tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post3900843935113314341..comments2024-03-14T08:38:28.518-04:00Comments on J.M. DeMatteis's CREATION POINT: SUMMER REPEAT: CITIZEN OF THE ZONEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-2375234623225761512015-09-01T10:53:40.857-04:002015-09-01T10:53:40.857-04:00Turning our kids on to comics is a great idea, Dou...Turning our kids on to comics is a great idea, Douglas. We've got to cultivate the next generations, or the audience will dwindle away.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-7257781320589324272015-09-01T10:25:55.502-04:002015-09-01T10:25:55.502-04:00I find myself buying less and less from Marvel and...I find myself buying less and less from Marvel and more from DC as I get older. There are indie books I purchase that embrace pulp fiction (The Avenger, John Carter, you get the idea.), I am curious to see what happens in Marvel after Secret Wars. It will decide for me whether or not I continue to buy from Marvel. <br />I find the best way to make sure to continue comic books is to introduce younger readers to the fold. Of my five children four are avid readers and do buy monthly books.<br />It's our best chance at a continued existence.Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-74067800346670028522015-08-29T09:53:00.144-04:002015-08-29T09:53:00.144-04:00Totally get that, Jack, and I always appreciate yo...Totally get that, Jack, and I always appreciate your insights.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-80829802763520800232015-08-29T06:33:27.833-04:002015-08-29T06:33:27.833-04:00That is another issue with prices right there. If...That is another issue with prices right there. If I know I'm going to like the old masters new book or I may enjoy the young upstarts... well I only have so much money. As I said, high prices are unfair to new talent.<br /><br />The fact is money is corrosive to comics all around. Money does make people more conservative, not politically, but they have to keep that check coming so you have to protect the brand and follow what works. It isn't even greed doing it necessarily, you also have to worry about your employees, and the fact is that Marvel and DC have both exploded in employment to where they probably can't whittle down to the former size of the 70s and 80s where you could feasibly list every employee on a page or two of a comic.<br /><br />marvel and DC have been shuffling around the same few names for quite a while now, and always go to the old guard for help when they want new blood. It isn't entirely absurd, they have to think of the creators as investments to an extent, they are just playing with too high of stakes.<br /><br />We all talk about how Marvel and DC was more experimental back in the day, abd many say that indie books cause problems their, and to an extent that may be true, but even many indie books are not that experimental. Image, Dark Horse, and IDW all have the conceptual brand that they want to push because they know it works.<br /><br />Then there is the use of slick paper (which has come off on my hands many times) and other "improvements," well if they go back from that who knows how they might be perceived about the industry... it may look bargain basement compared to the rest. What's more retreats always look like you are flailing, right?<br /><br />That fear is probably a little bit why prices can never fall, even if it was possible. A fear of what it may be perceived at. Which is a dumb stance by the way.<br /><br />Comics have a lot of issues to sort through if there is even a prayer of them still going on. every week people at my local comic shop seem less and less interested and attached. <br /><br />I have bought comics every week since I was 16. Last week I bought three new issues, next week I think it will be two. Even when I was a teenager (and had that little income) it was never so few, and I buy indies so it isn't just a big two issue. And last week was the first time ever there was a full week and I didn't buy a marvel comic. I AM a true believer, I think almost everyone that sets foot in a comic shop these days on a Wednesday is, but they are losing even us bit by bit. We want comics to keep going forever, is that enough? We already kept the lights on at Marvel in the late 90s, kept an industry going and employed when no one ever thought a big budget movie was possible. However, many people think the big two (which ARE necessary for indie books to live) have mostly turned there backs on us for other media and people who complain but never read comics. thui sentecne is VERY IMPORTANT: I don't agree with that at all, I have faith in the industry to at least want us, but that idea is out there and fairly large.<br /><br />Personally, I think that the last published DC book will be the Omega sized Action Comics 1000 in four years or so. People say I am overly optimistic.<br /><br />This is not an anger fuel statement, or prophecy of doom mixed with critique, or even someone who wants to keep reading your story, it is someone who cares about comics and wants them to exist and hopes this can be used for the betterment.<br /><br /><br />sorry.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-41713318008770109932015-08-28T08:53:25.459-04:002015-08-28T08:53:25.459-04:00I would LOVE to write more GODS AND MONSTERS stori...I would LOVE to write more GODS AND MONSTERS stories, Douglas, but that decision's not in my hands, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.<br /><br />"...if it has DeMatteis on the cover, I'm buying it." All I can say to that is—thank you!