I think that would be obvious, given what DC decided to do with Batman over the past year… Just like 1989′s Batman movie created a lot of new comics fans (I know, because a lot of my friends suddenly got interested), TDK certainly had the potential to do the same thing. Instead, DC decided to make the books completely unfriendly to new readers, and then took Bruce Wayne off the table entirely.

@MrWesley: No offense taken, sir! At the risk of going off topic — when I say “more bang for the buck,” I mean that you can get a full story for less money, like Ghost Rider #35 or Invincible Iron Man TP. Certainly there are decompressed stories (and less than good books), you are totally right-on, but I know that I can get a full story for $3 if I buy wisely. (You are totally right on most DVDs, which is why I didn’t include them in the mix.) And while you are correct that Editorial at the Big Two are not spearheading the cross-pollination, it is certainly happening through licensed products — look at the Iron Man cartoon, the Wolverine video game, or the Taco Bell comics.

Keep the discussion going! Agree with this article or no, I’m totally digging it, and want to get your take — are comics fans being exploited?

1) I don’t see how you can assert that a $4.00 comic book gets you more bang for the buck than a $10 movie or even a $50 video game. Breaking it down by dollar per entertainment hour, movies are about $5/hr, video games are about $2-3/hr. If a traditional comic book is read in 15 minutes, that means a comic book is costing you a whopping $16/hr. That is the very definition of no value for your money.

Using the example you used in your response, can comic books be a greater value than a movie? Maybe, but not a DVD. Plus, the “unlimited replay value” of a monthly comic book exists, but in my experience, it’s become more and more infrequent as individual issues are part 2 or 3 of 6 (or 7 or 8 or 12). It may be enjoyable, but ultimately unsatisfying because you don’t get a whole story.

And I don’t think that studios and publishers are necessarily looking to cross-pollinate. I think Didio has gone out of his way to say that he doesn’t make publishing decisions based on what’s going on in other mediums (I don’t know if that if that is actually true, but there you have it).

Also, I don’t think that studio heads are looking for comic book characters to exploit, they’re looking for properties to build franchises on, something that’s easily translatable to a visual medium and already has a story attached to it. Super heros are natural fit, but I think studios couldn’t give a flip about the integrity of the characters (LXG). On the other hand, big screen success has never translated into print sales for the original character (Blade).

And you know, what? The hobby is STILL uncool. Not the characters, but the hobby. All you have to do is look at the sales numbers to see that the industry is shrinking, not expanding with new readers.

And the argument you make with the trade is exactly right-on: but the prices of a softcover trade ($12-15 — less if you buy at a con or online) is about equal, if not less, to what you’d spend at a movie, unless you go alone and buy no food or drinks.

As for the decompressed nature and overall quality, it’s certainly a valid argument for some books — but you could easily argue the same for movies, too. To use a personal example, I feel I got a lot more fun out of Ghost Rider #35 (or my Invincible Iron Man trade) for less money than the ticket I bought for the Wanted film.

I’m personally ok with being part of a target audience, as long as I feel the people targeting me are one of us (one of us…) Like, I enjoy BBT, but it’s no Spaced, you know? It’s why I like what Radical’s doing, even though it’s roughly the same thing Virgin was trying to do. What does Richard Branson know about comics?

That does not make any sense at all, if by bang for your buck you mean 22 pages of usually decompressed storyline (written for the TPB) lots of ads, 4$ each, mediocre content a lot of time… Wow, I guess the economy does not affect everyone the same…