The Shocking Truth: 3 Things Killing the Comic Book Hobby!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มิ.ย. 2024
- #comicbooks #comickeys #comiccommunity
Discussing three negative influences on the comic collecting hobby.
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The biggest problem I see, is I work full time, decent enough pay, and I have less than ten or twelve books on my pull list because I just can’t justify the price of these new books, how the hell is a kid supposed to get into this?
I agree! The prices for comic books are absolutely ridiculous. I cut back buying a lot of new books $4.99 for one book that's crazy. Then there's the back issue if you try to complete runs $20 - $100 dollars on the average silver age. Forget if it's a key book depending on the issue $300 - 12,000 plus dollar. I can't justify spending that kind of money on a book. Sorry I started collecting when books was .20 - .25 cents so yes I'm spoiled by those prices (LOL). The sad truth depending on your income comic book collecting is become to expensive for the average joe collector and the next generation of kids aren't spending that kind of money on books. Big business just don't seem to understand this. Good topic!
@ethan288 great comment. I agree that comic companies need to lower the prices of monthly books. Disney apparently doesn't make any money off marvel comic books so why not lower the prices? Make.regular books $1 and annuals $2. Simple fix.
A kind word of advice. Enjoy the hobby and dont speculate and think you can make a living buying and selling comics. That is diffiicult to be successful at. Just buy what you like and focus on things that have consistently shown long term growth in value. Gold and silver, but not FOMO flavor of the month. Think 20 year return, not 20 day. Just saying.
Imo, it's prices #1. Lack of involved storylines #2. When I was a kid I couldn't wait for the next issue of the comics I read to come out. I see the crap that's published today and roll my eyes.
To me it is pretty simple..I have six grandkids and can tell you the live action of a video game wins over comic books no matter how hard I try..The writing's on the wall guys and gals. We are a dying breed.
I had the same thoughts about this and you hit some hard points. Batman 89 and the Image Era is what got me into officially collecting comic books. They were rugged, violent and the stories were had me hooked.
Last 5 years have been brutal for both movies and comics. I haven't seen Aquaman 2 yet but I can't name one good superhero/tv show I've seen lately. Star Wars is dead to me until Disney/Lucasfilm gets new management. Gave it far too many chances and wasted my time hoping for the best. I haven't purchased any Mainstream comic books (I've always been a loyal DC Reader until recently) in probably 2 years now. There is no good content anymore nor do they have the talent to produce it. This is what happens when you let actual talent go (Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, etc) and replace them with people that shouldn't be writing comic books in the first place. They can't tell a story if their lives depended on it so they replace it with a political agenda. They don't know the character lore so they insert themselves from their POV. When nobody buys the turd they produce they simply blame their failures on 'toxic fans'
The final thing to mention is the rising costs of comic books. Years ago I'd walk out with large stack of them from my LCS, now I'm super picky. Only the Energon-Verse (except Scarlett) and Ghost Machine are worth reading.
Glad I'm not the only one that thought Black Panther 2 was terrible. I posted my opinion on the CBR Forum. Said it didn't need to be 3 hours, the pacing dragged, and BP didn't show up till the end. LOL, they said if I didn't like it, then I'm a 'racist'.
Kids really don't have four or five dollars to spend on a book. When I was a kid I could save up a dollar, dollar fifty and go by a half a dozen comic books. Now six comic books could be twenty five thirty dollars. That's a lot of money for a kid to come up within a week. Dollar bins are about all what kids can afford that are in an average family. Parents may have disposable income, but their children don't. My kids wanted video games , but that was in the 90s. Games are what kids are into and cell phones.
Comics being geared to a adult audience is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in a while. I read both and American comics are very lame compared to manga. Teens are reading way more mature themes then what we think. The only time my teen nephews have ever been interested in comics is when invincible came out. Not trying to be mean but American comics are soft.
The comic "hobby" is too broad a term. I think you are mostly concerned with the value of comics as investment returns. Yes, that is down but by no means dead. Kids are not interested in reading paper with the exception of Manga and that is overall a small market. Movies and shows only really spike the market with new "keys" that gain some short term value. The economy can lower the availability of spending money of collectors but also can lower the prices of sellers as they are forced to sell more to pay expenses. Overall, nothing is killing the hobby. The return of investment is down and as you said, only people who habitually over pay for books will see a crash in the value of their collection.
