THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST: Episode 92
The official podcast of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE and FIRESTORM FAN
Episode 92 - Discount Bin Comics (a.k.a. Everybody Loves Cheap Comics!)
This time around Shag and I welcome special guest and fellow podcaster, Professor Alan Middleton! Alan co-founded with his daughter the Relatively Geeky Network, the internet home of The Quarter-Bin Podcast, Uncovering the Bronze Age, and the Shortbox Showcase. He's also a regular on the Book Guys Show. Alan is internationally renowned for his affection of cheap comic books! So this episode we're celebrating the discount bins! Quarter bins, fifty-cent boxes, dollar comics... whatever you call them, we love 'em!
THE AQUAMAN SHRINE - http://www.aquamanshrine.net
FIRESTORM FAN - http://firestormfan.com
THE FIRE & WATER TUMBLR - http://fireandwaterpodcast.tumblr.comE-MAIL: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net
Be sure to check out Professor Alan on the interwebs:
- Relatively Geeky Network - http://relativelygeekypodcast.blogspot.com/
- Book Guys Show - http://bookguys.ca/
- Professor Alan on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ProfessorAlan
This episode brought to you by InStockTrades - http://instocktrades.com
Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fire-and-water-podcast/id463855630
Opening theme, "That Time is Now," by Michael Kohler. Closing music by Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge of The Bad Mamma Jammas! http://www.facebook.com/BadMammaJammas
Thanks for listening! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!
1 comment:
Great show once again, Rob. I especially loved your point about the expectation that comes with a comic having a higher price point.
I myself have been reading comics since 1973, and have been buying fewer and fewer titles as of late. This is mainly because the $3.99 price point combined with this trend of "decompressed storytelling" made me feel I was getting a lot less "bang for my buck", as it were. Candy bars may be 99 cents today (in California, at least), but it's hard to buy a $3.99-comic which takes 5 to 6 22-page issues to tell a story that would have been told in 17 pages back in the 1970s ... for 35 to 40 cents.
I was mostly a DC reader, and this trend had reached the point where "The New 52" became a major "jumping-off point" to my DC Comics reading, having been very disappointed to buy the first issue of the New 52 "Justice League" where very little happened plotwise. Later I had borrowed the trade paperback of the first Justice League 6-part story from a friend, and I still felt cheated by how fast I breezed through it -- even though I didn't buy it.
(Of course, having read a lot of Japanese manga that is very rich in story plot and detail -- in both the weekly serials and the "trade" book versions -- I may have unrealistic expectations.)
Also, I think one of the major factors (and there are multiple factors) behind the dramatic comic book price increases has to do with creator royalty and exclusivity agreements. These were non-existent in the 1960s and most of the 1970s -- which may explain why comic book prices stayed relatively in line with the rates of inflation. While I would gladly pay a little extra to be sure a creator receives their due, I also want to get my money's worth.
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