They don’t, and they actually announced that they wouldn’t be participating:
https://www.facebook.com/FantomComics/posts/1398407676894682
But not all stores have that luxury I guess. And like that Tilting at Windmills article points out, instead of trying to make better books, Marvel is relying on this shitty variant system to artificially increase the number of Legacy books they sell.
X-men 25 of Fatal Attractions goes for about 10 dollars :-p
Hot dog! Quitting my job tomorry!
Actually reading all of Marvel, I actually have been enjoying nearly all of their books. But they just are not worth the cover price of the floppy. It’s the whole business model that’s screwed up and been screwed up for a long time.
Any given trade or graphic novel outside of this tiny space sells hugely more, in a broader market, to a wider variety of people. That industry is booming. It’s only direct market superhero floppies that are having this “problem.” Everyone else is printing money.
Absolutely. I really wish I could find the link to the interview with the comic creator who talked about how he/she lived while making an OGN, and how almost impossible it was to afford to live based on the meager advance, and without the added income from monthly floppies.
Well, the amount of value you get as a reader isn’t worth the price for 5-15 minutes of entertainment. Sadly, it costs that much to make. A 24 page full color comic like that is a ton of fucking work that requires a whole team of people to create. Making it every month is insane.
Manga has the opposite problem. Huge value for the reader. You get a ton of el cheapo content for a super low price. Except the creator also gets paid dick, and works like they’re in a sweat shop. The assistants have it even worse. It’s not even in color.
Yea all those potential colorists jobless.
Floppies are also great for young kids since instead of destroying a whole GN they can destroy 24 pages.
Personal anecdote that is 4 hours too late but I went into a random comic book store last halloween after not being in one in years. I asked whoever was behind the counter about the mini halloween comic books as I wanted a non-candy alternative for the allergy and sensory kids in our neighborhood. He said that was a great idea but that they were promotional items and not supposed to be sold. He then went into the back and came back with a couple of bags of mini comics and stacks of normal sized Star Wars, Spiderman, and the DC girl super heroes title. I tried to pay and he literally pushed them all at me and thanked me for doing something good for the kids in my neighborhood.
I have a bunch of those I got when I thought there might be trick or treating at my apartment. There isn’t. If anyone wants a lot of Mameshiba, I got it covered.
Even more reports from that crazy panel. I’ve decided to start actually buying individual issues now, with a focus on Lady Thor, Gay Iceman and well… now Falcon again.
I would like Marvel to continue to try and expand itself and if it’s going to be a fight between that and these bigoted store owners, I’m going to make sure they are at least supported in their decisions to diversify.
Fucking Trump and Racists/Homophobes are really starting to cost me money.
Even though it’s a little out of my way, I have a monthly pull list at Fantom Comics, even though I hate single issues, because I want to support the store. It’s really amazing how “night and day” it is between a good comic store and a bad one. Don’t get me wrong, most of the comic stores in Albany were ehhh not that bad to pretty decent, but Fantom just blows them all away in terms of their selection, but also in terms of their staff, the stores inclusivity and events, and generally just being awesome. I know it’s cheaper to buy my comics online, and for big expensive items like omnibuses and Absolute Editions, I do, but for individual issues, and run-of-the-mill tpbs, I try to buy from Fantom.