The hobby is alive and well and nothing is killing it🍻
I don't believe it will die but might need some new life injected into it.
I cut down buying beer and junk food drastically so I can still buy comics and supplies. I did weed down my pull list a bit and now focusing buying comics from the Sliver Age and Bronze Age. I am also buying Golden Age comics if the price is right.
Comic books dropping in half makes people question what they spend on comic books, but hardly anybody says anything when those comics double or 10x in price? 😉 Jk. Also, I rarely doubt my purchases of a comic book based upon the price corrections in the $500,000 - $1,000,000 market because I don't play in that end of the pool. It's like saying "I wonder if the purchase of a $30,000 car is somehow tied to the classic car market where cars sell for $100k, $300k, and up, dropping in value?" Not necessarily. The collectibles market is an odd beast. It also helps to identify the hype and stay away from it or gamble and be a part of it (in some regards, that's like the stock, crypto, etc. markets). But if you worry about the market crashing, consider also selling when the market is going sky-high, I guess. Good video and food for thought, btw. Now, I'll just go back to getting outbid in every auction I'm in. lol.
I agree for the most part except bad economy. During the pandemic with stocks tanking the comic boom ten fold. 😞
"Drawing The Line At $2.99." -- I can't believe it has been 14 years since DC Comics was promoting their main comic book line with that phrase.
Young people read Manga, though. Those are comics as well. Doesn't always have to be superhero stuff, you know
Comics aren't just superhero; there are still Archie, sword and sorcery and horror books out there. (Walking Dead is so not superhero). They aren't that good currenty, either.
Anyway, Manga is considered separate from American style comic books, which is what I think he is concerned with.
I think people did overspend in the boom, so now there is more caution.
I think there are other things killing comics. Flippers, everything of value being slabbed, and prices. I totally agree on bad stories. Too many bad writers are getting chances to ruin characters and fan bases.
So well said Allen, many of us have felt and thought the same.
The opposite of FOMO is FOOP (fear of over paying)
I dont know about "killing" the hobby, but two things that really turns me off of buying new comics are 1) every title now gets restarted every couple of years. So seeing number one's of anything now is meaningless. You have no idea which #1 you're even looking at. And, 2) all the variant covers. It's kind of ridiculous when any random book now comes out with 10 variant covers, and none of them give you any idea of what even happens in the book. All variants are basically the same... some very fancy looking painting of a character in some generic pose, that could apply to any issue. In many cases they dont even have any identifying information on the front cover, so once it's in a bag/board it's just another random nameless unidentifiable cover that no one will care about in a few years because there are literally thousands like it.
Honorable mention: Comic book prices. I know, I know... inflation. But, still, when I was a kid comics could actually be bought by kids with a little money. I have no idea how kids can afford to even buy a few comics these days. As an adult with a good job, I still think twice about buying even 2 or 3 of them. Hell, just a month ago I saw a new book I wanted to buy, but apparently since I didnt buy it on DAY 1, I was told that they were all gone and now I needed to go pay $50 on eBay just to get a copy to read. Fuck that shit.
Hey Alan.... Great to see you again... Just wondering what is that . 3 Detective Comics behind you....
Also agree ... I think the main thing that destroyed the comic book industry is the movies and TV shows ..... You see book prices spike at the announcement then after they come out the books tank. .
Great thoughts. You can't produce good comics or movies with bad writing.
How many peach momoko or skottie young covers or whatever artist do you need….every hobby and activity in life is being diluted and watered down while prices are increasing. It’s corporate greed…quantity over quality. And a lot of people are pushovers and just fell in line and don’t complain with their wallets. Why don’t the masses have reasonable standards anymore? Stop buying into this crap. Movies and comics do fine when people have missed a certain artist, or a team like x-men 97 Etc. these companies are ruining their IP’s by just pumping out crap and people become apathetic to the IP. These things need to ferment for awhile and be left alone and you bring them back with a good story when the time is right. People have too many options to find other creative properties that have better quality and integrity….you’ll get dumped if your product sucks and is overpriced. And don’t buy a lot of modern comics unless they are from discounted bins and stay away from graded comics which are overpriced. Shop at thrift stores and garage sales and other bargain areas and just work within your budget and look for deals and meet new friends and have fun rather than obsessing about what’s in your collection. Don’t overpay for books!!!
Great vid, my friend, very interesting. I think the trolls are a big problem, mainly due to their dollar purchases not being worth much.
