D&D General Some comic makers would kill for D&Ds numbers and demographic.

[Urriak Uruk]

Two words: Marvel Unlimited. If digital delivery is good for you, rather than paper, Marvel Unlimited gives you access to a GIGANTIC back catalog of titles. $70 a year - so less than the cost of 20 current issues.

It does not give you a clear jumping on point, but it solves the affordability issue - and if you are confused by mention of past continuity... you can go and read it at no additional cost!

It sounds good, but I get headaches when I look at a screen too long, and my job is computer-facing, so when I want to read I only want paper.

Also I'm not sure the answer to getting a newbie to read comics is a $70 annual subscription. That's a big barrier to entry for non-comic readers.

 

[Parmandur]

I still don't get why he's comparing it to comics, they are very different in their release schedule and pricing.

He's saying that he, as a comic writer, is very successful (between his work for Marvel, DC and IDW) but is finding more success in D&D writing.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I still don't get why he's comparing it to comics, they are very different in their release schedule and pricing.

I don't think he's comparing the model, just the overall numbers. There is an audience being reached by RPGs that is not being reached by comics. Are there things that writers can do to tap into that audience?

 

[hawkeyefan]

It sounds good, but I get headaches when I look at a screen too long, and my job is computer-facing, so when I want to read I only want paper.

Also I'm not sure the answer to getting a newbie to read comics is a $70 annual subscription. That's a big barrier to entry for non-comic readers.

It's less than $6 a month. When the typical monthly comic costs $4, I would not describe a subscription service that gets you access to thousands of comics for 50% more than the cost of one single comic to be a barrier.

The digital angle is also not a barrier to most new readers. It's simply the way they read or watch anything.

 

[gyor]

I've tried to get into comics a few times over the years.

The comic industry is not newbie friendly, as has been mentioned. Each time I've asked various store owners for advice as to where to start. And even though I've started at issue #1 of whatever, there are things that I'm assumed to know. Some are story line, some are medium conventions.

And then as has been mentioned, it's not particularly cost effective. If you take the cost and time mentioned before, $4 for 15 minutes adds up. Especially if I'd like to sit down for an hour or two and get involved.

There are many things competing with my time (and money), for me, comics has repeatedly (over 3 decades or so) done a poor job of getting me as a fan and customer.

If they want to grow their market, they have to keep their fans and grow new ones. Look at 5E, it wasn't designed for the hard core fans, it was designed for the casual person. Their will always be niche hard-core deep story, thousand issue running plots for those that want them (if their are enough of them). But if they want to grow, and not just maintain their customer base, they need to make their product accessible to the masses.

More like 5 minutes for $4, although you can get better deals if you go just digital or get subscription and some other options. Buying a single paper back issue is the worst way to enjoy comics IMHO, its like only buying a single card of MtG, wtf are going to do with that.

 

[gyor]

It's less than $6 a month. When the typical monthly comic costs $4, I would not describe a subscription service that gets you access to thousands of comics for 50% more than the cost of one single comic to be a barrier.

The digital angle is also not a barrier to most new readers. It's simply the way they read or watch anything.

I think Amazon has a comix app now where you can get an unlimited subscription and read as much of certain comic book lines as you want, for a lot cheaper then $70s, I'll see if I can find details.

 

[darjr]

And thus the race to the bottom. Could this also be part of the problem?

 

[gyor]

Read Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga and More

m.comixology.com

It is $5.99 usd, but it turns out it's not launched in Canada yet. Over 20,000 titles, so it's as long as you are American and not a Canadian it's a great way to get into comic books.

 

[Zardnaar]

And thus the race to the bottom. Could this also be part of the problem?

They don't have to print anything or distribute it. Shouldn't impact the artists bottom line.

To many artists not enough comics well though.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

A single movie probably makes more than the entire comics industry does in a year.

Way, way, WAY more.

A big part of the problem is the bang for buck value of a comic book.

So a hardback RPG book that costs $30 is usually much longer than a comic trade paperback and is also designed to translate into many hours of game time.

I agree with you in that I think comics should be cheaper than they are (a lot of that is because they're owned by large, greedy corporations), but you're making one mistake in your reckoning: You are only looking at how long comics take to be consumed compared to other forms of entertainment - you're missing that they take longer to MAKE. Very few comic artists can produce a single page in less than 12 hours worth of work. Barring writer's block (which can happen at the writing stage of a comic too), a novel takes less work to produce. (I know, tell that to George RR Martin, right?)