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-48673216478372663062015-08-28T07:44:58.778-04:002015-08-28T07:44:58.778-04:00As far as prices are concerned, yeah they are a li...As far as prices are concerned, yeah they are a little ridiculous. Sure, there are books I would like to get and pass on. I really think that Marvel, with its huge success in films should show a little love to the faithful comic book reader and let some of that profit trickle down in the form of lower comic prices.<br />In the meantime, if it has DeMatteis on the cover I'm buying it. Being a huge fan of all things What If? and Elseworlds I love how Gods And Monsters is playing out. And I haven't watched the film yet. It will be interesting to see if DC would be interested in continuing it when it is finished. The re imagined characters of DCs three heavy hitters are fascinating and I think it could play a lot like Marvel's Ultimate Universe if done correctly.Douglas A. Waltzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312801885609153510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-22981034240021185992015-08-20T17:47:52.735-04:002015-08-20T17:47:52.735-04:00I guess I should first say, you're welcome.
A...I guess I should first say, you're welcome.<br /><br />And yes, it being the depression made a huge difference. Jerry and Joe being only about 23 made a huge difference too, as did Jerry Siegel not being allowed to truly get work mattered (his mother was almost a stereotype) , but even without all that I'm not sure pathetic is the right word, shortsighted may be better.<br /><br />I'm not sure he foresaw never reaching that level of success with a character again, and he certainly didn't see being fired from the strip coming. And remember licensing wasn't quite then what it is now.<br /><br />The story of Superman is full of bad business decisions. This wasn't even the first, Will Eisner passed on it.<br /><br />And remember, people have sold their life's work for far less.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-23003657953293175112015-08-20T06:57:41.656-04:002015-08-20T06:57:41.656-04:00The pro-fan dialogue is something that meant somet...The pro-fan dialogue is something that meant something to me when I was a reader, Jack, and it means just as much, maybe more, now, It is, as you say, something that makes this industry unique.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-32589321645768981812015-08-20T06:56:34.208-04:002015-08-20T06:56:34.208-04:00Selling all the rights to your character in 2015 f...Selling all the rights to your character in 2015 for two grand is actually pretty pathetic, Jack. Your point about the depression, though, is well taken. When everyone's out of work and desperate for money, every little bit helps. J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-66060148319850131932015-08-20T05:54:24.885-04:002015-08-20T05:54:24.885-04:00Another interesting Inflation fact, after the calc...Another interesting Inflation fact, after the calculating the rights to Superman was sold for the equivalent of $2,231.87 in today's money. Everyone laughs at the number $130, but it was the depths of the Depressioin. Still not great business decision, but it was hardly the hose job people like to make it out to be.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-3172978309689524352015-08-20T05:36:46.551-04:002015-08-20T05:36:46.551-04:00Well... it isn't free if its on cable.
The fa...Well... it isn't free if its on cable.<br /><br />The fact is that it all matters, because price and everything else I mentioned are interconnected. Making the best possible product matters, giving people the most bang for their bucks matters, It is about rapport with the fans and the providers, that has to exist, maybe more in comics than anything else. there is a history there that stretches back, no matter how big these characters get comics have the soul for something small and rebellious.<br /><br />Think about it, How many Oscar winners are having this kind of discussion about movies with a fan? Probably not a whole lot. Now how many Eisner winners are? At the bare minimum one... though I doubt with all the creators with blogs this is something new... there is something very special about his.<br /><br />I am not going to claim that we are blameless though. If nothing else the internet has made us more annoying and more difficult to suss out what should be listened to and what not. <br /><br />The of course there is the difficulty in figuring out who actually reads comics, and who is just complaining or criticizing to do so, and then how many are even potential readers.<br /><br />Neither side is in a great or even easy place right now. The fact is that our greatest strength and greatest weakens are one and the same, both sides are full of people who genuinely care and love the medium. Of course both also have people who are just sitting in for personal reasons with no real reason to be there than it is a scene or a good stepping stone, but I like to think the good outweighs that.<br /><br />It is too easy for those on BOTH sides to assume that the other doesn't care as much and has slipped into a personal place of self-indulgence. <br /><br />Comics are the one entertainment industry that is almost all fans from top to bottom. They are an American institution. They kick the Holy Hell out of Movies and TV.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-88414342173378789282015-08-19T10:49:33.995-04:002015-08-19T10:49:33.995-04:00I agree that price really matters...especially in ...I agree that price really matters...especially in a world where people can get their super hero fixes at the movies, on television (where it's FREE), in video games, etc. The easier the economic entrance to the world of comics is, the more of a chance we'll bring in new readers and keep old ones. And I'm sure Marvel and DC are well aware of that.