Comic Collecting (1 Viewer)

[jcroy]

Wonder what is the likelihood of the smaller publishers going all digital. If the small guys bother publishing in paper form, it might be compilations of "digital floppy" issues as graphic novels/omnibus.

 

[Chip_HT]

Wonder what is the likelihood of the smaller publishers going all digital. If the small guys bother publishing in paper form, it might be compilations of "digital floppy" issues as graphic novels/omnibus.

I dunno. Some of those publishers use the concept of multiple variant covers to keep them afloat. In other words, they rely on suckers buying four copies of the same comic every month. Harder to pull that trick with digital.

 

[jcroy]

Wonder what the age demographics are of the hardcore collectors, who would be buying every cover variant for a current issue.

I suspect it is possibly somebody who is over age 40 who at mimimum has a stable middle class income, and who doesn't have huge debts.

For a person who has an unstable income/employment situation and/or tons of huge debts (ie. college loans, mortgage, etc ....), monthly floppy issues at $4 a pop for many titles would be an expensive luxury. Buying graphic novels/compilations would probably make more sense for such individuals.

 

[jcroy]

Hmmm .... This might possibly stem the bleeding for now.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/today-the-comic-shops-direct-market-was-saved/

Whether it will be the savior in the longer term, remains to be seen (if it ever gets off the ground).

 

[Patrick Sun]

Too many middlemen soaking up profits in this endeavor. Somehow, I still get a 20% discount on new releases, the shop's wholesale price is roughly 50% (maybe 55% if their quantities are high enough, but then the shop has to keep the lights on with that 30%), now how much is ComicHub going to nab of that profit pie?

 

[TravisR]

Too many middlemen soaking up profits in this endeavor. Somehow, I still get a 20% discount on new releases, the shop's wholesale price is roughly 50% (maybe 55% if their quantities are high enough, but then the shop has to keep the lights on with that 30%), now how much is ComicHub going to nab of that profit pie?

Exactly. I'm not buying anything digital unless my store gets the full amount of money that they normally do from the sale. And there's no chance of that happening so that's off the table for me.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I have no dog in the weekly fight, having abandoned floppies when DC decided to drive me away from new comics almost entirely in 2011, but Lone Star (mycomicshop.com) went and shut down after Texas went all "stay at home", so that cuts most of my easy buying of random old floppies to complete runs for binding for the time being.

 

[BobO'Link]

Same here - My LCS gets the full amount they'd get if I visit the store or it's no sale.

I'm not worried about having something to read. I'm at least 3 years behind in my comic reading (yeah... I know...) and have 3-4 dozen novels on the shelf awaiting my attention. I'm absolutely OK with reading material and my discussions with the manager at my LCS makes me feel better about them. He plainly stated they're good for at least 6 months, even if totally shut down.

 

[TravisR]

Same here - My LCS gets the full amount they'd get if I visit the store or it's no sale.

I'm not worried about having something to read. I'm at least 3 years behind in my comic reading (yeah... I know...) and have 3-4 dozen novels on the shelf awaiting my attention.

I feel better about being a year behind on most comics books and a dozen novels now.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I have no dog in the weekly fight, having abandoned floppies when DC decided to drive me away from new comics almost entirely in 2011, but Lone Star (mycomicshop.com) went and shut down after Texas went all "stay at home", so that cuts most of my easy buying of random old floppies to complete runs for binding for the time being.

I literally put in an order with them 2 days ago, and also got the "Sorry, we're shut down. Buh-bye!" Sigh...

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I literally put in an order with them 2 days ago, and also got the "Sorry, we're shut down. Buh-bye!" Sigh...

That sucks. But, at least you know what you ordered won't be sold before they reopen.

I was between orders at the moment, having done my last one about a week and a half ago to get some New Warriors Marvel Comics Presents issues here quick after learning they existed the day after sending the rest of the run off to the bindery.

But they're usually the first stop for backissues, because when you factor in shipping and everything else, they wind up being the cheapest option compared to piecemeal from different sellers on Comic Collector Live, and Mile High isn't just a reference to where they're located, it's a clue to their prices.

 

[BobO'Link]

That sucks. But, at least you know what you ordered won't be sold before they reopen.

I was between orders at the moment, having done my last one about a week and a half ago to get some New Warriors Marvel Comics Presents issues here quick after learning they existed the day after sending the rest of the run off to the bindery.

But they're usually the first stop for backissues, because when you factor in shipping and everything else, they wind up being the cheapest option compared to piecemeal from different sellers on Comic Collector Live, and Mile High isn't just a reference to where they're located, it's a clue to their prices.

Yep. Lone Star is where I've done the majority of my on-line purchases. The grading is pretty accurate and prices are fair. I've only resorted to Mile High if I couldn't find a title elsewhere all due to their prices.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

So this is what I'm currently in the middle of

More specifically, Volume 3, which is issues 17-42, and extras.

Apparently, comics shut my brain up. Glad I have a lot of them.

 

[jcroy]

Those spines ^ look like the same type of re-binding which school textbooks were done as back in the day. Basically for books which were almost completely destroyed by the previous student(s).

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Those spines ^ look like the same type of re-binding which school textbooks were done as back in the day. Basically for books which were almost completely destroyed by the previous student(s).

H&R's main business is rebinding books for schools, so the logic is sound.

 

[TravisR]

I'm guessing anyone that reads this thread already knows that Diamond has resumed shipping today so all stores should have new books. I did curbside pick up and got a few things just to support them returning.

Big sigh of relief that my thoughts back in March that that was the end of physical comics were unfounded.

 

[jayembee]

I got the notice the other day that my local shop was open again, with some restrictions. I didn't think to go there today, but I'll probably do so tomorrow. I think the only thing that came out this week that's on my list in the new issue of Jimmy Olsen. And the newest issue of Lois Lane supposedly came out last week; I hope my shop has that one in as well.

I have about 15 comics on my pull list. I expect that their post-reopen distribution will be somewhat random for a while.

 

[jayembee]

Sad news today.

Comics legend and longtime 'Batman' editor Denny O'Neil dies at 81

Denny O'Neil, known for his tenure as a writer and editor on DC Comics' 'Batman,' died June 11 at age 81.

ew.com

Arguably the best comics writer between the heyday of the Gods, and the British Invasion of the 80s/90s (Moore, Gaiman, Morrison, et alia).

 

[Mike Frezon]

RIP.

 

[jayembee]

So...one of the comics I picked up at the store this week was the anthology one-shot The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super-Spectacular. I just got around to reading it. The fourth story was "Introducing the Dove Corps", written by Denny O'Neil. It certainly wasn't one of his best stories, and I can't say it was one of his worst stories. But chances are it was his last one.