"Phonogram" Returns, "Morning Glories" Hits #50 in Image Comics' August 2015 Solicitations

[Samurai Jack]

From twitter just now:

Marjorie Liu ‏@marjoriemliu 4m4 minutes ago
For weeks now I've been gazing lovingly at Sana Takeda's character designs for MONSTRESS: all women of color, dressed to kill. Literally.

That's cool there's finally an update on Monstress since January... as long as it comes out in September it should be fine. Really want to own and read the first issue! I'd probably even buy the Cover B and C variants if they're available!

Edit: Looks like Monstress will release sometime this fall and will have a super-sized first issue, according to her twitter.

[Trilipush]

Here's mine:

8House: Kiem #3
Injection #4
Island Magazine #2 (Emma Rios's cover is just wow)
Material #4
Wolf #2

[Alhazred]

8House: Kiem #3
Airboy #3
Descender #6
Injection #4
Invincible #122
Island Magazine #2
Kaptara #5
Lazarus #19
Material #4
Nailbiter #15
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1
Rasputin #8
Rat Queens #14
Rumble #6
Sex Criminals #13
Southern Bastards #11
Starve #3
Sunstone, Vol. 3 OGN
We Stand On Guard #2
Wolf #2

[HellsRider]

Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?

[Sumney]

Still not done crying into my pillow for Alex + Ada, but I might pick up We Stand On Guard or Wolf... okay, most definitely We Stand On Guard

Right?? I love Alex+Ada. I was already deeply saddened when I saw that issue #15 would be the final one, but issue #14 completely destroyed me. I was hoping at least one of them would have a happy ending. I wonder if it was always supposed to end so badly or if it's a rushed ending.

[comicfiend]

Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?

Likely in order to keep the series going based upon projected numbers. $3.99 is the 'norm' price for most comics today. Marvel has very much tried pushing that to $4.99 with some blowback. Several other series have recently raised their cover price; ones I'm aware of (some of these price changes occurred awhile back):
- from $2.99 to $3.99: Revival (#27), most DC/Vertigo/Marvel titles, Afterlife with Archie (#7)
- from $3.50 to $3.99: Fuse (#13), Shutter (#12), Pisces (#2), Rat Queens (#11), COWL (#9)
- from $2.99 to $3.50: Jupter's Legacy>Circle, Velvet (#6), Lazarus (#10)

[comicfiend]

Autumnlands: Tooth and Claw (Really hopes this returns in September)

I hit up Kurt on FB; he replied it'll return in Oct or Nov to allow some lead time.

[capuga]

Right?? I love Alex+Ada. I was already deeply saddened when I saw that issue #15 would be the final one, but issue #14 completely destroyed me. I was hoping at least one of them would have a happy ending. I wonder if it was always supposed to end so badly or if it's a rushed ending.

It's been planned as a 15 issue series since the beginning.

[Hi-Fi]

Is 'They're Not Like Us' supposed to be a mini? I don't see it here.

[comicfiend]

My gut is telling me this means 24 pages of art, which is comparable to most Image books. Kot's books at Image tend to be ad free too. Still beats 3.99 for 20 pages from Marvel.

I hit up Ales on FB, he replied that page count may vary (whatever the right amount), issue by issue. As well, for those that have been getting Winter Soldier, as the solicit hinted towards, its wrapping with #11 (as planned).

[Samurai Jack]

Having read the preview for The Beauty #1 earlier today, I'm really looking forward to it! I really like Jeremy Haun's art and the story concept reminds me of Superior Iron Man. I don't care for the cover though, so if I do buy it I'd get Cover B, and then trade wait the rest.

Looking at the solicits closely, why is The Fuse with the start of the third arc $3.99? Why the increase? More material possibly?

I'm not sure why so many Image comics are raising their prices to 3.99. I feel like Image is the last comic publisher to still have a majority of 2.99 or 3.50 comics, while almost every other comic publisher makes all their comics 3.99 and over by default. If any of the ongoing Image comics I've been buying raised to 3.99, I'd drop them and then trade wait.

[wwise03]

Is 'They're Not Like Us' supposed to be a mini? I don't see it here.

It's probably just a skip month. Most Image books skip a month or two in between arcs to allow the creators to get ahead a little bit.

[wwise03]

I'm not sure why so many Image comics are raising their prices to 3.99. I feel like Image is the last comic publisher to still have a majority of 2.99 or 3.50 comics, while almost every other comic publisher makes all their comics 3.99 and over by default. If any of the ongoing Image comics I've been buying raised to 3.99, I'd drop them and then trade wait.

I imagine books that aren't selling as well, but have a loyal fan base (like The Fuse in all likelihood) are going to $3.99 so that the book can keep going. My guess is The Fuse is selling between 6,000 and 8,000 copies regardless of whether it is $3.50 or $3.99.

[Samurai Jack]

I imagine books that aren't selling as well, but have a loyal fan base (like The Fuse in all likelihood) are going to $3.99 so that the book can keep going. My guess is The Fuse is selling between 6,000 and 8,000 copies regardless of whether it is $3.50 or $3.99.

What I don't understand is how three of Image's longest running series: Invincible, Walking Dead, and Spawn are still 2.99. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing at all, but some Image comics have suddenly switched from 2.99/3.50 to 3.99 almost instantly. The Empty went from 3.50 to 3.99 after only three issues. For August's solicits, Mythic #4 went from 2.99 to 3.99. Pisces #1 was 3.50, and now it's 3.99 for every issue.

In the case of The Fuse, at least it went through two whole story arcs before raising the price, but it doesn't make any sense for The Empty, Mythic, and Pisces. I just don't see the point of paying 4 bucks for these new series when you can pay 3 bucks for long running series such as Walking Dead and Spawn. The new comics are not new-reader friendly in terms of price.

I guess if Wayward, the only 3.50 ongoing I'm currently buying, raised to 3.99 at the start of its third arc, it wouldn't be bad... but I think I would be tempted to stop buying it monthly. Almost all comics are 3.99 now, and for a creator-owned comic, I think the price should invite people to read their stories, not be the same price as almost every single other current comic. Though I don't know who is in charge of cover prices.

If I was in charge of my own creator-owned comic, I would want to make it affordable for my readers, and I would keep it at 2.99 for each issue. Of course there are profit complications as well, and if your comic isn't selling maybe you need to raise the price... but why would people pay more for the comic if they weren't buying it before for less?

[Mjolnir]

I hit up Kurt on FB; he replied it'll return in Oct or Nov to allow some lead time.

Damn, that's a long time for the book to be off. Issue #6 was originally supposed to out April 15th and then saw delay after delay. The first five issues shipped pretty much on time and then saw the almost two month delay. Hopefully with this long of a lead in, the book the next 5 or 6 issue arc will be on time. Wytches too is taking a lengthy time off and won't be back until (Snyder said) late fall/early winter. Wytches was always never on time and should have finished in March, but didn't see Issue #6 until May 20. Five Ghosts, well, we all know that one, but new issues are supposed to be solicited again this fall.