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-79275733608289334412015-08-19T06:17:13.547-04:002015-08-19T06:17:13.547-04:00One last interesting fact about the price. It is ...One last interesting fact about the price. It is less even after inflation than a gallon of gas.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-67511078927885983862015-08-19T03:51:52.479-04:002015-08-19T03:51:52.479-04:00hey, I'm finally going to finish this, but fir...hey, I'm finally going to finish this, but first...a response...<br /><br />I can't speak for comics, but usually, how they come up with cover price is anything but complicated. I've known a fair share of those in the magazine business, and typically it is planned out in such a way that it can easily be traced as new people come in.<br /><br />It is honestly, in some way, probably connected to the frankly foolish idea comics made in the early 2000s to have only one ad on the back, and the rest to be house ads. It was a complete changing of how they got revenue. That's right, most periodicals are funded by ads... not cover price. The industry would have been better suited to just have 10 extra pages of content instead of house ads. Complete change in revenue is never going to be one without complications.<br /><br />Though in reality, I doubt even that is the real reason.<br /><br />It doesn't matter though, because honestly price DOES matter, and it is unfair to creators. Books are easier to drop when they are more expensive. I have dropped books that historically I would have given a few more issues to let it find its footing. Is that fair? maybe and maybe not, but it is certainly not unreasonable? Seriously, I'm asking, is it?<br /><br />Price is something that needs to be figured out one way or another. It is probably a necessity.<br /><br />For course that is hardly the only issue, there is also the fact that books are often late, which seems odd since Marvel is planning a giant relaunch. It is easier to drop a book (especially in this era of multi-issue stories) with each month that is late.<br /><br />Of course there is also The strange fact that editors step back and stop assisting when I writer becomes a name. That's rarely good. Editor's exist for a reason, a good editor is more valuable than any tool a writer has other than a pencil and paper. But even the best editor is useless if they have to tip-toe with the talent. I'm sure yopu have at least heard of Frank Miller losing it, but honestly if they just let Denny O'Neil be his editor (some one he trusts and respects) most of those stories could be salvaged. <br /><br />Then there is the tension that has been growing between the fans and some of the upper folks in Marvel and DC's ranks for years. <br /><br />At the comic shop I go to I have seen Wednesday customers (still the most popular day) become just a shadow of the numbers they were just a few years ago. <br /><br />The owner said to me not to long ago that sometimes things just end and maybe its just comics time to go. Whether it is prices growing to high, a disconnect with the fan base, preferring other media for the properties, or the fact we ran out of Mark Gruenwalds a man who (I've never met him and this is all second hand so correct if wrong) had an equal respect for the characters, the medium, the company, the creators, and the fans.<br /><br />I really hop this doesn't seem like piling on. It comes from place of love, not for a company, or even your work, but for a medium, a medium a hope keeps going for a long time.<br /><br />These are potentially dangerous issues for the industry. The price most of all perhaps (boom! looped around).<br /><br />It is a medium of heroes. Lets just hope a Clark is out there and he finds a phone booth before its too late, which is not likely, have you looked for a pay phone recently? It is no east task.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-24437621388678141922015-08-18T20:36:32.717-04:002015-08-18T20:36:32.717-04:00Ultimately, Jack, I'm not involved in the busi...Ultimately, Jack, I'm not involved in the business end of things, so I don't know all the details re: cover price, but I suspect it might b far more complicated than either of us know. Someone like Dan Didio or Joe Quesada could address this issue far more knowledgably than I ever could.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-80355284067198112852015-08-18T19:13:44.043-04:002015-08-18T19:13:44.043-04:00Unfortunately, my computer wonked out on me before...Unfortunately, my computer wonked out on me before I could finish, so I am going to try and loop in my response with my further thoughts.<br /><br />My point about fairness was less about it being okay and about it not being right, but about it being common. No one wants to see Jim Starlin out on his luck and living in a box. However, as a freelancer who is currently on his third week of waiting for a paycheck from a place that has a cap on pay, has seen a picture for an article I wrote and multiple comic websites and my work on several sites with absolutely no compensation , I can certainly sympathize with this, and be glad for the push forward, but also be somewhat aggravated at the belief in the situation having been unique.<br /><br />While the pluses are great for the industry, but if they become dangerous to its existence they have to be re-evaluated for pure survival. Does that mean that it has to go back to what it was? No, there has to be a happy middle ground.<br /><br />Jim Shooter came up in that rough field, and as such understood both sides. This is why once accounted for inflation comics are twice the price than the 80s instead of four times like it is from the 60s. Perhaps there isn't the same appreciation for how far the industry has come, but Shooter's legacy shows there is a way to make both work.