price hike?

spooydermot

This was on One Shall Stand yesterday

Bad news everyone. Diamond Comics UK, the company which supplies British comic stores, has today increased the wholesale price of the books it distributes. Regular comics with a $2.99 cover price will go up by around 15p and IDW's $3.99 Transformers comics are increased by 24p. It's in response to the falling value of the pound against the US dollar and rising air and sea shipping costs. More on this story as we get it.

I assume that this'll effect prices in Ireland? How much more can the price of a comic go up?

Fysh

Yeah, I've heard mention of this around a few other sites as well. I get the feeling Irish fans looking for American comics are in for a rough time, and I imagine there will be a few shop-owners (and possibly publishers) who either anticipate the shift to buying trades, or expressing surprise at the drop in sales of increasingly expensive monthly comics.

That said, given the general market and audience for american comics, I'm still not entirely sure that this would be enough to drive them away. I mean, I don't think it'll affect me - I'm dropping Invincible Iron Man having read about the post-Secret Invasion crap that's being foisted into the title, which means that Criminal is the only thing Marvel publishes that I'll be buying for the foreseeable future. From DC I'm only picking up a couple of Vertigo titles and a couple of Wildstorm titles (Stormwatch and the occasional other thing), and I doubt that'll change any time soon. All this price hike will do is drive casual readers away, especially since both Marvel and DC continue to refuse to implement any coherent and forward-thinking digital comics business model (and no, that half-arsed DCU thing doesn't count, it's not structured or simple enough).

spooydermot

it's quite frustrating- there seems to be zero will to make any kind of change in the industry (as has been pointed out many times in this forum by people far more in touch with things than I am) - be that to do with the value of comics the digitisation of comics or the re-formatting of comics i.e more attention given to the trade paper back.

Marvel's on-line digital-subscription doesn't actually strike me as a subscription per-say, it's more "pay us some cash and we'll throw some random issues of random titles in for you" - on their site for example 'Astonishing X-Men' (the only Marvel title I still buy) is listed as far as issue 13 (with issue 10,11,12 missing it would seem) despite the series now being in the twenties

Why not give the option of subscribing to the digital version of specific titles instead of this off mish-mash of random issues?

I'm still not sold on the whole digital comics thing, I guess that's because I'm a creature of habit. That may change - for example - I've been known to pontificate on how important an album cover is for example, it completes the pacakge of what you've just bought - especially for example, some of Pearl Jams packaging. But then I found myself trying to create some more space on the shelf and what was the first to go? CD boxes! The albums got placed into CD folders (along with the covers where possible) and those nastly little CD jewel cases were donanted to the local library.

As for TPB's , they seem to be a mixed blessing (from an industry stand-point) , I don't know if they are "killing comics" -as is sometimes claimed - but they are are the only reasonable way for a lot of people to access comics - seeing as collecting many titles month by month is expensive or that people may not be able to get to a comic shop month by month to get a title.

NuMarvel

spooydermot wrote: »

This was on One Shall Stand yesterday




I assume that this'll effect prices in Ireland? How much more can the price of a comic go up?

I'd be assuming that prices won't be increasing in Ireland because of the stengthening euro against Sterling. In fact, I'd go so far as to ask why comic shops in Ireland haven't decreased their prices given that euro has been getting progressively stronger against sterling in the last 12 months.

Then agains, that's a question being asked of all retailers at the moment, so comic shops are no different.

Fysh

NuMarvel wrote: »

I'd be assuming that prices won't be increasing in Ireland because of the stengthening euro against Sterling. In fact, I'd go so far as to ask why comic shops in Ireland haven't decreased their prices given that euro has been getting progressively stronger against sterling in the last 12 months.

The sterling price doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it, though - if it's mostly dealings with American publishers distributed through Diamond, it'll be the euro-to-dollar rate that matters. Aside from which, Ireland has been one of the most (if not the most) expensive places to live in Europe for years now, so I'd say the price of comics is more the product of that. Greed at local levels doesn't exactly help but it's a nationwide issue.

