...and the waiting begins.

As I reported last month, the obscene new cover price of $3.99 has inspired me to abandon my weekly comic shop visits for something new...specifically the deep discounts of a mail order comic book service.

Using a service called Heroes Corner, I ordered all of my June (and July!) comics in advance...which means that today was my last visit to the comic shop for the foreseeable future. Not only that, because I chose their "once a month" shipping option, I'll have to wait a whole month for my first batch of new comics!

Will I miss my weekly comic book "fix"?  I'm sure I will at first (I've only been doing it for 30+ years)....but in a way I look forward to the change in routine.  I figure between trade paperbacks from the library and the usual distractions of summer, I'll be just fine. After all, I'll be saving quite a bit of money (both in comics and gas money)...not to mention breaking free of an increasingly dysfunctional fan/comic shop/publisher dynamic.

Comments

[Pat Curley]

I suspect that the comics shops are gone and the pamphlets that we are used to are not far behind them. It saddens me a bit but at the same time I prefer reading a comic on my screen these days to holding one in my hands.

[Mark Engblom]

Whaaat? That surprises me a bit to hear that "screen over book" sentiment coming from you, Pat. I figured that since you're such a Silver Age fan, you'd prefer the book over the screen. I don't mind reading on the screen, I guess, but there's just something about the physical comic book or book that's more enjoyable. Maybe I'll change my mind once I get my hands on an Amazon Kindle (which, I hear, offers a remarkably "book-like" reading experience).

[Nimbus]

Firstly, great little picture there. Made me chuckle. :)
Next - the problem I found was that instead of being stretched over the course of a month, I would get the books and then read 'em all in one weekend. Which meant I had to wait a whole 28 days or so for my next fix. I hope you survive Mark!
Personally, I still prefer having real books (TPBs in my case) in my hands than viewing them on a screen. As well as being easier to read - you can read the words whilst still getting a full view of the page - I also like the feel, weight, glossiness, etc. It's difficult to explain; I just enjoy the 'physicalness' of a TPB.

[phillyradiogeek]

I can't stand digital comics! If comics went completely digital I think I'd give them up. It's hard to appreciate the experience on screen for some reason. And Marvel's online reader is terrible!

[Ralph C.]

I wouldn't worry about comics going completely digital.... for quite a long time. It will take a cultural shift, where people are "everyday", so to speak, about reading on a screen, before print is relegated to nostalgic status. It will probably take more than 5-10 years, probably at least 20 or 30 years, for this to happen. Printed comics are safe, so don't worry about losing them so soon.

I feel bad for some of the comic shops, though, in this eventual future, and also in the present time. The higher cover prices have, and will continue to make, readers seek cheaper methods of delivery of their printed comics, which will hurt the shops. Some shops probably deserve such a demise but there are some that are wonderful places to go. I have stopped buying comics on a regular basis due to the prices but I do miss my regular trips to the comic shop. I go to a place in Middletown, N.Y. called "Main Street Comics", and the atmosphere is friendly and warm, the diversity of books is wonderful, and the staff is always helpful (this isn't an advertisement, just stating my appreciation for the shop). The "middle man" is the one who will get hurt the most, in this case. One day, the comic shops will go back to being what they once were-- a place where you found back issues and other pieces of nostalgia.

All this won't happen for a long, long time. It will happen, though. I'll be 42 this year and I might live long enough to see the very beginning of the end of the print era. I know we are in the infant stages of that (yes I did see the photo, too) so I think it might be on the cusp of adulthood by the time I reach 70 or 80, if I live that long.

Let's try to honor our favorite comic shops, and cherish our printed comics while we can.

(No, this isn't a paid ad for comic shops. This is one person's little observation and, well, lament for a time in history that will be gone, except for the memories. I will keep going to my local comic shop as much as I can afford to.) :-)

[Mark Engblom]

"I also like the feel, weight, glossiness, etc. It's difficult to explain; I just enjoy the 'physicalness' of a TPB."

Absolutely. Also, let's not forget the smell of new comics. I've worked in the graphics and print industry for a couple of decades now, so I've got ink in my blood. I love the smell of just-printed stuff, and I get some of that with new comics. Even the smells of older comics are strangely appealing (except for those nasty, vaguely moldy ones or the ones you buy on eBay that have that off "someone else's house" odor).

[Mark Engblom]

A great, heartfelt post, Ralph. I, too, have (mostly) enjoyed my weekly trips to the comic shop...and I do feel some misgivings about abandoning a great shop like The Source here in the Twin Cities. However, I wasn't exaggerating when I characterized the fan/comic shop/publisher relationship as being "dysfunctional". I would modify that by adding "distributor" to the equation, since Diamond plays a big part in the ever-escalating game of chicken being played over pricing and the crushing volume of material being solicited.

In short, I see a "conspiracy of complacency", as the entire product delivery chain forgoes innovative marketing solutions and just slaps a higher price point on product marketed to an ever-shrinking pool of customers. It's lazy. It's outmoded. It's dysfunctional...and I'm opting out of it. Yeah, I'm still buying the product...but the direct market/comic shop model just seems broken beyond repair.

