Buy A Comic Day! – This Weekend

Buy A Comic Day! – This Weekend

Wizard Magazine is dead. Comic book sales are down by more than 20% and more are going the digital route every month. It’s not too hard to imagine that if things continue on this path, it’s possible that the entire paper comic industry could be threatened.

By superherostuff - Feb 18, 2011 12:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Merchandise
Source: Buy a Comic Day

We’re hoping to make a difference. This weekend we’re asking people to take one special weekend each month to buy one or two new issues along with one or two back issues. Yeah, sure, maybe you already buy $100/month worth of comics, but even though this is going out to all the sideliners, we think you can still step up and get one more comic this weekend.

There are a lot of people who like the heroes, go to the movies and probably have some comics in their basement somewhere, but what’s needed is for them to step up and buy a couple comics once a month. For less that the price of that Orange Mocha Frappuccino you get every day, you can get at least two new Batman comics. And instead of that pack of cigarettes, you can grab the new Thor comic.

And maybe you always wanted to find out exactly what happened in the Spidey clone saga, or maybe you need to get three more comics to complete your Secret Wars series or even the Infinity Gauntlet series. Now’s your chance to grab them.

From here on out, on the third weekend of each month, we’re going to focus on Buy A Comic Day to see if we can help the industry get back on track. And while we’re at it, maybe, just maybe, those of us who’ve gotten too busy in life might find some long lost fun in those old pages. I’ll be grabbing some Blackest Night and new Batman/Robin comics (for my back issues) and for the new stuff, I’ll leave that up to the gal behind the desk to point the direction.
Support the industry. Support your local comic shop. And check out Huntresses’ new skivvies all at the same time. What can you do to help? Aside from showing up and grabbing some comics, you can spread the word on Facebook and that damn Twitter thing or just text your buddies until they promise to show up with you.

So what’re you reading?

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ilaughdarkly
ilaughdarkly - 2/18/2011, 1:01 PM
FIRST!
Boogie138
Boogie138 - 2/18/2011, 1:03 PM
IM IN! my file was growing as is, not been to my shop in a long time. guess i just needed a wake up call. no wait it was cuz i broke. dead broke. but its true i love comics, i can squeeze at least an iss a check. better refigure the budget!
ManofSteel23
ManofSteel23 - 2/18/2011, 1:07 PM
I bought superman earth one and the death of superman,2 days ago,does that count lol
comicb00kguy
comicb00kguy - 2/18/2011, 1:12 PM
There are many legitimate reasons why I don't buy new books anymore, too many to go into in a comment. It's something that really bothers me to my core, because I love reading comics, and always will. The short version: quit using overblown events and cheap shocks to sell books, and return to telling interesting stories self-contained within one title, with good art (Epting or Perez are two great examples of the kind of penciling I like)- not the common books I look at that have a lot of pages with no more than two or three panels, with very little actual story occurring, or are just a series of splash pages.
HelaGood
HelaGood - 2/18/2011, 1:16 PM
im in!
gonna pick up that soldier zero book as well as some of the past issues of x-force. trying to catch up.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/18/2011, 1:21 PM
WIZARD R.I.P

Damn fine magazine, well till they turned into the norm and size of magazines!

Like HERO magazine too!

P.S. Should buy comic books anyway :)
golden123
golden123 - 2/18/2011, 1:26 PM
I'm not going this weekend because I go once a month and I've already gone this month. Most importantly, it's a 45 minute drive to the comic book store, but it's great that your trying to save the industry. I read in the newspaper, two years ago, that only 500,000 americans read comics, and that includes manga readers and star wars comic readers as well as superhero comics readers.
MGS
MGS - 2/18/2011, 1:27 PM
If you're going to blame the decline in sales, blame the cost of comics nowadays as well. $4 per issue? Screw Marvel and their greedy ways! At least at DC, they listens to the concerns of their fans.
ablee337
ablee337 - 2/18/2011, 1:32 PM
I only buy and read trade paper backs now. Too much a pain to collect individual issues.
skullboy
skullboy - 2/18/2011, 1:40 PM
I don't buy comics like I used to, but I don't want the industry to die either. I've always preferred substance over style. Plus comics are too damn expensive. They should lower the prices too stay afloat. Don't let this be another casualty to the digital age.
HarryBloodscreaming
HarryBloodscreaming - 2/18/2011, 1:43 PM
This is just resistance to change. And change is coming, no matter how much kicking and screaming people do.

