Robot 6
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
White Indian
Publishing | Dark Horse Comics and Vanguard Productions have reached an agreement on who will publish Frank Frazetta’s White Indian comics after each company had reached separate agreements with different members of the Frazetta family. Dark Horse has taken The Classic Comics Archives Vol. 1: White Indian off their schedule. Vanguard will release the Complete Frazetta White Indian Collection, while Dark Horse will collect all the post-Frazetta material that featured the character. [ICv2]
Passings | Mark Evanier reports that Jerry Grandenetti, who began his career as an art assistant to Will Eisner on The Spirit, passed away Feb. 17. Grandenetti’s work appeared in Creepy, Eerie, House of Mystery, Prez and Championship Sports, among many other titles. [News from Me]
Pricing | Douglas Wolk considers the higher price of comics: “Twenty years ago, the price of a new mainstream comic book was 75 cents, about to make the leap to a dollar, the same percentage they’re currently increasing. For a $20 bill, you could get a stack of a couple dozen titles, with some interesting indie experiments thrown in.
“Since then, the price of comics has zoomed far ahead of the cost of living: $20 in 1990 is the equivalent of a bit over $33 now, while new mainstream comic books have more than quadrupled in price. And what happens when comics abruptly increase their cover prices by a third while adding little or no extra content–and the $20 standard gets you all of five 22-page comic books that take a few minutes apiece to read–is that that value proposition gets a lot less enticing.” [Techland]
SPX
Conventions | Heidi MacDonald, Ben Towle, Brian Heater and Mike Dawson all report on last weekend’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Md. Geoff Grogan, meanwhile, discusses why he didn’t exhibit at the show this year. [SPX]
Digital comics | Michael Cavna talks to cartoonists whose work was previously rejected by Apple about the company’s newly relaxed content policies.
“While I love the fact that professional political satirists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary — and methinks I may have had something to do with that clause — these new rules are no substitute for good human judgment by Apple gatekeepers,” said Mark Fiore, whose “Newstoons” application was rejected last year but approved eight days after he won the Pulitzer Prize. “At any rate, I’m happy that Apple is more specific when it comes to issues of free speech.” [The Washington Post]
Publishers | Brett Warnock of Top Shelf Productions talks about conventions both large and small, Top Shelf’s publishing schedule and cover design. [Whatever]
Dick Grayson
Comics | Ben Morse shows his appreciation for the character Dick Grayson by looking back at some of his more recent key appearances. [The Cool Kids Table]
Comics | Ty Templeton lists the seven best gay characters in comics. [Ty Templeton's Art Land]
Creators | Marvel editor Nate Cosby talks about social media, the editor’s role in promoting comics and literary adaptations, among other topics. [ComicsAlliance]
Creators | Deb Aoki provides a transcript of the Moto Hagio spotlight panel from this past summer’s Comic-Con International, as well as her own interview with the shojo manga pioneer. [About.com]
Retailers | Jamie and Erin Sullivan have opened I.E. Comics and Gaming — “Imagine Everything” — in Hemet, Calif. [Valley News]
8 Comments
shaun
September 14, 2010 at 10:26 am
Biggest barrier to creating new collectors is convincing them it makes sense to buy a comic for 4 bucks when they can rent a tv show for $.99. The 4 dollar cover price will kill monthlies.
Emster
September 14, 2010 at 10:39 am
I’m with Shaun. It’s getting way too expensive.
Bruce
September 14, 2010 at 10:42 am
And add to the fact most current titles take less time to read then a commerical break.
mr. pants
September 14, 2010 at 11:34 am
@shaun
Why the hell would you want to create new collectors? They destroyed the industry. The monthlies need to go away.
What needs to hapen is take the european approach, and release stand alone albums every once in awhile.
Snikt snakt
September 14, 2010 at 11:56 am
I concur w/Sean. When the monthlies hit $4 across the board I’m OUT. After collecting comics for 30 years I’ll have to walk away from them.
But oh wait, I have dozens of long boxes FULL of older comics I can always reread and enjoy, for free! Problem solved.
jason
September 14, 2010 at 12:21 pm
@ mr. pants
“Why the hell would you want to create new collectors? They destroyed the industry. The monthlies need to go away.”
No.
SPECULATORS who thought they would get rich or send their kids to college with multiple copies of comics with shiny covers almost destroyed the industry.
Real collectors who have been in the hobby for years are the ones that have helped to keep the industry alive and supported retailers.
W. T. New
September 14, 2010 at 12:50 pm
Comic book stores used to make their money selling bags, boards, boxes, and back issues. Now, they make their money selling new books.
New books used to be found in supermarkets, news stands, convenience stores, hardware stores, diners…
I don’t want to see the death of the comic book store, but if comic books are to survive, they have to break free from the direct market. You can sell a hundred thousand copies of a title at a lower cover price than you can if you’re only selling tens of thousands.
Dr.J.
September 15, 2010 at 10:58 pm
I have very fond memories of the cigar stores,that also would carry a complete selection of nearly every comic coming out.the late shinders stores also had an awsome selection.there were many of the small ma and pa little general stores everywhere,that carried comics,as well as nearly every drug store and many of the larger grocery stores,I remember picking up many a book at the red owl. the cub stores do carry comics, but, they gouge the buyers an extra buck per book,on nearly every marvel.