Why People Who are Griping About $3.99 Cover Prices Need to Zip It

Lately on the internet, there's tons of people complaining about the death of the comic industry because of the advent of the $3.99 cover price. While there is always a pile of people always predicting the death of comics for various reasons, this particular meme has caught a bigger head of steam than most. They list all sorts of reasons why the comics are too expensive and we're all doomed and blah blah blah ditty blah.

Look, I see where they're coming from. I get the sticker shock is freaking them out. Heck, I even agree that the leap from $2.99 to $3.99 seems a bit extreme without stops at $3.25, $3.50, or maybe $3.75. The problem is the people complaining rarely actually buy comics for themselves any longer. The person who I'm giving credit for kick starting this latest round of angst, Rich Johnston, seemingly doesn't collect comics, at least not pamphlets if his ebay auctions are any indications. That's perfectly fine, but it strikes me as people who don't have a real connection to the problem passing judgment. The only people I hear in my stores giving the cover prices specifically as a reason they aren't buying comics fall into exactly this category.

I'm going to make two points that I consider most relevant that I haven't seen people bring up.

First of all, people are wringing their hands over how comics are too expensive for kids. This statement is simply misguided, because it is all relative. Kids that want comics are not unable to get them because of the price. These kids (or more precisely, their parents) have money to spend, it is simply a matter of if they desire the product. Look at the Yu-Gi-Oh CCG, for example. Kids readily spend $3.99 for a pack of a few cards where the majority of the time they don't even get a playable card. Are there some kids who can't afford comics? Absolutely. There's also kids who can't afford an XBox, a movie ticket, or a book. Does this mean those entertainment forms are too expensive in some abstract form? Not at all, of course. There's lots of comparisons that can be made that show that comics aren't as out of hand as some want to make it out to be. Yes, a $50 video game provides more entertainment dollars. By that logic, then, no one would EVER go see a movie in the theaters because it would be silly to do so when a single $50 video game can easily provide 30-40 hours of entertainment . Obviously, people go see movies, because they enjoy the experience.

The thing that is driving me craziest in this whole discussion is people who are advocating the dropping of prices of comics, even going so far as to suggest the cutting back of paper quality in order to lower cover prices. This is patently absurd. If you are going to cut cover prices, you are going to have to make up for the drop in revenue somewhere. Considering your production cost can only drop so much, because of the costs of infrastructure and creative talent, there's two main ways to do this. The less desirable option is to increase your output. Make the book come out bi-weekly, or pump out more titles. Spider-Man could certainly use another pile of specials, right?

Yeah, no one really enjoys that idea. The other option is to significantly increase your customer base. This is were the crowd calling for a cover price reduction has a major flaw in their argument. I have yet to see a single shred of proof from anyone, anywhere, that reducing cover prices would magically make more people appear in my stores, excited to buy comics because they're $2.50 now.

The recent Spider-Man #583 featuring Barack Obama had a $3.99 cover price, as does the IDW Presidential Material book by IDW. I have sold a metric ton of both of these books, and have not heard a single complaint about the cover price, and it has been largely selling to people who should be most put off by the price according to the conventional wisdom, the non-hardcore civilians. Closer to the community, Dark Avengers #1 came out last week at $3.99, and by all reports has been selling very well. My stores have done well with it, and many retailers are reporting the same.

At the end of the day, it comes down to this: Comics are not overpriced. MEDIOCRE comics are overpriced. Period. If the content is compelling, price is marginally a factor, at best.