Print the floppies on newsprint and charge $1.99 for them

[BaneBreaker]

Trey if you're referring to Alterna, I believe they just started doing newsprint comics. They did a lot of digital prior. As far as their profitability, you would have to ask them.

[Trey Strain]

Post deleted.

[Osiris-Rex]

Trey if you're referring to Alterna, I believe they just started doing newsprint comics. They did a lot of digital prior. As far as their profitability, you would have to ask them.

It could even be a loss leader. See how well the printed comic book does, get people hooked on the stories and then jack up the price.

[Trey Strain]

Here's the proof, right here. Notice that he says "production costs" and not just "paper costs." I suspect that newsprint requires lower-cost ink, as well as being a less expensive paper.

http://www.comicon.com/2017/10/04/pe...t-renaissance/

[MajorHoy]

I think doing a cheaper version to sell on news stands and the like might work

For me I'd rather pay a bit more for better quality

The books for metal are an example of what I mean

Card stock cover

Panini in the UK do that with marvel reprints but of course they don't have the original costs

As a reader and collector quality of product counts

But to reach mass market sales, news prints of 2 or 3 issue collections might work I think

By the way, is DC still offering newsstand versions here in the U.S.?
Last I remember, they had increased the printed price of their New 52 books by a dollar for the newsstand versions, but where I use to find some (Barnes & Nobles) has stopped offering individual DC issues for sale.

I know Marvel stopped producing newsstand versions of comic books a while back because it wasn't worth it since newsstand versions were returnable if they weren't sold (unlike comic books normally sold through direct sales/ comic book shops here in the U.S.). And by "returnable", that didn't mean the entire issue was sent back to the company. Just the cover was returned as proof it wasn't sold.

[Trey Strain]

Does anybody still want to pay $2-$3 extra per issue for fancy paper? And if so, then why?

Have you presented your "brilliant idea" here to DC?
Let us know what they tell you about actual costs and everything.

Yes it is a good one, isn't it? I'll tell you what though. I'll let you approach them with it, and you can even take credit for it.

[Bor]

Does anybody still want to pay $2-$3 extra per issue for fancy paper? And if so, then why?

$3? No but the $1more or maybe $2 then what you are suggesting? Me. Because it lasts longer and looks better in my opinion. How is that hard to understand?

[Trey Strain]

$3? No but the $1more or maybe $2 then what you are suggesting? Me. Because it lasts longer and looks better in my opinion. How is that hard to understand?

Would you rather pay $3.99 for a comic on fancy paper than $1.99 for a comic on newsprint? If you want to do that, you can under my proposal. Just wait for the collection to come out.

[JasonTodd428]

Would you rather pay $3.99 for a comic on fancy paper than $1.99 for a comic on newsprint? If you want to do that, you can under my proposal. Just wait for the collection to come out.

Yes, I would rather pay the $3.99 for a comic I only want to try out onnpaper I'm not allergic to then to "save" money by buying a $1.99 comic on newsprint which I am allergic to. The later would end up costing me an insurance co-pay which would alone make the overall "price" of this far of more than $3.99.

Also I'm not sure how good a trade of newsprint comics would look on the better quality paper. Seems to me the trades I have of older stuff that has been reprinted onto better paper either have been recolored or the images just look blurred. If I'm going to pay top dollar for a HC I don't want it looking like crap.

[Trey Strain]

Yes, I would rather pay the $3.99 for a comic I only want to try out onnpaper I'm not allergic to then to "save" money by buying a $1.99 comic on newsprint which I am allergic to. The later would end up costing me an insurance co-pay which would alone make the overall "price" of this far of more than $3.99.

Also I'm not sure how good a trade of newsprint comics would look on the better quality paper. Seems to me the trades I have of older stuff that has been reprinted onto better paper either have been recolored or the images just look blurred. If I'm going to pay top dollar for a HC I don't want it looking like crap.

Absolutely the collections would have to look better than the floppies. I don't think that's any sort of technical problem with current stuff but may be attributable to the condition of the older material. I don't know how they do it but maybe they're copying old material off of floppies and just printing it on better paper, with the colors touched up.

[numberthirty]

Would you rather pay $3.99 for a comic on fancy paper than $1.99 for a comic on newsprint? If you want to do that, you can under my proposal. Just wait for the collection to come out.

Lemme see if I have this straight...

One guy should be deciding that it is time for a change in the relationship between publisher and readers that quite a few readers have said they don't really have a problem with?

Is that correct?

[numberthirty]

Does anybody still want to pay $2-$3 extra per issue for fancy paper? And if so, then why?

For one thing, I'm old enough to actually have had subscriptions when newsprint was the only way things were done.

I have absolutely zero desire to return to those days.

[numberthirty]

A company is selling comics on newsprint for $1.50 right now and is earning a profit.

Anybody who says that won't work needs to notice that it's already working. And at a lower price that $1.99!

What makes you think that the talent at DC/Marvel would want to be paid whatever it takes to make that work? You are making a lot of assumptions about how things work in order to try to make this scenario work.

Let alone that said creators might not want to go back to their art hitting the stands on newsprint.

[numberthirty]

I don't have a link. I looked into it because I might have a project to sell through Image.

If you "Looked Into It", how did you wind up with an impression that is the exact opposition of how the company works? Never mind that there have been articles on this part of the bigger picture L/R/C since Image started taking what would traditionally have been Vertigo work.

[Trey Strain]

Lemme see if I have this straight...

One guy should be deciding that it is time for a change in the relationship between publisher and readers that quite a few readers have said they don't really have a problem with?

Is that correct?

If you think comics prices are just fine, then there's no point in my saying otherwise. But I'm not "one guy" who would like to see them cut by two dollars. It's more like you're "one guy" who thinks they're fine.

For one thing, I'm old enough to actually have had subscriptions when newsprint was the only way things were done.

I have absolutely zero desire to return to those days.

You can't make everybody happy. If you want both floppies and and collections on fancy paper, then maybe Marvel would keep doing it that way. But I bet if DC made the switch, then Marvel would too. Or they'd go bust.

What makes you think that the talent at DC/Marvel would want to be paid whatever it takes to make that work? You are making a lot of assumptions about how things work in order to try to make this scenario work.

Let alone that said creators might not want to go back to their art hitting the stands on newsprint.

Who said anything about cutting their pay? I just posted the proof that the total production costs would be cut by two-thirds if they switch to newsprint. Alterna has already done it. You didn't click on the link, did you? Here it is again:

http://www.comicon.com/2017/10/04/pe...t-renaissance/


And the artists would object if the floppies were printed on newsprint? What makes you think so?

Again -- the collections would still use 50-pound paper.

If you "Looked Into It", how did you wind up with an impression that is the exact opposition of how the company works? Never mind that there have been articles on this part of the bigger picture L/R/C since Image started taking what would traditionally have been Vertigo work.

I know how Image pays its writers. That's why I'd be more interested in working for Image. Since you don't believe what I say about how much their writers make, you should ask Image. That's really not even the topic of this thread anyway, or of this forum.