To be honest if i can buy a reprint of a trade with the story in im happy comics are meant to br read and enjoyed.
Plus ive been trying to sell my comics for a while already dropped prices not wanting much even 50 pencr here in the uk.
No body wants them.
Im giving a lot of my collection to friends at the moment
Another of my freinds who had even more comics then me says all we really have is a binch of bonnie looking fure lighters.
Only thing that i can be happy about is i bought them to enjoy not to make money from them
And thats what the hobby should be about enjoying and reading them.
Take care everyone and peace
Coupling the success / love of comics to how good the movie counterpart is has always struck me as foolish. I get it. I've benefitted from it. But I don't *really* get it. Why do this? Why tie the value of a comic to how good the movie is (or isn't)? It makes no sense to me when I think about it. Is it seen as a validation of the comic? Does that mean it was worthless before the movie? It really doesn't add up to me.
The biggest factor keeping the younger generation out of comics is price of new books, the overwhelming size of canon they need to hack through in order to catch up, and a very tough economy. Entertainment comes last when times are tough. Readers today are shrinking pull lists because bills are going up, with cover prices also going up. Guess who loses that battle? And those of us lucky to have a home to store our collection are in for a shock when we wake up to the reality that the next gen likely won't have that option. With housing prices going the way they are, who would sacrifice even a small piece of their space for a collection of stuff they can't afford? So....for those of us who intend to sell our collection to the next generation some day...how confident are you that there will be a vibrant market to sell it to?
The quality (perceived or real) of the movies and shows could be #2 on the list, but economy (present and future) is #1, with #2 being waaaaaaaaaay behind....almost to the point of not being relevant. We make it relevant because it's easier for us to talk and rant about....most of us aren't economists with a crystal ball.
I agree on the engagement issue, there has not been a movie that most can rally around. And it would not have mattered which movie it was, it could have been a sequel or an introduction to a new hero -- if it had worked big it would have worked. There ARE good comics out there but its obviously a smaller audience and, yes, not necessarily friendly to new readers. The economy was inevitable post-COVID; it could have been even worse (and is in other places). In any case people have been pulling back from the bubble.
Back issue comics are way too expensive! Even run fillers! Imo.
These times are a nightmare if you a completes collector. Filler book are over priced. This fun hobby is becoming to expensive LOL!
#1 - The Work for Hire Contract. Allowing corporations to own the IP instead of creators means the IP will eventually be published into oblivion and the character diluted.
#2 - I agree with Movies, but... More of the transition of the superhero from the comic book to the big screen as a means of consumption. For many younger people, Miles Morales exists primarily as a movie character rather than a comic book character. Miles Morales on the page is not the same as Miles Morales on the screen, just as Toby Maguire and not the Steve Ditko drawing is Peter Parker to a lot of fans. It's conditioned people to consume superheroes via the screen as opposed to a comic book.
#3 - Social Media. Everything meant to be entertaining should be able to be consumed on a smartphone and "free". This is (unfortunately) the entertainment paradigm we've moved towards.
Great list! For me it's stories and writers. There are too few for the industry and so much fluff/garbage with a high price tag
So now we wait…
There has always been a dislike of buying slightly brittle and brittle page books, regardless of the numbered grade. I have seen recently this extend to cream and light tan. So the recent Detective 27 sale falls into this page “quality”. Speculators during the boom are reselling record high priced books too quickly. They are selling to the next high bidder, one increment above the 3rd place bidder.
There are over 330 all time record high priced books that were sold in 2024 so far, that I am aware of. The number one book increase is 32 times last years value, the 100th book is up 67%. But there is nothing after 1963 on this list and only 15 superhero books. The 1963 book is the number 1 book and it is a romance book. Anyone buying should take a close look at your back wall, I think your collection is spot on with what should hold value over time.
Too bad we can’t quantify how many new readers came into comics because of the superhero movies.
Your hobby of speculating is a risky thing and can easily topple over if the economy goes bad
1) what kid can afford a single comic for $4/$5.? And if they like multiple titles, they are completely priced out.
2) Manga is the younger generation’s preferred comic. Also, kids prefer video games over reading.
