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DC Raises Prices to $6 Per Issue
updated 6 months, 4 weeks ago
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So DC announced that comics are going up to $6 per issue.
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/dc-increases-price-of-batman-monthly-comic-and-others-to-6-each/
What are your thoughts?
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oof 6 dollars? why? I mean I get more content and such but the question is, is it only for the comics mentioned or is it across all titles that DC puts out?
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I saw this. Times are rough. I only buy trades, so this doesn’t affect me much, however, it’s a sign that they could be making a bump next, which I’m NOT looking forward to.
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damn. hadn’t thought of that knock-on effect with trades. that’s my go-to as well. eep!
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In the back of my mind, I wonder if this creates opportunities for new creators.
If they have a main story, they will probably continue to use their established creators. But…if there is a backup story, this is a great way for DC to try out new talent.
As a comic book reader, I am less influenced by the cover price and more influenced by the entertainment value. I also want to see DC survive, so if they need to raise prices, I think that’s better than any alternative.
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I completely agree with the price hike if its a necessary move in order to stay alive. I just hope they don’t see it as an opportunity to gouge consumers. I can totally see (primarily Disney) using it as a chance to justify higher priced comics, “DC is doing it, so can we”. It would be a shame if Marvel did it to increase profit out of greed as opposed to survival purposes.
I didn’t think about the opportunity it could give newer creators though, that’s very interesting… 🧐
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Traditionally @krisburgos , the comic book publishers have raised their prices around the same time. This is a low-margin business, so they benefit from even small price increases.
Higher prices are coming across the board, and not just to comics. The cost of doing comics is going to increase for a number of reasons, including supply-chain issues.
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I remember the first comic book that I have ever bought. It was Batman #465. I was 15 years old and I picked it up on a supermarket in the US while on holidays. I paid $1. (Rambling alert: that same comic book was autographed by Norm Breyfogle when he visited my country (Argentina) some 25 years later. That was a short time before his death 🙁 )
So now, 30 years later, a Batman issue costs 600% more.
I am a bit outraged, to be honest. But I will not take a position here. What I will do is share some questions that this debate has sparked in my mind:
Warner Bros is a huge corporation. I wonder what % of those $6 go to support the conglomerate. I mean, all things being equal, how much would the same comic retail for, if it was published by an independent?
Will page rates increase for the creators behind those titles?
I also wonder about the math that the publisher did before deciding on the increase. Going to $6 means that a % of readers will either stop buying comics or will start buying less quantities. That increase needs to offset those loses as well as increase revenue. I wonder how they calculated that, and I wonder if those calculations will pan out (or not).
I also wonder about Diamond Distribution. Being from abroad, I could never understood the logic behind the monopoly of distribution. The Pandemic seems to have helped further the debate. But I also wonder, how much is Diamond responsible for the increase.
Finally, I’ll state the obvious. If enough people refuse to pay $6, then the publisher would have to pay attention.
Andrés
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