Marvel's 9 Cent FANATASIC FOUR Comic

[James Harvey]

Anyone else think (if this is indeed true and jerk Jemas isn't pulling the reader's leg) this is just a rip off of Batman: The 10 Cent Adventure. According to a press release, Marvel will make Fantastic Four #61 a 9 cent comic in August of 2002. The funny thing about this is that Marvel can't afford cheap stunts like this. Unlike DC, they don't have a huge corporation backing them. DC can afford to do this becuase they have AOLTW behind them. Marvel is just tyring to one-up DC Comics, which is just sad. The whole Marvel VS DC was fun in the 60s and 70s, but it's old hat now. Grow up, Marvel.

[pencilsharp]

Hey, Dick. SHHHHHH!!!
I'm getting tired of paying $2.50 American for crummy stories and cookie-cutter art. I'd much rather pay 9 cents for that crummy story and cookie-cutter art!
Seriously, it's nice to see gestures like this, if it *is* true. Now, can we get a little deflation going in the industry? I can't afford to keep up with the books I want to get at these prices. I'll pay $7.95 an ish for DK2, and gladly. But I will NOT pay half that for an Image book.
No way.

[James Harvey]

Image is really expensive when it comes to book! $2.95 for a regular book? At least DC makes the animated books $1.99. Inflation is the nature of the beast. With paper costs continuously rising, I can't see prices going down. I do like these cheap comics now and again - definatly a great gesture. I still think Marvel is just trying to copy DC.

[Joe Tully]

Both DC and Marvel have tried to copy each other since the two of them existed. That's the way most businesses work, one comes up with a good idea and others follow the standard. If Marvel wanted to rip-off DC, they could do a much better job of it than by just making super-cheap comics. The 9 cent thing could be interpreted as one-upping, but I think it's more of a thing to just make it stand out. The FF comic is definitely going to get more attention because of the mere 1 cent difference in price than it would have if it had been the same 10 cents. I don't think that this is just some thing to show off, it's something to do what any business wants to do: draw attention to itself and make money.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

Im ready for it

[The Guard]

Ok...see what we do...is BOYCOTT the 9 cent comics! And then we'll get 8 cent X-MEN, 6 cent Ultimate books....

BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA-GAKKKK! URKKK! BLORPPP!

[kid_flash]

Odd you should mention this, I was just talking about this with some friends today.

This is so lame of Marvel. I mean, in the recent issue of WIZARD (or maybe the issue before), Joe Quesada's sitting there saying the first thing he wanted to do when he became EIC (and I'll admit that he's doing an awesome job) is patch up things with DC. Yeah, a 9 cent comic announced just weeks before DC puts out their 10 cent ish. Maybe DC WON'T feel the elbow jab.

Don't get me wrong, I have a great deal of respect for Marvel and they're doing a ton of good things for the comic book world. But DC hasn't ripped them once about anything, except maybe a joke in a comic or two (you see any Ultimate DC stuff out there?), and Marvel turns around and is continually just slashed them about one thing or another (Bill Jemas can repeatedly be quoted calling DC "AOL Comics").

Yes, I will be buying this comic, but mainly because Mark Waid'll be writing it (who is one of my all-time faves AND will see his exit from Crossgen) and 'Ringo will be doing the art (hopefully the FF won't be a bunch of midgets).

[Joe Tully]

Call me kooky, but I'm having trouble seeing how a 9 cent FF comic sold months later would hurt the sales of a 10 cent Batman comic. It sounds like people are just saying that since DC is the company that thought up the idea of making really cheap comics, they're the only ones who can use that really innovative idea?

And the reason why DC doesn't need an Ultimates line to clean up continuity is because that was the point of Crisis.

Whatever gets us really cheap comics, I ain't complaining about it.

Anyways, that's all I have to say on this topic.

[Domino]

A Marvel comic that costs nine cents is still overpriced unless it's written by Bendis.

That's just my opinion, no need to "Flame on" over this.

[Calhoun07]

Ok, I like the current run on Fantastic Four. I haven't enjoyed the book this much since Byrne was on it, so whether it's $2.50 or 9¢, I am getting it. And of course they are ripping off DC, isn't it obvious? I can't believe they can't come up with a better promo.

As for the rising cost of comics...well, call me a stick in the mud, but if they would stop printing every damn comic book in the world on high quality glossy paper, the price could go down. Whatever happened to baxter paper? That was the best thing after regular newsprint. This glossy paper look all the Image and Dark Horse comics use was reserved for only a handfull of special issues a year, and now it's every freaking comic book on the market. The prices of the comics would go down if they just used cheaper paper. Look at Cerebus. Dave Sim manages to keep that at the same price all these years, and his work still looks incredible on regular old comic book paper.

[pencilsharp]

if they would stop printing every damn comic book in the world on high quality glossy paper, the price could go down.

AAAAmen!
Quite frankly, I don't care if my comics outlive me or not. I buy 'em for the reading, not the collecting. If I had a choice of Batgirl for $2.50 on slick paper or $1.99 on Baxter, well, y'all can call me "Skinflint."
Besides, I can't fault Marvel too much. They've turned a corner, thanx largely to Joe Q. After all, they're giving some of their best titles away thru their DotComics program. That alone went a long way to healing 20 years of Marvel hatred.

[James Harvey]

Baxter paper is the stuff DC uses on their $2.50 titles like Batgirl, Green Arrow, and Azrael. And all of the $2.25 comics are done on regular newsprint paper. The only $2.25 comic done on glossy paper was the special Amazing Spider-Man #36.

[kid_flash]

Actually, very few DC titles use glossy paper, and it's really only used on Prestige Format specials nowadays. For instance: DETECTIVE COMICS, YOUNG JUSTICE, SUPERBOY, and CATWOMAN all cost $2.50 and are printed on the same paper as the $2.25 comics ('Tec can be excuse because it has a back-up feature).

Marvel overprices their Marvel Knights and MAX comics, which are $2.99 each. And then ORIGIN and DAREDEVIL: YELLOW are $3.50 each. Total rip-off. The Ultimate line rules: $2.25 per comic, glossy paper, AND a cardstock cover.

[Calhoun07]

well, I was referring to Dark Horse and Image in that glossy paper statement, but I also think that the paper in Marvel and DC's books could be lowered in grade and I would still buy them.

[DerekPowers]

hey, im all for making comics cheeper, so i'll definately pick up the ff 9 cent adventure. my only problem is 9 cents sounds so corny, 10 cents is much better, especially since comics use to actually be 10 cents, not 9. so if i were marvel, i'd just make the ff issue 10 cents. its already obviously a batman 10cent adventure ripoff, so why try and hide it, just do it right if youre going to do it, you know??

anyway, im looking foward both issues, the batman one much more ofcourse.

and isnt marvel owned by toybiz? maybe toybiz can afford it? peace.