<br /><br />But I don't work I the comic industry...yet (and let's be honest probably never will), I don't know if there have been increases for creators since then. Most of that price changing has come in just the past few years. It could just be simple greed by those who own Marvel and DC, who know nothing of comics at all and just see movies based off of them making money. That is the only reason I can see that it is always a dollar increase.<br /><br />Of course, that is not the only issue with comics we fans have.<br /><br />Comics that don't perform as well as they hope get pulled, while books that sell less than that keep going for publicity reasons or a movie is coming out is hardly a great way to run a business.<br /><br />more... <br /><br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-32818431943328653762015-08-18T09:58:38.978-04:002015-08-18T09:58:38.978-04:00And we're all glad you're still buying, J...And we're all glad you're still buying, Jack!J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-75799660101240190452015-08-18T09:56:35.022-04:002015-08-18T09:56:35.022-04:00Without those royalties that came in in the 80'...Without those royalties that came in in the 80's, Jack, most of us in comics could' have afforded to STAY in comics. Those royalties are what allowed us to raise families and pay mortgages and have a decent life while we were creating our stories.<br /><br />As for fairness...Marvel and DC were making piles of money on the books and licensing and merchandising even then and it was only fair that the creators participate in some way, considering that they were...you know...CREATORS of the work that was being exploited.<br /><br />So if there's a comic book world without fair compensation for the people creating the work, it's not a world I would care to participate in. If you're looking for cost-cutting measures, that's not the place.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-53535345570093009322015-08-18T05:33:10.886-04:002015-08-18T05:33:10.886-04:00Baseball used to be the great American pass time. ...Baseball used to be the great American pass time. The strike ruined that popularity. Sure, it is still fairly popular, but Football has unseated it, and probably basketball too. <br /><br />Maybe when Marvel was bought out by people who had only dollar signs in their eyes and cared for nothing but profits, in the 90s that had a similar effect on the industry. As I recall, those corporate masters almost killed off the industry.as a whole. Maybe that set forth a bad set of practices.that will end it. Maybe it is over correction.for those dark days.<br /><br />In the end it isn't even really price, but worth. It isn't whether it is $4.00, but whether the contents are worth the price, worth what those 22 pages give us.<br /><br />A month ago I saw Double Indemnity on the big screen for the first time. I had only seen it on TV before, and it was a completely different experience. The movie is so dense, not in the way often used, buit ion that there isn't a wasted minute. When I left I realized just how much of ALL media doesn't give you tour money's worth. If I pay 4 bucks for a comic from 1985 lets say, good or bad, I will at least feel it was complete, if I watch a Simpsons from 1997 I'll feel everything there should be. Media as a whole doesn't do that as much any more, sure there are exceptions, but not enough to make those examples anywhere near the majority.<br /><br />I give comics much more slack since I love them, and guys who came in before 2000 don't have anywhere near as much as that problem, but in the end each comic takes about 4 minutes to read... maybe a bit more. I stopped going to movies because those two hours never seemed to be worth the $10 they want from me, yet comics hang on... that's love. But, who knows how long I can hold out on that? How long can a few things you really enjoy out way the habit and addiction before you just walk away? I don't know, but I will keep buying until it happens.<br /><br />Jack<br /><br />more... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-69168429331909065212015-08-18T05:09:47.679-04:002015-08-18T05:09:47.679-04:00If I remember correctly things like royalties cam...If I remember correctly things like royalties came in under shooter in the 80's. The 80's were double the price after inflation calculated. IN the past 5 years it has jumped a dollar and pushes on another. What's more the idea of increasing by a quarter or 50 cents is forgotten. If prices have to increase, why by that much.<br /><br />AS for cost increase, I pointed out other periodicals have escaped this problem, including literary magazines. Then there are newspapers whose writers are largely employed by them... which means not only salaries, but insurance.<br /><br />For that matter, Marvel is the one doing most of the price moving, but if I remember correctly they have owned their printing process since the 90s, though maybe that was lost in the bankruptcy.<br /><br />Then there is the paper, the slick paper they moved to, which most fans would be fine to get rid of for lower prices. Not to mention the fact that the ink more easily comes off on our hands.<br /><br />As I said those after Shooter just didn't have the abilities he did to make those benefits work.<br /><br />Of course, as someone who works freelance and makes no where near what a comic creator does and lacks even a copyright to his work, those pre-Shooter ways of running a comic company, they really don't seem very unfair. IN fact, it was probably less to fix a problem, than to prevent a new one in going to indie books. It seemed logical, but those at Marvel now seem to want to build a name then jump to other media, or have an indie book that they can own entirely, therefore holding back their best ideas for when they can cash in.