 and DC accepts a lower profit margin on it's $2.99 books hoping for and getting more profit from increased sales so whose costs are we looking for.
When Marvel was looking for ad revenues years ago they collected $20,000 per page that cost them $25,000 to print.
If large magazine comics could charge for increase paid ads enough to subsidize art pages in part and 12 magazine format books having fewer impressions of same ad in such books, prices per art page would either come down or at least hold the line.