NuMarvel

Fysh wrote: »

The sterling price doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it, though - if it's mostly dealings with American publishers distributed through Diamond, it'll be the euro-to-dollar rate that matters.

I would have thought it would be euro/sterling. I presume Diamond UK charge retailers in sterling (based on the fact that the article says they are increasing their prices by 15p and 24p), and in Ireland retailers pay the euro equivalent.

No doubt there is a sterling/dollar exhange between Diamond UK and Diamond US, but I'd say the Irish shops are charged in Sterling. Or maybe Diamond UK has a set euro rate as well.

Of course, no actual evidence to support this with, so if someone knows more, please correct me.

magwea

NuMarvel wrote: »

I would have thought it would be euro/sterling. I presume Diamond UK charge retailers in sterling (based on the fact that the article says they are increasing their prices by 15p and 24p), and in Ireland retailers pay the euro equivalent.

No doubt there is a sterling/dollar exhange between Diamond UK and Diamond US, but I'd say the Irish shops are charged in Sterling. Or maybe Diamond UK has a set euro rate as well.

Of course, no actual evidence to support this with, so if someone knows more, please correct me.

I just had a cursary look at the exchange between euro/dollar/sterling and if Irish comic shops are paying Diamond UK in sterling comics should be cheaper for them. The sterling has become weaker to the dollar while also growing weaker to the euro but at a greater rate. Technically this is good? Anyone want to do the real maths?

TickingOrange

In forbidden planet today the basic price is now 4.75 for a single issue and 6.25 for an event comic...All the shops have raised their prices a lot over the last year. I was in Sub-City Galway recently where the standard price was 4.50 even though Sub-City in Dublin was charging 4.25 and Forbidden Planet had them at 4.15. I for one cannot afford to keep this up. Does anyone know of a reliable Irish on-line service or would you recommend Mid-town comics for example?

NuMarvel

TickingOrange wrote: »

In forbidden planet today the basic price is now 4.75 for a single issue and 6.25 for an event comic...All the shops have raised their prices a lot over the last year. I was in Sub-City Galway recently where the standard price was 4.50 even though Sub-City in Dublin was charging 4.25 and Forbidden Planet had them at 4.15. I for one cannot afford to keep this up. Does anyone know of a reliable Irish on-line service or would you recommend Mid-town comics for example?

I get alot of mine through ACE Comics on ebay. I pay at the end of every three week period for comics purchased in that period. Including postage, each comic worked out at about €2.80, and that's a mixture of $2.99 and $3.99 titles.

They have also increased their prices this week, but even with that I think it will still work out cheaper than Irish shops.

I usually got one offs or specials in Forbidden Planet, but if these prices are correct then that business will also be going to ACE. I can't see how shops can justify these prices for luxury items given the current strength of the euro to the sterling and the previous strength of the euro to the dollar.

Fysh

Have a look at this thread for discussing online comic retailers - sadly, getyourcomics.com was the only Irish service I was aware of and that died a death a while back, much to the disappointment of Hot Colin fans everywhere. I've seen good feedback about the Book Depository here and on a couple of other fora, so it might be worth trying them.

As regards the price increases, I had a quick chat with my local retailer today and he mentioned that the shop had been taking the hit for a couple of weeks and would try to keep doing so until after christmas to try and keep regulars coming back. I almost feel guilty not picking up more monthly comics on that basis...

ztoical

NuMarvel wrote: »

I can't see how shops can justify these prices for luxury items given the current strength of the euro to the sterling and the previous strength of the euro to the dollar.