<br /><br />We have all heard the stories of older comic book pros who got screwed over, and none of us fans want to see that happen top our favorite creators, but it the incentives for the talent interferes with bringing in the fans that is an issue.<br /><br />working in a creative field is always dangerous, because there is always someone talented willing to do your job for at least half the price.<br /><br />However, I also acknowledge that it is hard to ever ask anyone to to take a pay cut, and it certainly isn't fair to punish someone just for coming in at a point where things are good for them.<br /><br />One of the biggest issues however is the quite honestly idiotic idea to phase out all adds except one on the back cover. Sure there are 10 house ads, but those are essentially worthless.<br /><br />Think though, 5 years ago I could walk into a comic shop with $20 and walk out with 6 new comics and be able to buy a coke on the way home. Now its 5 new and a few pennies. With Marvel already starting to price $5.00 for 22 pages, in a year it may be 4 comics.<br /><br />If Image and Dark Horse, who have much thinner profit margins than Marvel and DC, can go to 50 cents when needed, why not the big two.<br /><br />Jack<br /><br />more to come...?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-12568592019233912062015-08-17T20:35:55.371-04:002015-08-17T20:35:55.371-04:00So we've far exceeded the inflation rate. But...So we've far exceeded the inflation rate. But keep in mind that page rates for creators were incredibly low then, there were no royalties, paper and printing costs have skyrocketed, etc. So I don't know if just adjusting for inflation if fair. <br /><br />But those are still sobering figures.<br /><br />Wouldn't it be great if we could sell comics for a dollar a shot?J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-76278076596789665052015-08-17T18:44:15.089-04:002015-08-17T18:44:15.089-04:0012 cents in 1962-63 is comparable to about 95 cent...12 cents in 1962-63 is comparable to about 95 cents today. And the fact is Marvel is seemingly pushing towards $5.00 per issue. If you look at other periodicals it makes even less sense. A newspaper is about $1.00 and an issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction is $7.99... for just a little more than 250 pages.<br /><br />The fact is every time the prices go up it is that much easier to drop a book. The $4.00 price tag is why I didn't pick up Justice League: Gods and Monsters, I liked the writer and it was an intriguing concept, but I'm not usually big on cross-promotion with other media, so since I was shy a bit in my wallet I shrugged it off. Did I miss out on something? Very possibly, but it was purely economic.<br /><br />For that matter 25 or 50 cent increases don't seem to exist in mainstream books anymore. Honestly, it is hard not to feel gauged sometimes with the increases. Especially when one of DC's first $4.00 books was Batman, making it seem almost like saying, "we know you'll buy it one way or another, you addict." Especially since no other book was increased in price.<br /><br />The fact is there is a growing mistrust (if not disdain) of comic companies by fans. For the most part the talent is bypassed in these feelings, and it goes straight to the management. A Lot of strange and alienating things have been going on in the comic world, whether it is good writers going bad because editors won't stand up to a name, price increases, the price increases, treating any fan who doesn't like something as someone who just doesn't want change as a traitor to the medium, or one of plenty of other issues, fans are getting restless.<br /><br />I have been getting comics since I was in about the first grade, I started focusing in at age 12, and have bought them weekly since I was 16 and could drive to the store every week. As a fan no0t of the properties, or the superhero concept, but the whole of the medium, I can honestly say for the first time I can foresee the possibility of me reading 0 comics, and the fact is that I am not alone.<br /><br />It is interesting that Shooter said that, since it seems like some of the price problems come from ideas he had for the industry that were good... only that shepherded as well as he did, once he left. That is the importance of a good leader.<br /><br />It is good advice though. <br /><br />Guess I did have some views on it after all.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-15526951274243515322015-08-17T17:19:29.939-04:002015-08-17T17:19:29.939-04:00Glad top hear it, though admittedly I thought the ...Glad top hear it, though admittedly I thought the concept of death in movies and the idea of "adult" is what you would run with. You live you learn.<br /><br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-2836100390249084182015-08-17T15:17:09.329-04:002015-08-17T15:17:09.329-04:00Four times? Even accounting for inflation? I nev...Four times? Even accounting for inflation? I never heard that. <br /><br />Jim Shooter (I think it was Jim) used to say that the price of a comic book should always align with the current cost of a slice of pizza. I think we've passed that.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193334913733210326.post-32669566392062251452015-08-17T15:14:28.493-04:002015-08-17T15:14:28.493-04:00Beetle and Booster are back in JL 3001 #3. Along ...Beetle and Booster are back in JL 3001 #3. Along with a giant turtle man who looks suspiciously like Jimmy Olsen.J.M. DeMatteishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04293848326241642685noreply@blogger.com