3) Weak storylines, changing characters’ sexual orientation
@
New comics are trash, I stopped collecting new comics a little after 2000s, Disney movies are trash (and the DC ones as well) and the economy is pretty bad. Also, your volume seems really low, I had to about double it compared to other TH-cam channels today. I use CLZ to inventory my collection, I have about 20k (mostly Marvel with some key DC (like Neal Adams issues) and nothing beyond 2000 - I have it connected to Covrprice and it will show price updates. I haven't noticed prices taking huge hits, my total collection has hovered around the same price for the last year. Keep in mind, it is mostly silver and copper age, and no Disney Marvel variant trash (which has tanked more than blue chips)
agree....DO NOT BUY todays books that come out every week. There is absolutely zero investment in todays books.
Instead of developing talent and requiring that entertainment comes first, those in charge and giving big books to inexperienced writers and artists who then use the comics they create as a platform for their personal and political agendas without making sure the comics are still entertaining.
Agenda given story and self inserts are a real problem with modern writers.
Manga is eating our lunch. American publishers blew it when they decided to target 40 year old collectors instead of young readers a decade or two ago. Manga produces inexpensive volumes with hundreds of pages; it's no wonder kids prefer them. I'm an American comic fan, and it breaks my heart. One caveat to your point about older collector's dying off: I am noticing that there are still quite a few collectors in their late 20's and 30's; I believe the hobby will persist for quite awhile. Just my opinion. Good video, subscribed.
Does Marvel and DC care if a book that they published 50 years ago drops in value? Or course not! They have nothing to gain in it. THAT'S WHY THERE ARE FACSIMILIES. Marvel and DC are currently uplifting artists that have that mage style illustation: Artgerm, Peach Momoo, David Nakayama, Mico Suayan. Manga is the future. Accept it. They sell. Millenials and Gen Z reads them.
I agree that comic movies are getting worse. Marvel needs to quit pumping out garbage like eternals and black panther 2 and shang chi. Eternals should have just followed the Kirby stories from the 70s. BP2 should have left Namor as he was in the comics. Shang Chi should have just been a gritty movie where he fought street level crime. The biggest reason for the failure of the mcu is catering to the woke crowd and making everything diverse and race swapping characters
There is nothing wrong with being a collector no matter the economy. I personally switched from collecting the things I love to collecting cash... hoarding cash! Investing, establishing cash flow investments. It is not hard and it certainly makes you feel better about sitting on the other collectibles you may have as the economy deteriorates. One day the economy will turn and you can start buying your other stuff again, but now you have real wealth stashed away. WIN WIN!!!
You should be investing in gold bullion instead of the US dollar cuz there's a good chance the US will fail in the next twenty years and your money will be worthless and the Chinese don't give a shit about authentic collectibles, they're fine with half assed knock offs.
Just my two cents, who am I tho lol
And people should listen to your opinion because? Why would people listen to a 70 year old dude? Gen Z still reads things, just not comics. They read online novels and manga.
I am in 100 percent agreement with you on this Allen, plus snd I know it isn't my Blu-ray or DVD player,
Because I can put a DVD or Blu-ray on that is five or six years old and it plays. But of late any, Marvel movie, DVD, Blu Ray I get for my movie collection won't work. It skips and pauses on every single Marvel movie I have bought. Started with Captain Marvel, Thor Love of Thunder, Blavk Panther Waka nda, Eternals, Morbius, the living Vampire, Spidey into the Mult-verse, my D.C.were fine accept new Aquaman paused, the rest were oksy, Spiderman, and Doctor Strange DVDs played fine the latest.
You know how much I hated returning those DVDS AND BLU-RAYS TO THE STORE AND AFTER THREE TIMES ONLY ONE I HAVE GOT TO WORK BETTER IS WAKANDA,BLACK PANTHER, SAME
GOES FOR THE STAR WARS SHOWS AND MOVIES, ...THIS TOO WILL DRIVE AWAY PEOPLE FROM
THE COMIC WORLD, PUTTING OUT THERE FAVORITE COMIC CHARACTERS ON CHEAP CRUDDY
DVDS AND BLU-RAY'S THAT WON'T EVEN PLAY FOR THE HARD WORKING PEOPLE WHO NOW THANKS TO DISNEY HAVE TO PAY15 TO 20$ MORE A BLU-RAY OR DVD!!! I AM THINKING OF TAKING THOSE DVDS AND BLU-RAY S AND HANGING THEM OUTTO SCARE THE BIRDS!! NICE RANTING AT ALLEN, SORRY ABOUT THAT!!! Gary Bailey God of THUNDER and lightning