The topic of the cost of comics in Irish shops has been discussed alot on this forum in the past and the fact is there are alot of costs that people don't take into account or simple aren't aware of. Its the same with magazines, when I worked in Easons I use to get yelled at all the time by people for the cost of the magazines but they are taxed as periodicals so at a much higher rate of tax then books esp any of the partworks magazines [21.5%]. Diamond have very high minimum orders hence why only two shops in the whole country order from them. In order to get a good selection of monthly books in they have to take alot of stock that never sells. Diamond UK operate under a fixed sterling/euro rate that only changes every few months - pretty much all the booksellers work that way - so it might take a bit for any big changes in the rate to show up in costs. Ordering a hand full of titles online for yourself isn't going to give you any issues with customs but a shop ordering in several box loads every week is going to get charged. Add to that the fact that comics are a niche market, the cost of running a shop and trying to make a profit [it is a business after all] and you will usually get around the price the irish shops charge.

The exchange rate plays a huge factor as the shops that order from Diamond can't order direct form the states they have to order via the UK so if you take a comic that is say $3 thats around 2.25 in euro but if you take $3 change it to sterling then change it to euro you end with near 3.40 in euro. And the cover price in america may say $3 but remember americans add sales tax on at the till so that $3 sticker price does not include tax.

NuMarvel

ztoical wrote: »

The topic of the cost of comics in Irish shops has been discussed alot on this forum in the past and the fact is there are alot of costs that people don't take into account or simple aren't aware of. Its the same with magazines, when I worked in Easons I use to get yelled at all the time by people for the cost of the magazines but they are taxed as periodicals so at a much higher rate of tax then books esp any of the partworks magazines [21.5%]. Diamond have very high minimum orders hence why only two shops in the whole country order from them. In order to get a good selection of monthly books in they have to take alot of stock that never sells. Diamond UK operate under a fixed sterling/euro rate that only changes every few months - pretty much all the booksellers work that way - so it might take a bit for any big changes in the rate to show up in costs. Ordering a hand full of titles online for yourself isn't going to give you any issues with customs but a shop ordering in several box loads every week is going to get charged. Add to that the fact that comics are a niche market, the cost of running a shop and trying to make a profit [it is a business after all] and you will usually get around the price the irish shops charge.

The exchange rate plays a huge factor as the shops that order from Diamond can't order direct form the states they have to order via the UK so if you take a comic that is say $3 thats around 2.25 in euro but if you take $3 change it to sterling then change it to euro you end with near 3.40 in euro. And the cover price in america may say $3 but remember americans add sales tax on at the till so that $3 sticker price does not include tax.

Thanks for replying and I don't want to come across as shooting the messenger, but your comment about a fixed euro/sterling rate changing every few months sticks a little.

Sterling has been getting progressively weaker against the euro for at least the last 12 months. A co-worker of mine got married in the North during the spring and we checked the exchange rate quite frequently. Back then it was around the €0.72/€0.74 mark. Last year's average was €0.69. Yesterday I saw a rate of €0.85 in a bank.

These are the rates that are available to individual personal customers, so business customers would get a marginally better rate again.

So, if the rate is reviewed every few months, and Diamond UK are passing on a price hike due to the current dollar/pound rate then there are two questions to ask:

Why haven't they been reducing the costs to Irish shops, due to the stengthening euro?

And if they have been reducing it, why aren't Irish shops passing this along to customers.

I accept that they won't be able to charge as little as €2.80 per comic, but €4.75 is excessive given the other factors. Come down to about €3.50 and then we can do business.

I appreciate that it's very easy for me to sit here and get on my high horse about it, I don't run a business, I don't know the ins and outs. But I do know that I'm the customer, it's my money and if any retailer (comics or otherwise) wants me to spend it in their business instead of someone else, they need to offer me a value for money proposition. €4.75 isn't even close to value for money.

Oh, as for the pther part I highlighted, Cork and Galway have comic shops too ya know :P . And I think I also saw an advert for a place in Waterford too!

ztoical

NuMarvel wrote: »

Oh, as for the pther part I highlighted, Cork and Galway have comic shops too ya know :P . And I think I also saw an advert for a place in Waterford too!

