I’m gonna complain about Marvel. Again I hope to get more regular with my posts on this blog in the next month.
Marvel is absolutely killing me with the maintenance of their $4 price points, their insane numbering and point one books and now the continuation of event after event after event. Marvel seems to want me to drop the entire line, since every time I get into a book I’m forced and dragged into buying other books.
Let’s take each point in order. First up is the continued proliferation of $4 books, even a cool little mini-series like Legion of Monsters is a $4 book. Captain America (a $3) becomes Captain America and Bucky and they launch a new Captain America and it is a $4 book. The Uncanny X-Men gets cancelled as it is re-launched after X-Men Schism (a $4 book) into Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men, one $3 book becomes two $4 books. The entire Ultimate line, which is only a few books, are all $4, but as a result I only get Ultimates as the other two series where not worth $4, but maybe worth $3.
Next up is the ridiculous Point one stuff from Marvel. When it was first introduced it seemed like a nice idea to give readers a clear jumping on point, now it is just an excuse for another issue of the comic. The last Uncanny X-Force point one was a launch for Age of Apocalypse, the one before that has never been followed up on. Instead of thinking these are books I want to buy I avoid them like the plague as I know seldom will they have any impact on what I’m reading. The only book that meant anything was after Fear Itself when 7.1 was about how Bucky never died, which is insane that it was not put in the regular continuity book. I no longer have the time or desire to have to read all the press releases (covered as news by most comic books sites) to figure out how to follow a character.
Finally let me finish up with a rant about all the event crap. Let’s start small, I’m enjoying Daredevil, but now I have a cross-over with Spider-Man at issue #7. I don’t want to read Spider-Man, but I think the creative team is doing both books, so it is tough to not want to pick it up. I may instead skip that Daredevil issue. I want to read Daredevil. Spider-Island made me drop Spider-Man and the Venom series because it was too much crap and not just the adventures of who I’m trying to follow. Spider-Man has another event starting in March, glad I’m off that book. Now comes Avengers vs X-Men as Marvel is pulling out all the stops which I assumes means that the Avenger titles and few X titles I follow will be dragged into it as well. I may be dragged into following this series, heck I was curious about the Cable mini-series which is a precursor to this series, but skipped the $4 book. If I do get dragged into this book I can guarantee you that I will drop a bunch of ancillary titles.
So good job Marvel, while I don’t buy a ton of Marvel the next two weeks have over 14 Marvel books on them but Thunderbolts, Moon Knight, Uncanny X-Men, Incredible Hulk, New Avengers and others could be easily dropped.
I dropped Marvel way back just before the War of Kings event was to hit Nova. Is Nova still being made? That was my last Marvel book. I left the characters I grew up loving and just read and buy the old back issues. Joe Q said that was what people like me should do. The price point has kept me away. I just do not have the cash to spare.
ReplyDeleteI am carefully watching DC on this issue you have raised. I see the inter-connected idea they have in the DCnU, but so far it seems they are attempting the same thing that they have been doing with the big events, not requiring me to buy the other series to understand the one I am reading. So it remains a $3 buy so far. I really liked All Star Western, but the $4 price is what kept me from it. I have Warehouse 13, Rachel Rising ($3.50), and now Witchblade at the $3.99 mark.
One thing that the comicbook makers seem to not understand is that when you raise the price, yet we still only get a 22-page story, we will be more discerning of what we buy. More people are using my "if I do not enjoy reading it, it gets cut" way of buying. Comicbok addicts are not collecting just to have it, because they can't afford it.
Great post.
Great rant but by buying these comics at all you only have yourself to blame. Quit cold turkey and if enough of us do, the publishers will have to try a new strategy.
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