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Do Lower-Priced Promotional Comics “Work”?

January 18th, 2012
Author Graeme McMillan

Today sees the release of both Oni Press’ Wasteland #33 and Dynamite Entertainment’s Lord of The Jungle #1, both of which are specially-priced promotional issues that offer a full-length issue for just $1.00. I’ve read – and enjoyed – both, but it’s a fair bet that I was going to pick both up nonetheless (Especially as I’ve enjoyed Wasteland for some time; if you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, you really should pick the series up). Why I’m mentioning the books, though, is that I’m wondering if specially-priced (i.e., cheap) promo issues work: Have you found yourself trying series that you usually wouldn’t because they were a buck? Or, just the opposite, have you ever found yourself avoiding a book because of this kind of stunt? Use the comments, people: I’d love to know what people think.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 9:00 am and is filed under Dynamite, News & Views, Oni Press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

11 Responses to “Do Lower-Priced Promotional Comics “Work”?”
  1. Kat Kan Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 9:11 am

    One of my LCS’s orders these $1 comics and offers them for free to customers who buy at least one other comic. Most of the time, these are series I would try anyway, but sometimes the $1 comic inspires me to start reading a series. For me, it works. And, if the title is something appropriate for younger readers, I share the comic with my students.

  2. Simon DelMonte Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 9:37 am

    I tried the $1 first issue of a Buck Rogers comic. I think I got what I paid for, and haven’t thought about it since.

    Way back when, I bought DC’s 10 cent Superman and Batman comics. The former was awful and I think the story it set up was almost immediately retconned away. The latter led to the reasonably well done Bruce Wayne: Murderer? arc, and I would have bought it anyway.

  3. Mike Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Well, I don’t think that I have tried a new series for $1 that then leads me to regularly buying a series that I wouldn’t have otherwise bought. However, I have sampled more things because of promotional issues (Buck Rogers, Kirby-Genesis, etc.). I would not even have tried these if not for the promotional issue, so…..I spent $1 more than I would have…..

    However, I whole-heartedly appreciate when a company makes a #1 issue $1 so that I can try it.

  4. Joe Kach Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 10:55 am

    I’d buy that for a dollar!

    –J.

  5. Isaac Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 12:07 pm

    I buy every $1.00 comic that comes my way. The dark flip side is when Marvel charges an EXTRA dollar for the first issue. What the hell are they thinking with that one?

  6. Nathania Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Tried Chew for a buck. liked it so much, went out and bought volume 1. most of the time, i rely on free previews on the internet.

  7. Joe Kach Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 5:50 pm

    I just went out & bought Lord of The Jungle #1 thanks to this Blog post.

    Now I’ll run around my office thumping my chest & shouting “AAAAAAAAHHHHHH-aaaaaa-AAAAHHHHH!!!”.

    –J.

  8. Aussiesmurf Says:
    January 18th, 2012 at 6:43 pm

    I tried the following series and would not have bought them if it wasn’t $1.00 :

    Joe the Barbarian
    Unwritten
    Greek Street.

  9. Chad Says:
    January 19th, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Who the heck would AVOID a comic because it cost less?

    Count me in the crew as someone who often tries introductory issues when they’re priced at $1 or less (including both series mentioned here). Do I keep buying? Depends on the series.

    I still think the 9¢ Fantastic Four issue was the best one.

  10. Brooks Says:
    January 20th, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    Sweet Tooth
    Orchid
    American Vampire

    Those are a few that The $1 book helped make my decision whether to buy or not.

  11. MarcJohn Says:
    January 21st, 2012 at 6:39 pm

    I picked-up the first issue of Dark Horse’s Conan because the 0 issue was bargain-priced ($0.25 I think?), then ended-up buy every issue (50 issues), every month.
    And I read Chew #1 for free on Comixology, then purchased the first trade paperback on Amazon.
    I don’t think I ever would have tried these series if it wasn’t for the introductory pricing …so, these low priced (and free) first issues work on me!

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