Kilkenny has one as well but those shops don't order from Diamond - only two shops in the republic of Ireland order from Diamond and those are Sub City in Dublin [who send books to their Galway shop but not a massive selection] and Forbidden Planet - thats it - all order shops source their comics from various traders and online suppliers hence why they have limited selections and can't order in new titles when people ask them too.

Given that there's only two shops meeting minimum order requirements it means the Irish market isn't a big market for Diamond so why would they offer any discounts? Its a crap system having only one place to get comics but thats the current system. I'm not defending it just explaining the current situation.

NuMarvel

ztoical wrote: »

Does shops don't order from Diamond - only two shops in the republic of Ireland order from Diamond and those are Sub City in Dublin [who send books to their Galway shop but not a massive selection] and Forbidden Planet - thats it - all order shops source their comics from various traders and online suppliers hence why they have limited selections and can't order in new titles when people ask them too.

Given that there's only two shops meeting minimum order requirements it means the Irish market isn't a big market for Diamond so why would they offer any discounts? Its a crap system having only one place to get comics but thats the current system. I'm not defending it just explaining the current situation.

Other Realms in Cork must definitely order from Diamond. I've seen plenty of Diamond boxes in there on new comic day and most of the main publishers are exclusive to Diamond (for periodicals anyway). I see what you mean about Sub City in Galway though.

And as for discounts, I'm not sure where that comes into play. I'm talking about expecting an exchange rate that reflects the actual, or at least recent, exchange rate. Diamond can't expect no-one to react when they increase prices because of one exchange rate but fail to reduce prices because of another.

In any case, the upshot of all this is that my comics business is now elsewhere. It's a shame, but the alternatives are simply too expensive.

sammysteiger

Its pretty crazy alright but thats credit crunch for ye everyone is running in fear and panic.
I hope the prices are resolved in someway as it means I'm dropping tiltles cause of the price. Don't see its going to attract young people in any country to comics if they cost too much. I thought they would go up but only by a little . Obvisouly comic sellers are feeling the pinch in Ireland hence prices but then again all shops in Dublin sterling conversions are wacked! As long as I can afford Spidey, I'm fine..............

ztoical

NuMarvel wrote: »

Other Realms in Cork must definitely order from Diamond. I've seen plenty of Diamond boxes in there on new comic day and most of the main publishers are exclusive to Diamond (for periodicals anyway).

It's been mentioned several times by Other Realms regulars that they don't order from Diamond and from the few times I've been there I'd say they don't, they may have got overstock from other retailers who've ordered from Diamond cus as I said the minimum orders are very high and the shops are often forced to take titles they don't want.

All comic book publisher are with Diamond, its not that they are exclusive with Diamond, its that they have no choice - after the big comics crash in the 90's Diamond were the only Direct Market distributor of comics left and as such they have a monopoly of the whole direct market industry. Some comics publisher have been trying to focus more into getting trades and graphic novels into bookstores and dealing with the book distributors but if you own a comic shop and you want new comics you have to deal with Diamond.

NuMarvel

ztoical wrote: »

It's been mentioned several times by Other Realms regulars that they don't order from Diamond and from the few times I've been there I'd say they don't, they may have got overstock from other retailers who've ordered from Diamond cus as I said the minimum orders are very high and the shops are often forced to take titles they don't want.

Howabout that, I learn something new everyday

sammysteiger

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh now we understand why there is a price hike! cheers Z

Draco

NuMarvel wrote: »

Why haven't they been reducing the costs to Irish shops, due to the stengthening euro?

And if they have been reducing it, why aren't Irish shops passing this along to customers.

I was talking to one of the lads in Sub City about it yesterday and he brought this up himself. Diamond UK don't drop the price when Sterling is strong and refuse to take payment in US Dollars.

Diamond have also increased their shipping costs (and you can't use an alternative method). On top of that they've reduced the discount the Galway shop was getting (he hadn't checked his own yet but suspected it had as well).

