Print the floppies on newsprint and charge $1.99 for them

[Trey Strain]

DC should go back to printing its floppies on newsprint, and should drop its price to $1.99

But it should continue to print its collections on high-grade paper and hold those prices steady.

This would give the company a huge competitive advantage over Marvel. Obviously it would sell many more floppies, but it would also sell more collections, because more people would read the collected stories in floppies in the first place.

[Vanguard-01]

I think this is actually a good idea. Yeah the new paper is pretty, but it's expensive as Hell. Newsprint is cheap and even recyclable. It would cut costs for just about everyone.

There's actually an indie comic company that's already doing this. They're called Alterna Comics and their books are priced at $1.50.

[Trey Strain]

High prices are hurting comics sales, and this is probably the only way to make a dent in them.

I don't think anyone would object to it, and the people who want the stories on fancy paper could still get them that way.

[Carabas]

Of course they would first have to make a big investment to get printing presses that can actually deal with crap paper.

And everything would to have to be coloured twice. And it's not as if superdeluxe paper is that big of an expense anyway.

[Vanguard-01]

Of course they would first have to make a big investment to get printing presses that can actually deal with crap paper.

And everything would to have to be coloured twice. And it's not as if superdeluxe paper is that big of an expense anyway.

Alterna does it just fine and they're a much smaller company. Their printer is located right in the US, even. It's not that hard.

[Osiris-Rex]

I think paying the writers and artists is the biggest expense. With paying the printers also a big part of the cost. I can't really see that high quality paper costs $1 more.
And printing on both high and low quality paper would drive the printing costs up even more because the printers would need to set up for one type of paper. Then shut
the line down and have to set up for the other type of paper. And most people that are collectors would want the best paper anyway so would there be that big of a market
for people that want the cheap version?

[Osiris-Rex]

Alterna does it just fine and they're a much smaller company. Their printer is located right in the US, even. It's not that hard.

Maybe the bigger reason is Alterna doesn't pay their writers and artists as much. I am not familiar with them. Who are their biggest name writers and artists?

[Vanguard-01]

Maybe the bigger reason is Alterna doesn't pay their writers and artists as much. I am not familiar with them. Who are their biggest name writers and artists?

I don't think they have any big names currently. They're a REALLY new company. They actually list the stores that are currently buying their products and it's not a long list.

[Trey Strain]

Maybe the bigger reason is Alterna doesn't pay their writers and artists as much. I am not familiar with them. Who are their biggest name writers and artists?

I don't know how much Alterna pays, but I was surprised to learn that Image pays its writers just as much as DC and Marvel does. So considering how few copies the Image titles sell compared to DC and Marvel, I think that the pay for writers and artists is not a big part of the equation.

I also know that DC doesn't actually start losing money on a comic until it drops under 10K in sales, but they usually won't tolerate DCU sales of less than 20K.

I've seen some posts online stating that floppies use 50 pound paper, but i can't vouch for that.

[BaneBreaker]

Alterna is run by Peter Simeti, he's on Facebook and Twitter. I believe Alterna has been around for about 10 years. They're like Image, creator owned books.

[Carabas]

I don't know how much Alterna pays, but I was surprised to learn that Image pays its writers just as much as DC and Marvel does.

You have been misinformed. Image has a radically different business model than Marvel and DC.

How does publishing a comic book or graphic novel through Image work?

Image was set up so that creators could do what they want with their creations, and reap the benefits financially. When a book is published by Image, creators are not paid up front. It can sometimes be two or three months before one sees money from a book. It sounds rough, and it most definitely can be. But if it’s done right, the payoff can be far more rewarding than producing a book in the conventional manner.

When the creator does finally get paid, they get paid on what their book makes after the cost of printing and Image’s modest office fee, which covers solicitations, traffic, production, and some promotion of the book. We make no more money off of our highest selling book than we do our lowest.

Does Image take my film and television rights?

No. You own ALL of your rights.

If the book does poorly, the creators may not see any money from it at all. If the book is a hit, they get money a Batman writer can only dream off. There is no such thing as a page rate for Image creators.

[Trey Strain]

You have been misinformed. Image has a radically different business model than Marvel and DC.



If the book does poorly, the creators may not see any money from it at all. If the book is a hit, they get money a Batman writer can only dream off. There is no such thing as a page rate for Image creators.

It's set up much differently but the pay ends up being about the same. If your comic doesn't sell, then DC and Marvel will fire you. Same outcome there.

But yes, if you create a big hit then the ownership really pays off.

[Buried Alien]

I prefer the look and feel of the old newsprint myself, but as it hasn't been the industry standard since the early 1990s, would either of the Big Two seriously consider taking that step backwards?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Trey Strain]

I prefer the look and feel of the old newsprint myself, but as it hasn't been the industry standard since the early 1990s, would either of the Big Two seriously consider taking that step backwards?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

If the difference is between a cover price of $1.99 vs $3.99, then the question is, would the readers see it as a step backward or forward? I think they'd see it as a big improvement. And they could still buy the collections on fancy paper.

[Carabas]

It's set up much differently but the pay ends up being about the same. If your comic doesn't sell, then DC and Marvel will fire you. Same outcome there.

But yes, if you create a big hit then the ownership really pays off.

That's not quite how it works.
And if you're comic doesn't sell, Marvel and DC generally cancel it and put you on another book.

Work-for-hire writers get their page rate and royalties. Their page rate doesn't get upped retroactively if they have a big hit (but they might be in a better negotiation position for their next project).

If the difference is between a cover price of $1.99 vs $3.99, then the question is, would the readers see it as a step backward or forward? I think they'd see it as a big improvement. And they could still buy the collections on fancy paper.

The real reason for the difference between those cover prices is corporate greed.

Marvel and DC books cost that much because Marvel/DC fans will pay that much.
If going back to newsprint made any real difference, Marvel would absolutely do it. This would not be reflected in their cover prices at all.