Sunday, February 15, 2009

My New Comics and Hitting the Wall


Last week’s best cover is Last Reign: King of War #3.


Doctor Who Classic Series 2 #3, IDW.

The Walking Dead #58, Image.

Last Reign: King of War #3, Boom Studios.

On the Rack Back Issue: I noticed that Booster Gold #16 had Enemy Ace so I picked that up too… a month late

Trade Paperbacks:
Classic Invaders Vol 3, Marvel Comics. Reprints Invaders #22-23 and #25-34. It’s funny because my store forgot to keep putting the Avengers/Invaders in my box so now I’ve missed a few issues and I don’t feel like hunting down what I missed

In other news
I’ve hit a wall. I’m really quite fed up with the price of comics. Recently I opened up Previews and noticed that Marvel had a few new titles that I wanted priced at $3.99. The first thing that went across my mind was “fuck this” We are going into a great depression here folks and Marvel expects us diehard fans to shoulder more and more of the burden. I’ve had it. Comics thrived during the 1930’s because they were a cheap form of entertainment and fucking four bucks per title is not cheap. Simply put, it’s a rip-off. I’m spending so much money on comics I can’t spend it on anything else irregardless if the cover price is four bucks or less. Fool me once shame on you, fool me every week year after year… well you get picture…

I’ve cancelled a slew of titles and I’ve cancelled a of bunch future orders as well. Hell if I really miss something great it’s gonna come out in a trade anyway right? There’s a few series I’ll continue with for right now but most are gone. Also, I’m gonna let the current mini-series I’m following run out and not pick up the next iteration. And that’s it.

Titles I’ve dropped:
Terminator: Revolution, Dynamite Entertainment

Crossed, Avatar

Conan: The Cimmerian, Dark Horse Comics (I’ll pick up the trades at some point)

Northlanders, Vertigo/DC Comics

The Man with No Name, Dynamite Entertainment

Secret Six, DC Comics

Star Trek: Crew, IDW

Star Trek: Mission’s End, IDW

Astounding Wolf-Man (I’ll pick up the trades at some point)

Previews, I can’t order what I don’t know is coming out right?!

Oh Man I just remembered I gotta drop the Hulk too!


I guess this is really gonna screw up next year’s Atomic Romance Awards heh heh



-Swinebread

6 comments:

rob! said...

$4 a book is crazy.

When I was a kid, comics were around 50-60 cents, and candy bars were around 40 cents.

Now, comics are $3.50-$4, and candy bars are around...75 cents.

I know that there are huge differences between the two, but Big Candy knows that their product is meant to be a purchase you don't even have to think about--you want it, you buy it.

But if you buy just two comics--two--you've spent nearly a ten-spot. There's something wrong with this equation.

ladybug said...

I hear ya...and you're probably right. They are terribly overpriced.

The only thing I want to get is Top Shelf's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen...Serenity by Dark Horse..and anything by Neil Gaiman...(can't afford the cool collected volumes they've been selling of Sandman though..at $100 a wack [4 vol]..) they're a bit pricey.

Don Snabulus said...

It would be interesting to know exactly why the prices are going up so fast. Is it that the corporate owners want more revenue? Big names driving up the price (like in sports)? I dunno.

By the way, the Walt Becker cover looks like his best work since Steely Dan. All that cycling in the 30s must have paid off.

Arkonbey said...

Yeah, the prices are stupid. The art and stories of the average mainstream comic is still geared towards the younger crowd. It's like Captain Americas I read in the late 80's I marvel (no pun intended) at the mediocre art and story that had me hooked; but, we were all like that. (That being said, there are no more Claremonts, Byrnes, Davises, Adamses or Scienkewiczes anymore even)

The prices, however, are now becoming too dear for gainfully employed middle class fans. WTF?

I'll stick to indies that are at least a bit original. Speaking of that, Flight volume 6 is in the works.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link! Two (OK, three) questions for you:

1. How is Last Reign? Should I get in on reading that?

2. What made you drop Northlanders? I absolutely loved the first trade.

-PDX Comic Geek

Swinebread said...

rob! - I think it's because they've killed off their customers and the folks that are left have to pay more... plus it's not printed on newsprint anymore... but still something is way off on the price

LB - They must think we're made out of money. I don't know anybody that can afford go buy those absolute additions...

snab - I'm at a loss myself but there you go

arky - the middle class cannot afford comics is right. Maybe the whole thing is just to keep their copyright so they can make movies, toys, and video games. You’re right about the art too. There are too many companies accepting mediocre work where the artist isn't very good with anatomy. Pathetic really. The coloring is used to hide the fact that they can't draw imho.

PDX - thanks for stopping by!

1. Last Reign is a mediocre sci-fi post-apocalyptic comic from Boom Studios. It’s so so. I really like post-apocalyptic stories so that’s why I picked it up but I couldn’t really recommend it unless you really need a PA fix. A better title that was collected in a trade is North Wind. Also The Walking Dead and Crossed (very graphic) are two other PA titles I could recommend.

2. Northlanders is a title I like reading but I’m kinda fed up right now with the amount of money I’m spending comics so I dropped it. I guess it was good enough to read but not to buy, besides I can get the trades at some point anyway right? The quality was just as good as it was in the first few issues if that's what your are worried about...