For the news story that prompted these comments, see Marvel To Launch Hardcover Program.'

For previous comments, see:

Ilan Strasser of Fat Moose Comics and Games -- 'He Doesn't Like It'

Tricia Hovorka of TalesofWonder.com responds to Strasser -- 'She Likes It'

Strasser Responds to Hovorka -- 'Strasser on Hovorka'

Torsten Adair of Barnes and Noble Lincoln Triangle -- 'Pro -- from a Bookseller'

Terry Allen of Bonanza Books and Comic -- 'What about Quality?'

I am writing in response to Ilan's comments from a couple days ago.  My original comments published on ICV2.com on December 11th were in regards to Ilan's negative reaction to Marvel's new hardcover line of books.  I'd like to start out with TalesOfWonder.com's biases to address some of Ilan's points, much as I did in my last comment.  TalesOfWonder.com is an Internet and mail order company that deals solely in graphic novels and does not sell comic books.  However, we also sell a wide selection of statues, mini busts, t-shirts and other merchandise.  The impact of Marvel's no-overprint, no-reprint policy affects us differently than it may affect other retailers.  This disclosure may be helpful in putting my comments in context.

I plan to address IIan's main points which I believe are as follows:

1.Marvel is ripping off consumers in its new hardcover line because the page counts in the books are varied and produce a different price per page for each book.

2.Marvel is over-saturating the market with trade paperbacks, which is financially treacherous for retailers and financially taxing for consumers.

3.Marvel has a 'vested interest' in creating demand for its 'overpriced' Origin hardcover by not printing enough initially to satisfy demand.

At issue in his first point was the Origin hardcover, which Ilan felt was priced too high because its page count was less than that of the Ultimate Spiderman hardcover for the same amount of money.  We continue to assert that the Origin hardcover is priced reasonably and cited examples in my last article, which clearly showed the price of Origin is well within the range of similar products on the market.  Ilan concludes that Origin must be overpriced since it is more expensive than the Ultimate Spiderman HC.  His mistake is in viewing the two books in a vacuum.  When both books are viewed within the context of the market it can be seen that not only is the Origin hardcover a reasonable value, but the Ultimate Spiderman HC is an especially good deal. 

Ilan's second point is that Marvel is over-saturating the market with trade paperbacks.  He states that this increase in product does not affect TalesOfWonder.com as much because we are Internet-only, carrying graphic novels.  As I stated before, we do not carry comic books, but graphic novels are not our sole product line.  We carry a wide selection of statues and mini busts as well as other merchandise.  I believe we have as many Bowen statues and mini-busts in stock as all but the largest brick and mortar stores.  And obviously we carry a large selection of graphic novels, which are the priciest of the printed comic forms.  To imply that we do not have capital needs because we are an Internet retailer or that we carry only graphic novels is incorrect.  We face the issue of increased product the same as other retailers.  However, we welcome new product.  The more quality product that is produced, the happier we are.  Why?  Because it grows the market.  And our sales.  I know this is dirty word sometimes, but we want to make a profit.  Profit is good.  It enables us to operate TalesOfWonder.com.  It enables us to expand and offer our existing customers more and better product.  It allows us to find new customers.  New, quality product is the key. 

In Ilan's last point he states that Marvel not... reprinting comics creates demand, in which Marvel has a 'vested interest.'  The insinuation here is that somehow more demand is good for Marvel, but not additionally for the retailer or the customer.  How does that work?  First let me state for the record that Marvel did reprint Origin #1.  But that aside, more demand is good.  It's what we want.  Demand = sales.  Retailers and consumers alike derive benefit from products like the Origin hardcover.  The retailer is able to make a profit and the consumer receives a high quality collection for his home library.

We think more trade paperbacks are good for another reason too.  They can reach out to a different audience than do the individual comic issues.  They can also fill the void sometimes created by a no-reprint policy.  As we know, Ilan is against the no-reprint policy.  But I think his view that Marvel is over-saturating the market with trades is an odd contradiction to his no-reprint position and a major flaw in his argument.  He is essentially saying he wants reprints, but doesn't want them to be trade paperbacks.  Why would any reprint trade that allows a retailer to keep back issues in stock be a bad idea?  Ilan says it financially overtaxes the consumer but how is that the case when if a consumer already purchased Ultimate Spider-man #1-7 he won't need to buy the trade paperback that collects those issues?  And if the consumer missed the issues the first time around, he can get the whole story for less than what the run of issues would have cost.  Further, the Ultimate Spider-man TP can reach out to a different market.  It has been our experience that comic buyers and trade paperback buyers are not necessarily one and the same.  We have reached a certain audience that prefers trades.  They like a complete story as well as the book format.  The greater output of quality trades, the better it is for us and any other retailer seeking to tap this book buying market.  Trades expand our business (by 'our' I mean the industry's).