[Rottgutt]

I don't chime in on discussions on blogs much, but I agree with Ralph C and I wanted to present a viewpoint from a different kind of collector that supports his.

I do buy a few comics each month, but mostly I play CMGs (stuff like Heroclix -- while it was alive -- and nowadays WoW minis), and the trend of regular comic buyers turning to online subscriptions and not supporting the brick and mortar stores concerns me some. For a lot of players, comic stores are often also the places that hold tournaments for CMGs (and CCGs and often give RPG folks a place to play), and loss of business is never a good thing for a store. The more stores around that run tournaments for whatever game and sell product for that game, the better off that game is. The better off that game is, the longer it'll last (well, barring anything like what Topps did to WizKids anyway) and the longer you can continue to enjoy it.

Most of the folks I know who play CMGs/CCGs are active in supporting their local game store/comic shop to make sure they'll continue to have a place to play those games. You can always find cheaper prices online for game boosters (or card packs or game supplements) then the game store/comic shop (especially if the store sells at retail), but (everyone) paying a little more can be the difference between that shop staying open and closing.

That said, I do buy some stuff online (mostly because the owner of the game store I frequent -- while a nice guy -- is next to impossible to track down and even when you do he doesn't really seem all that interested in special ordering stuff), but I do try to spend money at the game store while I'm there. I figure if nothing else, the $10 or $15 they made off me for the couple of hours I sat around and played a game helped pay the employee behind the counter.

And really, I'd spend a lot more then $15 if I were say sitting in a bar for a couple of hours :)

[Mark Engblom]

I have to applaud comic shops that diversify into gaming (such as my regular...er, "EX" regular shop does), which shows a willingness to serve multiple "consumer communities" with overlapping interests. These are the guys I'm convinced will stick around for awhile.

However, if current trends in the comic biz continue (ever-escalating cover prices, erratic publishing schedules, mega-event overload, etc), there will come a tipping point where brick and mortar comic shops are simply no longer viable...at least as the primary product line of the shop. I'm seeing more and more "generalist" type stores popping up that offer a smattering of comics, a dollop of games, a smidge of movies, and so on. Dull, drab affairs, most of them...but maybe this is where things are heading for brick and mortar fantasy/sci-fi entertainment...more of an "umbrella one-stop" approach.

As for supporting comic shops, I'm split on that topic. On one hand, I want to see the good ones succeed, but on the other hand, there are so many things clamoring for my money these days and, with much more inflation barreling our way, I have to look out for me and my family first. That includes cutting expenses where I can and stretching my entertainment dollar much farther than before. My needs easily outweigh those of the local comic shop...and in an increasingly ugly economy, that distinction is very easy to make.

Best of luck to the struggling comic shops and the rest of that dysfunctional system...but you guys had your chance to shore up my support during "the salad years"...but you blew it...and stamping a higher cover price over the problem is only throwing gas on the fire.

[Rottgutt]

"I have to applaud comic shops that diversify into gaming (such as my regular...er, 'EX' regular shop does), which shows a willingness to serve multiple 'consumer communities' with overlapping interests. These are the guys I'm convinced will stick around for awhile."

The comic store I do buy from (as my game store doesn't carry comics), is very much that -- but I believe is still primarily based on comic sales (possibly 'adult' comic sales). They carry DVDs and rent movies (especially had to find stuff), have loads of toys as well as comics and games and I suspect do pretty well for themselves.

"I'm seeing more and more 'generalist' type stores popping up that offer a smattering of comics, a dollop of games, a smidge of movies, and so on."

I think you're right about comics not being the primary source of income for the stores that stick around. If you think about it, I don't believe there are even plain old "record shops" (unless they're speciality stores and literally carry records) -- everyone who carries CDs also carries some DVDs and in the case of Newbury Comics, comics and games as well.

"My needs easily outweigh those of the local comic shop...and in an increasingly ugly economy, that distinction is very easy to make."

Definitely. In the end it comes down to being responsible about spending the disposable portion of your income. Cutting back on eating out and things of that nature allow me to have the extra money to throw the game store's way. I think if you have the money to do that kind of thing (and you have a shop you like), then you should. But if you're more concerned about spending, then you need to find another way to get the product you're after.

And if you're not the least bit concerned about spending, treat me to lunch at a nice restaurant. I've been eating bagged lunches and microwave meals for months now. :)

[Pat Curley]

Part of my problem with reading comics in paper form is my eyesight; my arms are just barely long enough for me to read and at that length, it's easy to miss the finer details of the art. Of course, I could break down and buy reading glasses...

But I do think the end is near for the pamphlets. This price increase is pretty dramatic; 33% is more than DC tacked onto its prices in 1961 and 1969, and those price bumps were accompanied by significant drops in circulation. By definition, unless people increase their comics budget, it should result in a 33% decrease in circulation, and given that at least some people are decreasing their comics budget, it seems likely that the drop will be more than that.

[Mark Engblom]

"But I do think the end is near for the pamphlets."

Well, judging by the ham-handed way they're continuing to be marketed, I'm sad to say you're probably right. It's just too much money for too little story....hence my move to the discount mail order service. Beyond that, I really can't justify getting the number of titles I want to buy at the $4.00 cover price. It seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back....well, at least THIS camel's back.