Disturbing number of 4.99 books from Marvel in May

[drew]

I decided to start reading comics full-page and got a Galaxy Note 12.2 inch tablet which presents the comic book page at pretty much the same size as print. I believe Drew has done the same thing. I really like this presentation, and have started reading all my digital comics the same way.

yep but its the Galaxy Tab for me

I have gone to Comixology and purchased the latest issues because I was really enjoying the title and wanted to catch up! Marvel knows this. Marvel also knows they are keeping people like me, who might otherwise leave their books altogether, in their universe by offering a second tier of product at a lower price, which can also feed their funnel into current release sales.

makes sense for DC to get in this game, Dark horse, too i would be curious about the timing since DC tends to look at trade release schedules much later than marvel and certainly much much later than image does...

[TJ602]

ComicTrekker,

It will be interesting to see if marvel brings the star wars comics into the unlimited app in 6 months (as they just started publishing the new books) now that the star wars line has come back from dark horse. They have been adding some non marvel line comics, for instance, they have been adding the jim zub written "figment" and other disney line comics.

Every time John talks about ordering 80+ $3.99 and $4.99 marvel comics a month on the podcast I thank my lucky stars that I can read the same number of books for $7 with marvel unlimited

[TJ602]

Good luck to the fools that pay $3.99 for a weekly book
Thaddeus

hey!! some of us fools have podcast review shows dang it.

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, so sorry about that. I just feel that at a certain point the type of thinking marvel and dc are engaging in is going to kill this wonderful storytelling medium. I know you guys have a special situation where you have to stay current for the podcast, but for us normal readers $4.99 is just such a rip-off.

[TJ602]

Interesting to see your guys take on this....

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... int-model/

Do you think this is just a low selling series thing with an innovative attempt to give readers proper endings? Or do you think this is the first sign that Dark horse is feeling the loss of the star wars line and they no longer have a cushion to let new series find there feet and build an audience?

[drew]

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, so sorry about that. I just feel that at a certain point the type of thinking marvel and dc are engaging in is going to kill this wonderful storytelling medium. I know you guys have a special situation where you have to stay current for the podcast, but for us normal readers $4.99 is just such a rip-off.

this industry is so flawed and backwards, i continue to support it in SPITE of the business practices involved...but for how much longer, i dunno

Interesting to see your guys take on this....
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... int-model/
Do you think this is just a low selling series thing with an innovative attempt to give readers proper endings? Or do you think this is the first sign that Dark horse is feeling the loss of the star wars line and they no longer have a cushion to let new series find there feet and build an audience?

i hope its them trying to be innovative, i enjoy the DC digital first line, so maybe it can have that sort of success...

have you used the Dark Horse digital app? it used to be super glitchy, i haven't tried it out recently though...

[ComicTrekker]

It will be interesting to see if marvel brings the star wars comics into the unlimited app in 6 months (as they just started publishing the new books) now that the star wars line has come back from dark horse. They have been adding some non marvel line comics, for instance, they have been adding the jim zub written "figment" and other disney line comics.

Yes, I wonder about the same thing, TJ. I certainly hope they do pick up the Star Wars line.

Every time John talks about ordering 80+ $3.99 and $4.99 marvel comics a month on the podcast I thank my lucky stars that I can read the same number of books for $7 with marvel unlimited

This is one of the reasons why I appreciate what John and the others do on the podcasts. I have no doubt that all the reading, reviews and podcast producing are a huge time (and financial) commitment. But yes...the flat subscription price is nice!

[JohnMayo]

Here are the comics I got on August 20th, 2014:

All New Ghost Rider (2014) #6 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
All New Ultimates (2014) #6 @ $3.99 [Marvel: Ultimate Comics]
All New X-Factor (2014) #12 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Daredevil (2014) #7 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Deadly Hands of Kung Fu (2014) #4 @ $3.99 [Marvel] (Ended)
Deadpool Vs X-Force (2014) #3 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Deadpool: Dracula's Gauntlet (2014) #7 @ $3.99 [Marvel] (Ended)
Elektra (2014) #5 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Magneto (2014) #8 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Mighty Avengers (2013) #13 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Ms Marvel (2014) #7 @ $2.99 [Marvel]
New 52: Futures End (2014) #16 @ $2.99 [DC: New 52]
New Avengers (2012) #23 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Nova (2013) #20 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Original Sins (2014) #5 @ $3.99 [Marvel] (Ended)
Savage Wolverine (2012) #22 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Secret Avengers (2014) #7 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Storm (2014) #2 @ $3.99 [Marvel]
Wolverine (2014) Annual #1 @ $4.99 [Marvel]

I'm curious how many of them get released this week on the Marvel DCU service.

