$1.50 comics on newsprint: wouldja?

[jacovny]

I've had this question rattling around in my head since the Alterna-Comix line appeared:

If the major comics publishers held a referendum and asked readers if they'd support a return to publishing comics on newsprint, and all the disadvantages that go along with it -- deterioration, limited color palette, etc. -- but we could once again buy all comics for a sub-$2 cover price... would you want that?

I'm under no illusion that this could actually happen, but I'm curious how the community would lean. I also wonder if lower, more accessible price points might facilitate the return of comics into the retail outlets they inhabited in decades past? Just curious.

[JohnMayo]

While I'd like a cheaper price point, I like the better printing quality. I don't think costs would be enough lower that the price would be profitable. So, while I'd get the comics at that price, I wouldn't be entirely happy wit the lower quality and I don't think it would be sustainable.

[fudd71]

For me I don't really care about the quality and actually miss the news print days I think there was a certain charm to it. I would love it if all comics went back to a quality similar to that of the mid 1980s and were $1.00-$1.75.

[jrphoenix]

I've been reading most of the Alterna comics. I don't mind the newsprint most of the time. That being said, sometimes the print looks smeared or the pages come through with creases. If Alterna was selling their books at 2.99 or 3.99 I would probably not read any of them. So, yes price does help me pick a book up.

I honestly think there must be some kind of happy medium with some "better" quality print (lower grade) at 2.00 or even 2.50. With those prices I don't think most of us would be buying though a discount shop.?

[comicm]

I think art looks better on newsprint so I would be OK with it. I think the majority like the thicker paper. Also for archiving purposes the newer gloss paper is better. I don't CGC books but those that do would hate newsprint because you would hardly ever get a really high rating in newsprint with the quality of material that Alterna is using. Marvel did this with there FF and Avengers Unplugged and a Untold Legends of Spider-man back in the day and they did not sell so I think the experiment did not prove fruitful for the store profits or for consumers.

[NicksPicks]

I wish more Indy titles experimented with the newsprint and lower price point. If done more consistently, I think you'd have more readers willing to try out the first few issues of an unproven new series. I feel cheated when I pay $3.99 for a mediocre or trashy first issue, but a cheaper price point makes me feel like at least I got the quality I paid for. The alternative to not lowering quality or price is going to mean less Indy titles and publishers in the very near future. Who's got the money or interest to sample all this stuff? You can't even trust the new series to come out regularly , which makes the higher costs even more risky. That being said though, Joe Quesada said over the weekend that the newsstand was terrible for publishers - a lot of wasted copies and lower profitability, so that is sadly never coming back.

[JohnMayo]

Those sorts of experiments have been tried in the past. Generally speaking, lower prices don't result in higher sales.

Based on Statement of Ownership data, during the newstand era, 80% of the print run was wasted. The current model is far more efficient in terms of the percentage of the print run sold.

[drew]

i am more inclined to sample based on price - but if ed piskor puts out a $6 book i buy that too

[jacovny]

Those sorts of experiments have been tried in the past. Generally speaking, lower prices don't result in higher sales.

That's a fair point, and impossible to argue based upon sales. Still, as another commentor mentioned, if the Alterna line were priced any higher, I wouldn't be buying any of them because the stories thus far simply haven't grabbed me. I'm essentially buying them now BECAUSE of the low price point, and because I'm hoping it will continue and eventually result in compelling stories. I'm paying to support and advance the concept, rather than from an honest desire to own the product at this point.

So what all that boils down to for me is, I might not buy a mediocre book on an ongoing basis for a lower price point. But if I could buy mainstream Batman and Spider-Man titles for that price, and double my pull list? Or buy them off the shelf at my LCS instead of ordering online? I'd take that in a heartbeat. When I was a kid, I always imagined that when I grew up, I'd be John Mayo, buying thousands of comics per year. I didn't anticipate the quadrupling cover price of course, so my number of monthly books is about the same as it was when I was 12. There are a great many titles I imagine I'd buy regularly if I could purchase two or three times as many books for the same $$, even if it meant a return to newsprint.

[drew]

I'm essentially buying them now BECAUSE of the low price point, and because I'm hoping it will continue and eventually result in compelling stories. I'm paying to support and advance the concept, rather than from an honest desire to own the product at this point

ditto me too - im all in

[Gilgabob]

I would love to read a title like Black Hammer on newsprint.