Newsarama is reporting that Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada has decided against a 25 cent increase in the cover price of three low-selling titles, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Spider-Girl (see 'Low End Marvels Get Price Boost' for an examination of what Marvel's plans were).  Michael Doran of Newsarama quotes Quesada and Captain Marvel writer Peter David, who both indicate that Marvel will maintain current cover prices ($2.50 for Captain Marvel and Black Panther, and $2.25 for Spider-Girl) for six months and then reevaluate the situation.  Quesada and Peter David have been involved in a dispute over the price increase after David made a very public offer to cut his own compensation for Captain Marvel in order to stave off a price increase.  Quesada, who at one point in the dispute simply lamented that he was spending so much of his time arguing on the Internet about three titles that didn't amount to much in the grand Marvel scheme of things, has agreed to forgo the price increases, but he stated unequivocally that Marvel will continue to pay the contributors to all three books in the normal fashion.  Marvel will issue a press release on Friday confirming the price rollback and indicating how the company will deal with the issues that have already been solicited with the higher cover prices.

 

Although the concept of the raising the cover price of the three low-selling Marvel titles originally came from a fan, the move has aroused considerable opposition from fans and retailers (see 'A Retailer Reacts to Marvel's Price Increase').  Now the books have a six-month lease on life without a price hike, but if their sales don't improve in six months, it may be more difficult to adopt a price-raising strategy to save them from cancellation.