From lying in the gutters, as Marvel apparently moves to the $3.99 comic as standard price according to rumors

HOW BUCKING MUCH?
So let's find out!

In 1977 Amazing Spider-Man cost 30 cents. Let's see what happens when we apply the US rate of inflation of the previous year to the price compared to what the comics actually cost.

Year Cover Price Rate of Inflation
1977 0.30 0.30
1978 0.35 0.32
1979 0.40 0.34
1980 0.40 0.38
1981 0.50 0.43
1982 0.60 0.48
1983 0.60 0.51
1984 0.60 0.53
1985 0.60 0.55
1986 0.65 0.57
1987 0.75 0.58
1988 0.75 0.6
1989 1 0.62
1990 1 0.65
1991 1 0.69
1992 1 0.72
1993 1.25 0.74
1994 1.5 0.76
1995 1.5 0.78
1996 1.5 0.80
1997 1.5 0.83
1998 1.5 0.85
1999 1.75 0.86
2000 1.99 0.88
2001 2.25 0.91
2002 2.25 0.93
2003 2.25 0.95
2004 2.25 0.97
2005 2.25 1
2006 2.5 1.03
2007 2.99 1.06
2008 2.99 1.09
2009 3.99?

Wow. Now of course, there's a higher page count, the print quality is better, the colouring technology is out of this world, but still. In real terms, at least as defined by US inflation, your comic should be just over a buck. And yet it may well be about to hit $4.

And double the 2000 price.

Ouch.

When I was very small, Sundays after church, we'd stop by the grocery store and my brother and I each had the choice between a candy bar and a comic book, because both were roughly a quarter.

Although in fairness, the price doubling from 30-60 cents only took 5 years.

As a kid, candy bars were 50 cents, comics were 75 cents

You don't wanna know how much each issue of Thor costs me, Rob - you'd faint!

I haven't been able to afford new comics on a regular basis since the early 1990s! I buy back issues and discounted or used trades. And of course I read comics from the library.

They go up to 3.99 across the board and I may have to stop reading alot of my monthlies. IDW is already $3.99, and I'm picking up the Byrne Star Trek, Wayne's FX, and possibly the Angel mini coming out later.

Funny 'cause TPBs haven't really gone up much, as most are still $20-$25. Makes them an even better deal. A six issue trade of $2.99 books is roughly the same price as the monthlies, but a six-issue trade of $3.99 books is about the price of five.

But if they go up to $3.99, will trades follow?

I admit i get heavy discounts online 35-40% so i dont feel it quite as much.

Right now I have no problem buying the occasional $3.99 book, or $3.50 book(anything by IDW, Army of Darkness). But if they go to that price across the board, I probably will have to cut back, reluctantly, but I will.

I'm on a buying hiatus for awhile, but when I start back up I'm switching to trades and strictly budgeting no more than $100 a month.

If Marvel and/or DC goes to $3.99, I'm no longer collecting monthly titles from them. I'll only collect very special books like All Star Superman or some such. It'll be a near complete shift to trades for me.

*cough* download 'em *cough*

I have seen this coming for some time, as have many. Marvel has been selling many of its
"special" books for $3.99 for some time now. These tend to have a stiffer card stock cover,
or a somewhat larger page count.

Whenever I see that, I always cringe, because that means an across-the-board price hike
is near. It takes a little long these days than it did when you'd spot the oh-oh "Still Only"
blurb above the price, but it's one of the signs.

And, as always, I will cut down a little more on what I buy new. Perhaps slowly increasing
again once I get "used to" the new pricing. I find though that I tend to get more pleasure
from buying back issues, and I can get them in Fine or better shape for far less than the
cost of new comics.

The price of comics was the biggest roadblock to me returning to the hobby. It's tough to rationalize paying three bucks for a comic when you could feed your kid for the same amount.

One of the reasons for Marvel's early success was their limited amount of titles and the low price-point. For a dollar or two a month, you could buy every marvel title and keep up with everything that's going on. Today you'd have to choose between paying your utility bills or buying Marvel's monthly output.

Not to mention Marvel's monthly output isn't nearly as good as it was overall in the early days.

This is pretty much the end of me casually collecting books like Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, etc. I didn't even really notice that Secret Invasion was 4 bucks a copy. I'll finish it off, sinc eI have the first 7, but i think I'm going to drop the big events after this and Final Crisis.

I like more comics now than I ever have, but I can't swing $4 a piece for fifty or sixty books a month.

Yeah, 4 bucks is a hefty price tag. It just doesn't make sense to collect a 5 or 6 parter which will later be available in trades now, but I do it out of habit, I guess. This will break that habit.

.

I will only buy the Fantastic Four on a monthly basis.



At the most recent convention, I purchased about 100 comics from the 1978-1985 time period,
all in very good reading condition, and never paid more than $3.00. I expect this to change, as the business model for back issues changes.



They don't live up to the hype, and turn out to be just another comic story. I am out as well, and wish I never started with Final Crisis.

It's official. No more monthlies for me. The bang for your buck factor just isn't there anymore at $4 a pop.

I'm giving Grant Morrisson the benefit of the doubt with Final Crisis, out of respect for the work he did on All Star. My reverence for his work runs pretty deep due to that (plus I love his JLA).

I think the only books I'll be collecting are indies, because they need my support, like Savage Dragon or Madman.

The only books I've bought on anything like a monthly basis lately are "Scooby Doo" and the Marvel "Hellcat" miniseries.