Comic Book Prices

So I have wanted to talk about the price of comic books in general for awhile now and it seems to be an appropriate time to bring up the topic. I recently read on IGN that DC is planning on taking their prices to $2.99 for all their comics for 2011. Marvel hasn't said as much but did state that they plan on placing a $2.99 price on new titles coming out in 2011. Marvel has yet to say whether they would drop the price of current titles though.

This seems like some good news or at least it has me hopefull. I'm sure anyone who gets comics on a weekly basis like myself has noticed that more and more comics have been going up to $3.99. That trend has caused me to pay closer attention to my monthly comic list. In some ways I have cut some of the comics that I was getting but I have added some others. Basically I am making more of an effort to get only so many comics per month and try to get as much bang out of my buck that I can get.

The increase in price of so many titles has started to upset me. I get the sense that they are just sucking as much out of people like myself and probably people that are on this site. I'm sure that the justification of this is due to the medium of comic not being as popular now a days. I just can't accept that though. Prices on comic books have clearly been increasing allot over the years and I think $3.99 is pushing it a bit too far. I wonder allot why I'm paying an extra dollar for one title while i can get another with as many pages for $2.99. Thats upsetting but I think its almost more frustrating when they put another 8 pages with a mini story on the character or try to sell another one on those pages. You know I want to read about the main story arc of Spider-Man and not a mini adventure that has nothing to do with anything going on etc.

In my opinion its the wrong way to go as far as trying to create more money for the company. I mean if most every title was a $2.99 price, I'd get more titles and most likely spend more money. I certainly feel like the major titles like the Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, the Uncanny X-Men etc should be at $2.99. Those are going to be the books that get younger kids into comics and I feel with a $3.99 price on them that less parents would be willing to buy them for their kids. I understand its probably harder to find comics. I know when i was a kid i got them at the grocery store when i went with my parents but now I never see them there. On the other hand, Marvel has a big summer blockbuster film featuring one of their main characters each year. I would think this would generate allot of excitement with kids and could get them into the comics. Again, I just think they would get more sales and ongoing sales with the titles if the prices were brought down.

Those are just a few thoughts that I had on it. I'm sure allot of people have issues with the prices as well.I'm placing links to those IGN articles I mentioned so whoever wants to can check them out.

http://comics.ign.com/articles/112/1126731p1.html

http://comics.ign.com/articles/112/1126731p1.html