He also mentioned when they started the shop 12 years ago, Sterling was at parity with the punt but 2 years later was stronger and stayed that way until recently and because of that they've been taking a hit since then.

It's been a combination of things all coming together at once - cover price increases, shipping increases, VAT increases here, exchange rates.

My comics cost an extra €1.50 (4 floppies and a 2000AD) which is about a 6% increase. It won't break the bank but considering I was let go 2 weeks ago I'll be watching the pennies more carefully and I'll probably be dropping a few more titles.

But there will always be money for 2000AD.

JesterWX

I too was in Sub City yesterday and heard about the price hike. It is unfair, in my view, to blame the shops for the prices. Diamond have the monopoly of supplying the shops and can charge what they like. Unlike the states where the cover price has meaning, in this country and to a lesser extent the UK it doesn't.

Therefore, if Diamond hike the prices, then the shops have to follow. The point is will Diamond's hike cause sales to drop. In my opinion it will. I posed a question here a few weeks back would the 'recession' make you consider dropping titles. A price hike is just the 'push' needed to get a lot of 'yes' answers to that question.

An FLCS is a tough business to run. We have seen them come and go in this city too often, The Alchemist's Head, the Third Place, that shop in Dun Laoire Shopping Centre whose name escapes me.

Sub City have done very well to be still going 12 years on. Forbidden Planet have the safety valve of being part of a chain and it is good for us consumers that they have a competitor here in Dublin.

Diamond's greed have put a lot of pressure on the local shops all around the country and across the UK. How many will have closed their doors by this time next year?

Fysh

On the subject of dropping titles, etc - I think the biggest hit will be regular monthly readers. Given that trades and collections tend to appear as "better value" (complete story, no ads, durable format, etc) I suspect people will switch to them in increasing numbers. And if that's the case, then the LCS can adapt or die, like every other business would have to do in the equivalent position.

Don't get me wrong, since I moved to London I've been really impressed with the standard of service offered by my local place (especially in comparison to the wildly inconsistent service I experienced at my Former Comic Shop That Will Not Be Named) but part of the reason I like the shop so much is that even though their audience probably consists mostly of Marvel or DC Zombies, they haven't based their entire business model on flogging monthlies. This means, for me, that as the price increases on American comics force me to realise that I don't really enjoy reading them that much at all, much less for the absurd prices they seem to want to charge, I can spend my money better on european comics. Or japanese stuff. Or alternative american stuff.

My experience in Ireland in that regard has been mixed, to say the least. My old local shop had such inconsistent stocking policies that there were plenty of weeks when I wandered in, itching to just buy something off the shelf, and found myself doing so in Waterstones or Easons instead, because the Comic Shop could only offer me Homogenized American Superhero stories.

Sure, they can cater to the audience, but if the audience only wants to read Captain SpandexPants stories and refuses to read anything else to the point that selling it is unprofitable for the retailer, and then prices go up? The audience gets to share a great heaping helping of the blame for the situation. Likewise retailers could ostensibly be blamed for not making greater efforts to attract non-established comic heads to their shops. (I'll be perfectly honest here, I've seen very few comic shops that I could send a non-comics-person to without them feeling somewhere between pitiful and threatened, and that's not a good thing).

Personally, I would like to see two things come out of this price hike:
1) An expansion in reading material by comics fans, and
2) An expansion in the range of product on offer and how they market it by comics retailers, to try and attract new audiences.

I think both of these things would be beneficial to everyone. Of course, I'll probably be waiting for Satan to go to work on ice-skates before both those things happen, but hey, I can dream, right?

BlaasForRafa

Fysh wrote: »

even though their audience probably consists mostly of Marvel or DC Zombies, they haven't based their entire business model on flogging monthlies.

Homogenized American Superhero stories.

