“...a number of characters and series ideas that we firmly believe in and that a lot of creators are passionate about, but unfortunately, when it comes to the actual production of an actual series or a miniseries, they always run into some challenge when it comes to sales."
So a character like Blue Beetle, who had their shot at a solo series, and developed a fan base not large enough to support a monthly publication can still see print in the pages of a book like Booster Gold.
So now Booster Gold which used to run 32 pages for $2.99, will now be 40 pages long (with 8 of those pages being a Blue Beetle story) for a $3.99 cover price.
Also recieving the main title/co-features treatment are: Batman: Streets Of Gotham/Manhunter, Detective Comics/The Question, Teen Titans/Ravager, and the upcoming Doom Patrol/Metal Men, Adventure Comics/Legion Of Super-Heroes.
So are these extra add-on tales worth the $1 price hike? Well, thats a tricky question. While The Manhunter feature feels right at home in Batman: Streets Of Gotham, the Ravager feature feels like a Teen Titans B-plot, and not a bonus story. Likewise is the Question story, which feels tacked onto Detective Comics, despite being handled by a writer (Greg Rucka) who is known for both of the characters involved in the features. Although I haven't read it, it's also important to point out that the Booster Gold/Blue Beetle team-up has boasted some pretty positive reviews, and does warrant a looking into.
I'm more than willing to take into account that these are the first batch of stories and mostly just set ups for everything involved, so I'm not writing off anything yet. But at the same time I can see fans who aren't interested in the added material and the extra $1 added on to the price (namely books like Booster Gold and Teen Titans), even though most of these titles are new or in the case of Detective Comics, being relaunched with the new pricing.
Meanwhile when drawing company lines, last week Marvel released a total of 39 titles with 19 of which bearing a $3.99 price point, with little added material to any of the titles.
This is of course AFTER John Turitzin, Marvel's Executive Vice President, when addressing the Cowen & Company Tecnology Media & Telecom Conference stated that:
"...our company is a cash machine".
Like this, but with a Wolverine variant Dark Reign cover
Turitzin then continued on, "We’re always testing our pricing on our comic books to see the extent of which we can, you know, it is inelastic, and we can increase our profit in that business. We sell comics at different price points, we sell more popular comics at higher price points, we sell other ones at lower price points, we differentiate in pricing in that way, some of our comics aimed at kids, Marvel Adventures line is a lower priced line. We’re just looking to maximise our profits for business, without alienating our own fanbase, without making them feel that they’re gouged, which I hope you don’t feel. Our goal is to maximise our revenue, and if we’re not maximising our revenue then our pricing is wrong and we have to take a look at that. So you can hope that we see that attrition and our prices come down.”
So while one head is saying that it's all about pulling in the revenue and made no mention of increased costs in producing the books, over at Comic Book Resources, in his Cup O' Joe column, Marvel's Editor in Chief is holding onto the argument that the increased prices are going towards such costs as printing and distibution as well as maintaining the stable of creators. Maintaining that there is no conspiracy involving the raising prices.
So how much longer can Marvel and DC hold the line before bringing their entire catalogs to the #3.99 price point? We'll see.
Also recieving the main title/co-features treatment are: Batman: Streets Of Gotham/Manhunter, Detective Comics/The Question, Teen Titans/Ravager, and the upcoming Doom Patrol/Metal Men, Adventure Comics/Legion Of Super-Heroes.
So are these extra add-on tales worth the $1 price hike? Well, thats a tricky question. While The Manhunter feature feels right at home in Batman: Streets Of Gotham, the Ravager feature feels like a Teen Titans B-plot, and not a bonus story. Likewise is the Question story, which feels tacked onto Detective Comics, despite being handled by a writer (Greg Rucka) who is known for both of the characters involved in the features. Although I haven't read it, it's also important to point out that the Booster Gold/Blue Beetle team-up has boasted some pretty positive reviews, and does warrant a looking into.
I'm more than willing to take into account that these are the first batch of stories and mostly just set ups for everything involved, so I'm not writing off anything yet. But at the same time I can see fans who aren't interested in the added material and the extra $1 added on to the price (namely books like Booster Gold and Teen Titans), even though most of these titles are new or in the case of Detective Comics, being relaunched with the new pricing.
Meanwhile when drawing company lines, last week Marvel released a total of 39 titles with 19 of which bearing a $3.99 price point, with little added material to any of the titles.
This is of course AFTER John Turitzin, Marvel's Executive Vice President, when addressing the Cowen & Company Tecnology Media & Telecom Conference stated that:
"...our company is a cash machine".
Like this, but with a Wolverine variant Dark Reign cover
Turitzin then continued on, "We’re always testing our pricing on our comic books to see the extent of which we can, you know, it is inelastic, and we can increase our profit in that business. We sell comics at different price points, we sell more popular comics at higher price points, we sell other ones at lower price points, we differentiate in pricing in that way, some of our comics aimed at kids, Marvel Adventures line is a lower priced line. We’re just looking to maximise our profits for business, without alienating our own fanbase, without making them feel that they’re gouged, which I hope you don’t feel. Our goal is to maximise our revenue, and if we’re not maximising our revenue then our pricing is wrong and we have to take a look at that. So you can hope that we see that attrition and our prices come down.”
So while one head is saying that it's all about pulling in the revenue and made no mention of increased costs in producing the books, over at Comic Book Resources, in his Cup O' Joe column, Marvel's Editor in Chief is holding onto the argument that the increased prices are going towards such costs as printing and distibution as well as maintaining the stable of creators. Maintaining that there is no conspiracy involving the raising prices.
So how much longer can Marvel and DC hold the line before bringing their entire catalogs to the #3.99 price point? We'll see.
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