The cover price for those totals up to $71.82 and the DCBS discounted price comes to $43.02. Obviously the DCU service would be way cheaper.

If there was a service like it for DC, I could see shifting over to those services and saving a ton of money. Certainly when I was between jobs for 6 months, the service would have been a nice option to have had. I've got a coworker who uses the service and enjoys it. He has four kids and only so much money and time to devote to things like comics. From a reader perspective, the online subscription service just makes a lot of financial sense. I question how Marvel would be able to continue to produce the amount of content they currently do if a larger number of people make that shift. Hopefully the people at Marvel have a plan for that.

[JohnMayo]

Interesting to see your guys take on this....

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... int-model/

Do you think this is just a low selling series thing with an innovative attempt to give readers proper endings? Or do you think this is the first sign that Dark horse is feeling the loss of the star wars line and they no longer have a cushion to let new series find there feet and build an audience?

Well, I'm not overjoyed that Resurrectionists is one of the titles shifting from print to digital. I started the series in print issues with the expectation it would at least finish the first arc that way. I have no plans to buy the digital issues and I'll consider the print trade depending on the price point and on what percentage of the story I already own in print. To me, this is just another variation of aborting a series to trade.

[ComicTrekker]

If there was a service like it for DC, I could see shifting over to those services and saving a ton of money.

DC needs to, IMO. Like Marvel's service, I think it would also serve as a sales funnel into the latest issues (for some customers, at least.) I would sign up immediately!

I've got a coworker who uses the service and enjoys it. He has four kids and only so much money and time to devote to things like comics.

Interesting. I'm glad he likes it. He sounds like me! Except I only have three kids.

Here are the comics I got on August 20th, 2014:

I just checked Marvel Unlimited and all of the titles you mentioned are on the service. (Except New 52: Futures End, though I would love it if it were!)

Today's releases on MU are from August 27, 2014:

All-New Invaders (2014) #9
All-New Ultimates (2014) #7
All-New X-Men (2012) #31
Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #1.4
Avengers (2012) #34
Avengers Undercover (2014) #9
Cyclops (2014) #4
Fantastic Four (2014) #9
Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #18
Inhuman (2014) #4
Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man (2012) #29
Original Sin (2014) #5.4
Savage Hulk (2014) #3
Silver Surfer (2014) #5
Thunderbolts (2012) #30
Uncanny Avengers (2012) #23
Wolverine & the X-Men (2014) #8
Wolverine (2014) #12
Wolverine Annual (2014) #1

[TJ602]

I didn't mean to sound so harsh, so sorry about that. I just feel that at a certain point the type of thinking marvel and dc are engaging in is going to kill this wonderful storytelling medium. I know you guys have a special situation where you have to stay current for the podcast, but for us normal readers $4.99 is just such a rip-off.

this industry is so flawed and backwards, i continue to support it in SPITE of the business practices involved...but for how much longer, i dunno

Interesting to see your guys take on this....
http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... int-model/
Do you think this is just a low selling series thing with an innovative attempt to give readers proper endings? Or do you think this is the first sign that Dark horse is feeling the loss of the star wars line and they no longer have a cushion to let new series find there feet and build an audience?

i hope its them trying to be innovative, i enjoy the DC digital first line, so maybe it can have that sort of success...

have you used the Dark Horse digital app? it used to be super glitchy, i haven't tried it out recently though...

I have used the dark horse app, but the experience is far inferior to comixology. Lots of crashes and navigating the store is annoying. I have just resigned myself to read dark horse books in trade format. The 2 things the dark horse app has going for it is in-app purchasing as well as very good pricing for bundles of issues. If you can get over the apps deficiencies you can get a lot of comics for cheap when they have sales.