Sure, they can cater to the audience, but if the audience only wants to read Captain SpandexPants stories and refuses to read anything else to the point that selling it is unprofitable for the retailer, and then prices go up? The audience gets to share a great heaping helping of the blame for the situation.
/QUOTE]

Throwing around insults as usual, way to keep a discussion going.

Fysh

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Fysh wrote: »

even though their audience probably consists mostly of Marvel or DC Zombies, they haven't based their entire business model on flogging monthlies.

Homogenized American Superhero stories.

Sure, they can cater to the audience, but if the audience only wants to read Captain SpandexPants stories and refuses to read anything else to the point that selling it is unprofitable for the retailer, and then prices go up? The audience gets to share a great heaping helping of the blame for the situation.

Throwing around insults as usual, way to keep a discussion going.

You'll note that I've noticed that I made points about how I see the mainstream American comics industry and the result I expect the recent price increases will have. Whereas all you've done is yet again complained that I don't have a particularly complimentary opinion on mainstream American superhero comics.

If you disagree with how I see the mainstream American comics market, we can have a discussion about that. But first we need to know what your perception of the market and the genre is. I'm genuinely interested to know what you think of it, given that your post in the alternative/european comics thread suggests broader reading tastes than I might have previously guessed at.

constitutionus

spooydermot wrote: »

This was on One Shall Stand yesterday




I assume that this'll effect prices in Ireland? How much more can the price of a comic go up?

if its any consolation spooy if your buying off steve from here the exchange rate has dropped the price of his comics by about 30 odd cent (based on buying two at a go) so if he is putting up the price it'll mean you'll still essentially be paying the amount youve always been.

i should point out as well since i last bought off him STG has dropped down to 0.95 against the euro so is its even better now.

but your initial conscern is correct. this wil be passed on to us by the shops. i'll be honest the pricing rip off is the main reason ive abandoned the comic shops. its online all the way for me now. they can throw up all the excuses they want but the fact is the dollar COLLAPSED for most of this year and none of its been passed on. i work in foreign exchange and ive NEVER seen anything like it

you can compare it fairly easily with whats going on in the highstreet shops and clothing too.

to put it starkly if im going in and out of town to buy two comics it'll cost me the guts of 16 euro (bus fare inc) . buying off the net it gets posted to my house for 8.14 euro. two different business models i know but thats the reality these guys have to deal with now.

and i'll tell ya something for free, charging ELEVEN euro ninty nine for a "retailer incentive" copy is bollocks when you can get that online for the cover price !

Fysh

constitutionus wrote: »

and i'll tell ya something for free, charging ELEVEN euro ninty nine for a "retailer incentive" copy is bollocks when you can get that online for the cover price !

I know it's not directly related to the price increases happening right now, but I'm with you 100% on this one. I always thought the incentive variant covers were a really stupid idea, because the financial basis of the model means that retailers either have to charge way over the cover price or risk accumulating unsellable stock (let's face it, if a publisher can only sell 25 or 50 copies of a given comic to one retailer by giving a way one incentive variant cover of that comic with every 25 or 50 normal copies, it means that the comic itself just isn't all that good to begin with).

NuMarvel

I noticed that Forbidden Planet had signs up last week saying that they were reverting to the old prices (e.g. €4.15, etc) until Jan 1st. From Jan 1st, prices are going up, but not by quite as much as before. I think it's €4.50 for a $2.99 comic (compared to the "old" €4.75).

I've no idea if people who bought comics at the €4.75 were being offered a partial refund?

BlaasForRafa

Fysh wrote: »

You'll note that I've noticed that I made points about how I see the mainstream American comics industry and the result I expect the recent price increases will have. Whereas all you've done is yet again complained that I don't have a particularly complimentary opinion on mainstream American superhero comics.

If you disagree with how I see the mainstream American comics market, we can have a discussion about that. But first we need to know what your perception of the market and the genre is. I'm genuinely interested to know what you think of it, given that your post in the alternative/european comics thread suggests broader reading tastes than I might have previously guessed at.

