The Best Consumer is an Educated Consumer
1st this is not a blame placing article or a rant. This is an honest conversation to promote understanding on the value of the products in Indie Comics Market. As the consumer of indie products, you are the lifeblood to indie comics and the gasoline to the engine of the Indie Comics Market that keeps us Creator going. So the only and Best way to begin this conversation is with a THANK YOU. So Thank You for support Indie Comics because without you no Indie Comic would be funded on Kickstarter and Indie Creators could not make a living that we do thanks to your support both financial and on social media.
Now let’s talk about the general culture in which we live in, mostly the Marketing of DEALS that our economy now lives on. This idea that we need to get the best value for our money is replacing the American Dream. However A REAL Truth many have learned over time is you get what you pay for. Yes sales are great and saving money is even better but quality will always matter more. It is why we strive, go into debt and save to get things with higher values and greater quality. We want the fancy cars, the fancy shoes and clothes, and fancy homes to name a few items we strive for that have a higher value and greater quality. Deep down we understand the value isn’t always price but rather it is about quality. I want you to remember that. You might want to save money but we all know no one likes knockoffs or cheap shit and sometimes when things are inexpensive they lack value and quality. So Cheaper is not by Default better and in fact, can damage a market.
Marvel and DC’s cover prices are causing issues with the Indie Market. This is not done on purpose but it is still something that has a great effect on the indie market. When Marvel or DC charge $2.99-$4.99 for a cover price fans will believe that is now what comic books should cost. However, this is not the Case. There are many, Many factors that can and will effect the price. Look at Marvel and DC as WALMART and Indie Creators as Mom and Pop Shops. All of the Costs associated with Mom and Pops shop are higher due to the fact they cannot buy or produce in bulk. Because of this, they HAVE to the higher pass that cost on to you the Consumer and are unable to compete with pricing. So as a FAN you MUST ELEIMANTE STICKER SHOCK from how you look at purchasing Indie Comics. Here is a Quick example of Marvel and DC vs Indie Comics
Per issue ( An Average Price Scale but price do of course range, these are for example only)
Art per page
Indie 150-250
Marvel DC 250-300
Writers
Indie Projects Often do not pay up front for writing and Writers only take part in the profits of the project
Writers at Marvel DC get about 100 a page
So we see right away Marvel and DC Spend more up front and this is an argument made that we have all heard made by fans. Now the rest of the Team that it takes to create comics ( inker, letters, Editors, Illustrators, Cover Artists, Colorists) get paid more than 50 percent less on average in the indie market vs working for Marvel and DC.
SO MARVEL and DC SPENDS MORE ON TALENT
but
That is basically where it ends where their cost of production is higher. There can be arguments that can be made back and forth for the following break down but let’s take it for grant it that these price points are accurate for this conversation:
DC and Marvel Print their own Comics bringing their print costs down to around .50 cents an issue versus Indie Comics who on Average pay 2.50 per issue to have it printed but can go much higher. This does not count Delivery or distribution either.
DC and Marvel get paid advertisements in their comics. In fact, these days at Marvel and DC Comics have less original Pages inside a comic book than all most all Indie Comics. More and More Marvel and DC add more pages of advertisements while removing new content pages. These Ads help drive down the Cover price.
Often Indie Comics print less than a 1000 issues at a time. Marvel and DC print thousands of an issues at a time and send those issues across the globe. For Indie creators, it is on them to travels and promote their work throught out conventions and soical media.
DC and MARVEL are invited to Comic Cons while Most Indie Creators pay to be there. Depending on the Professional level of the Guest and demand for meeting them at the event they can have their hotels are comped and Space for the publishers and the Marvel and DC and their creators for actual vendor space are often given a discounted rate. This is done of course to accommodate fans who want to see them. So you can not blame anyone for doing this. While Indie Creators at best get a free table but that is very rare and is about who you know.
So Indie Comics Cost more to print and do not have the instant reach (once printed) DC and Marvel have.
So when you hit artist alley it is not Fair to compare pricing of the comics in the alley to Marvel Comics or DC Comics Cover prices. Understand that the indie Creator you find at a table in Artist Alley has paid on average 200 dollars for a table. At the bigger the shows the table cost more up to 500 dollars for an artist alley table in fact. The creators also have to pay for lodging, transportation (including flights if necessary) and Food. All of that has expense has to be added to the Cost of Good and in this Case that is the Cover price. A Cover price reflects the cost of making and promoting the book including the cost of getting it into your hands and spending all the time at a table instead of creating something new. Understand if the Creator does not cover these expenses they will not be able to continue creating. Would you like to work for Free? Expecting Indie Creators to sell their good cheaply is asking them too often work for free.
