David Seigler of Ground Zero Comics in Tyler, Texas has seen our recent debate on the Death of the Pamphlet as a comic format (see 'Gail Burt of Metropolis Comics on the Death of the Pamphlet,' 'Sara Gray of Mira Mesa Comic Gallery on the 'Death of the Pamphlet'' and 'Ed Sherman of Rising Sun Creations on the Death of the Pamphlet.') and adds his thoughts:
For years I have felt that the future of comic publishing lay in trade paperbacks and thicker, monthly anthology books. The reasons for this seemed very simple to me: 1.) The cost of the thin monthly 'pamphlet' was quite high for the content that it contained and it was driving potential readers away. 2.) The only way this high cost was going to come down was by combining books into larger volumes, thus bringing the cost per page down drastically and making a more attractive package to the potential consumer.
I've argued this on message boards and found that it wasn't that simple to everyone else. So I've read with interest the first spark of this debate here at ICv2.com.
When I bring up the idea of combing features into thicker anthology magazine, the first counter that I always hear is; 'But anthologies always bring the overall quality of stories down. And they never sell because people don't want to pay for a feature that they don't want.' To the first part I always answer that there is no inherent reason why the quality of an anthology magazine should be any less than all of those monthly solo books. To the second, I have to admit that they are right: People don't want to pay for a feature that they don't want to read. However, that logic doesn't stop cable TV from offering packages that combine CSPAN with ESPN. In fact, 'bundling' is really a fairly common practice when it comes to entertainment packaging. The average CD has 11-13 songs, and yet people happily buy them (or download them illegally off of the internet, but that's another topic entirely), despite realizing that they may not like every single song on the disc.
However, this mindset is firmly entrenched in the comic industry. So far most recent attempts at publishing anthology books have failed miserably (I say recent, because as I understand it, DC's 'Dollar Comics' line in the late 70's/early 80's was pretty successful). Fans simply refuse to buy anything that has multiple stories in it. If they like Green Arrow, they want to buy a comic with Green Arrow in it and nothing else. However, picking and choosing your entertainment in this manner carries a high price tag. While customers may want their comics in this manner, the cost is a large factor in driving many of them away. When someone around my shop is lamenting that kids don't buy comics anymore, the primary reason that is given is that comics just plain cost too much. However, when you look at where kids are spending their money (DVD's, computer games, video games...), most of those items carry a price tag that is larger than that of a comic book. The problem is not that a comic cost $2.25 or $2.95, the problem is PERCEIVED value. They just don't feel that they are getting enough entertainment for their three bucks.
Most any other (non comic) magazine on the newsstand has a multitude of features in it. These magazines cost anywhere from 4-8 dollars (or more of course). For your $4-8 you usually get a variety of different features, some you want, some you may not. People accept this because even though they may not like every single feature in a magazine, the like enough of them to warrant the purchase price.
If we do not change the perceived value in comic books, our potential customers will continue to dwindle away. Comic books need to be back on the magazine racks where they will attract new readers. Frankly, newsstands are not going to bother with a $2.25 comic that has a short (usually 1 week) shelf life and doesn't generate as much profit as a more traditional monthly magazine. Why do we have three Superman books a month? My experience has been that most fans buy all three if they buy any. That's $6.75 for their monthly Superman fix. Think of the sales that a single, monthly 64 page Superman or a Batman comic might generate on the newsstand for $4.95. Even in comic stores (although, frankly, we need to be thinking about how to get these books in other markets), the average Superman reader gets more pages for less money. I know from experience, however, that the first thing that he will do is grumble about the higher price, ignoring the greater content.
Can we get fans to change their mindset about anthology books? Should we even try? The answer to the first question may be no. The answer to the second depends on how content we are with the static, insular status quo.
