Holy recession, Batman! Comics biz takes pounding | Freep.com | Detroit Free PressOne reason for concern is the rising price of comic books. The average price of a comic book is $2.99. But Marvel Comics, the publishing company behind such costumed comic characters as Spider-Man, the X-Men and Iron Man, plans to raise the price of six of its monthly titles to $3.99, a 33% increase.
"There's a lot of grumbling about it," John Krier of Krier's Comics in Modesto said about the price hike.
Frier said $3.99 is bad enough, but there are $4.99 and $5.99 books, too. The $5.99 ones actually aren't so bad, he said, because they have roughly double the content, but the $4.99 ones often don't have much extra. The most popular titles, like "New Avengers," continue to sell well, he said, but customers are cutting back on other titles they buy.
No such price increases have been announced at DC Comics for its main line of comic books, such as those featuring Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman.
Company's comics stimulus plan
Top Cow Productions, the comic-book company that produces such titles as "Witchblade" and "The Darkness," has a plan it hopes will lure comic-book readers to its titles.
The company plans to give away thousands of comic books for free throughout the year at participating retailers in the United States and Canada. Each month, 25 stores in both countries will get 200 free comics.
My local comic book store owner agrees that if Diamond -- the exclusive distributor of the vast majority of comics -- gets shaky or even dies, that'll be it for a good chunk of the industry.