So you see it is not fair to compare costs. There is a big difference between Indie Publishing and Main Stream Publishing Costs. And as such it is best to not look at them as the same thing. Now I can tell you some Indie Comics are priced unfairly. It happens, but before you assume that to be the case ask the creator about the price. There could be good reasons such as they are printing in small quantities driving the costs up. That means is they printed only a few books for a show and if they don’t go to the right printers ( Such as KA-BLAM) they can pay as much as 4.50 an issue for 32 pages to be printed not counting shipping. So when in Doubt ask a creator why they are priced so high.Remember you will back a Comic on a Kickstarter for 15 dollars so why not do the same in person if the Creator can explain the Cost? Remember as an Indie Comic book fan you are paying for something new but also something different. You are investing in a Creative future!!
You see as a consumer you have the power to change the world, and often consumers are unaware of that power. Every time you buy an INDIE comic book TiTLE you encourage Marvel and DC to look towards the indie markets and change to be more like indie comics. So as you buy and invest in Indie Comics you change how both Marvel and DC create their comics and who they hire next. Trust me they pay attention. In fact by the end of this year you the consumer will possibly spend more kickstarting Comics than actually buying them from either Marvel and DC. So you are empowering change and stopping the Reboot culture. Thank You for all that you are doing by Supporting indie projects.
So, in short, it might Cost a bit more to purchase an Indie Comic book title but that money goes to the future of Comic books and that investment is creating a More Creative World in General.
Art in Artist Alley
One constant thing I hear is the complaint about the Expense of Art in Artist Alley. We have talked about Comic books costs and them being sold in artist alley but just as common at Comic Cons in Artist Alley are Artists doing Commissioned sketches and Art prints being sold. On average, the most common size of art in the alley is 11×17 can go from 10-20 a print, while commissions go for 50-300 dollars a piece. So we will do this in those two parts starting with 11×17’s ( there are other sizes sold but again this is the most common size currently sold) and is commonly fan art. (Fan Art is basically artist drawing and producing art of characters that they are fans of. There is an argument of the legalness behind this kind of art that we will not address in this article. For now, it is at Cons and it a source of income for artist end of story.)
So 11×17 art’s (whether fan or original art) price is again based on the same things that Comics are based on the cost of Production, the cost of promotions and the Costs of getting it into your hands. You are paying for all of that and investing in the artist so they can continue to create. The price you pay is often undervalued. Don’t think so? Go get a print from an Established Artist and you will pay up to 500 dollars for their art. UNDERSTAND that any Artist in Artist Alley is often steps away from being the next established creator. So you are in fact, often getting a deal. That is something often not considered when looking at the prices. Look at Stan Lee, Fans have paid 250-800 dollars to meet the Man and get his signature from a guy who once hated working for comic books and did something totally different that changed comics forever. Not to mention standing in lines for hours. When you are in Artist Alley understand you talking to the next generations of Stan Lee’s and Neal Adam’s.
As for Established and Commissions go there is a direct effect. 1st let’s make sure we understand that the term established isn’t about skillset but about name recognition and fan base. The bigger both are the more the artist has the right to charge. When they are charging you for a piece understand they are not a copier. They are a human with a skill set often that took years of practice and training to get them to the table you are visiting. The Average Consumer will pay inflated prices for shoes based on name recognition and the research for sneakers or handbags. Guess what? Art should be treated the same way when it comes to pricing. You are paying for Skill and Talent. If anyone one could do what artists can then it would not be special. But it is not something easily done and no machine can create out of thin air what a human Artist can. It is a talent that often can not be taught but only nurtured and practiced. Understand that as you invest in artists you also invest in keeping art alive and enable Artists to keep showing up at Comic Cons. So as a consumer you are paying for a Skill and Talent few have that is creating something unique just for you. You get that original and it becomes your collector’s item. View all art in Artist Alley, especially sketches as such!
In closing here is something as a consumer you control, what will be created next. If you walk down Artist Alley you will notice especially at some of the bigger shows that Creator Owned Comics and Comic book Artist and Creators are disappearing from Artist Alley. This is happening because Cons are selling the tables to Vendors now that aren’t artists and they are selling overpriced knock off items if not out of place items like jewelry that do not belong in artist alley. This is up to you to stop. You see if you do not buy from VENDORS sneaking into Artist Alleys you will make them lose money and they will not return. But so long as you buy from them you encourage them to return and the cost of tables will rise. PLEASE DO NOT SUPPORT inappropriate item in Artist Alley. We aren’t saying they don’t belong at Comic Cons but they certainly do not belong in artist alley. Let’s Praise NYCC show runners who Run a PURE artist alley VOID OF VENDORS. We Would love to See Artist Alley Change names tCreators Alley as it should be a place to celebrate Indie Comic Artists, Artist of all types ( except those who do not create and SELL others work), Writer, Inkers, Letters, Editors, Illustrators and Pencilers as it should be. So when at a con MAKE SURE to ask to speak to the artist or Creator behind the work and help Artist Alley be a place for up and coming Creators and Artist to become established and not a commercial pop up market!
One a Final Note No one should Blame DC and MARVEL for being Successful. They are not the REASON for anything other than their own Sucess. Both Companies have had hard times and never once did they Blame other Creators or Fans for the failures instead they learned and came back from almost Dead.