I'd like to have a proper discussion with you Fysh as your a fiercly intelligent guy. Its the casual insults towards superhero comics fans rather than the industry which gets my back up and provokes a reaction. lumping a certain subsection of fans into one group is wrong imo, superhero comics fans are generally not retards, at the current prices you need to have a decent job to pay for comics. it would be like saying all indy comics fans are elitist snobs, not true but its an easy accusation to make.

I wouldn't defend the industry itself though, I've been around long enough to see how the various companies operate. Right now I'm highly angry at marvel towards their (imo) unwarranted price increase. I've just mailed my lcs today dropping 5 marvel titles and adding 4 DC titles, 1 Dark Horse title and 1 indy title and with $3.99 comics being charged at €5.50 here, I believe thats just too much to pay for a 32 page (inc ads) comic.

I think the Direct Market is dying on its ass at the moment. Titles in the low 70-100 of Diamonds "top sellers" can expect to sell about 20k which is below the break even point and in the kill or cure zone. Unfortunately decent titles like Checkmate, Manhunter and Blue Beetle have fallen into this zone lately while vacuous crap (Secret Invasion) or inpenetratable guff (Final Crisis) dominate the sales charts with their multitudes of spin offs.

DC and Marvel do some good comics though, the Superman titles have been great recently and anything that Ed Brubaker or Christos Gage do has been great. Superhero comics fulfil a need, but its just one need/desire, I have many other desires.

As a tangent, on the value for money point, I've been loyal to FP for 10 years now and the lads and lasses their are pretty conscientious towards providing a good service but they've always been on the higher side regarding price. I've been getting some stuff from Mega-City comics in london lately, at £2.25 for a $2.99 comic as opposed to €4.15 which FP charges I make a significant saving as the postage charges are not that different.

A potted history of my comic buying life to date just to give you a picture. In 1980 I bought my first comic (Battle Picture Weekly) and from then to 1988 was dominated by British weeklys from my local corner shop like Warlord, Victor, Buster, Whizzer n'chips, Roy of the Rovers, 2000ad.

In 1988 I discovered the Xmen and the Avengers and at that stage the british comics industry was dying unfortunately so I moved on to Marvel and DC. In 1990 I saw a tv program called "Comics the 9th art" which changed my life and introduced me to Spanish, Franco-belgian and Italian comics which I started collecting then.

I quit comics in 1994 because of the speculator boom, the hologram/diecut/whatever covers and the general awfulness of marvel/image style comics of the time added to being in college and being rather poor lol.

In 1999 I got excited about comics again and my collection today would be split pretty evenly between british, mainstream-american, indie-american and translated European bd.

livingtargets

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

Its the casual insults towards superhero comics fans rather than the industry which gets my back up and provokes a reaction. lumping a certain subsection of fans into one group is wrong imo, superhero comics fans are generally not retards, at the current prices you need to have a decent job to pay for comics. it would be like saying all indy comics fans are elitist snobs, not true but its an easy accusation to make.

I read a fair few superhero comics and I honestly can`t see any real insults posted by Fysh.And I think it`s been blown out of all proportion.

All I`ve seen is a few fair comments made by Fysh about people who only read superhero comics and who scorn every other genre,in other words the type of comic reader you really don`t seem to be( "...my collection today would be split pretty evenly between british, mainstream-american, indie-american and translated European bd." )so I can`t see why you seem so insulted?

BlaasForRafa

livingtargets wrote: »

I read a fair few superhero comics and I honestly can`t see any real insults posted by Fysh.And I think it`s been blown out of all proportion.

All I`ve seen is a few fair comments made by Fysh about people who only read superhero comics and who scorn every other genre,in other words the type of comic reader you really don`t seem to be( "...my collection today would be split pretty evenly between british, mainstream-american, indie-american and translated European bd." )so I can`t see why you seem so insulted?

I think the conversation has already moved on from there so I don't see a need for further clarification.