When they start making paper from something more renewable and environmentally conscious like hemp, I will see this as a battle worth fighting. Otherwise, I will accept the digital alternative.

Are you guys going to take a last run at saving music retail/cd's as well?

Ultimately you're just fighting to save the method of distributing comics that keeps the greedy middle-man rolling in dough anyway.

I say bring on webcomics and dealing directly with the creators, rather than some gouging corporation.

But I doubt many people here would agree with that.
deadpoox
deadpoox - 2/18/2011, 1:50 PM
Hell yeahh I already buy a sheet load anyway R.I.P wizard andd toy fare
Barajasster
Barajasster - 2/18/2011, 1:50 PM
I have an iPad and have downloaded some back issues but I prefer to hold the paper book in my hands and like my dad did with me some day pass it down to my son. I am reading about 20 titles right now and will definitely start to pick up an extra back issue every week or so to help out.
TorturedXGenius
TorturedXGenius - 2/18/2011, 1:57 PM
it's pretty simple 4 dollars for a comic that in this day and age WONT be worth more than what it's sold for isnt worth it. some of use dont even have 100 dollars spare to spend all willy nilly, if we had 10 it's still one of those "is it worth it" choices we have to make..

at least DC is trying to prove to the readers they understand and are with us by drawin the line at 2.99, instead of 'here and there 2.99' that MARVEL does..
Mercuryman
Mercuryman - 2/18/2011, 1:57 PM
Like the magazine, comic books need to move with the times, digital comics mean that the great love we have For these characters continue , there will still be the core releases from dc and marvel as things drop off, but likes when the comic industry boomed originally with the move to digital newer artists can be given the change in a Changing market
nuck82
nuck82 - 2/18/2011, 2:08 PM
Well i spend about $60 a month or more at my local comic store, so im doing my part lol, and yes my gf has no idea how much im spending ; )


SOAL!
Destroyer14
Destroyer14 - 2/18/2011, 2:23 PM
Man, I hope the industry doesn't go digital. Currently I'm buying Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers, and New Avengers. Mini-series I'm currently buying are Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine and Carnage. Next month I'll be checking out Venom and Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. So I'm doing my part.
Drelyon
Drelyon - 2/18/2011, 2:25 PM
I just bought 3 comics, Yesterday bought 2, the day before bought another 3. So I'm doing my part, and Yes I am expecting to buy more tomorrow! =)

But I would rather buy and read comics than read em online!

Yay Comics! =)
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/18/2011, 2:26 PM
dc comics

green lantern
the flash
brightest day

marvel

the avengers
secret avengers
nova
deadpool
deadpool team up
thunderbolts
uncanny x-men
x-men
uncanny x-force
the incredible hulk
guardians of the galaxy
thor
wolverine

i use to spend £30-£40 a week,but with rent,food & other bills i just buy trade paperbacks & hardcover graphic novels nowadays,its cheaper & doesn't take up so much space & they look cool on my bookshelf.
Betty
Betty - 2/18/2011, 2:30 PM
Hell yeah, buy comics instead of cigarettes!

Im with you there nuck. I spend about $50 a month these days. I've got her hooked on the walking dead so i tell her she has to buy all those so I can get my other odds and ends.

Maybe if comics downgraded their paper stock it wouldnt be so expensive. I read an article about the price of silver age comics. At 12 cent a comic adjusted for inflation the same price these days would be 77cent. The average price is 2.99-4.99. Its the print and paper quality that needs to come down so the price will come down.
Betty
Betty - 2/18/2011, 2:32 PM
Personally I am not a fan of digital comics. You can keep a stack of comics forever. With digital comics, turn off the power or a harddrive crash and you aint got shit!
haljordan73
haljordan73 - 2/18/2011, 2:46 PM
This is a great post! I do my part but I would encourage others to at least try picking up one comic a month. Anything would help.
sinchsw
sinchsw - 2/18/2011, 3:03 PM
I would, but I can't justify $3 to $5 for a 30 page issue. When I stopped buying comics monthly I was shocked at the $1.75 to $2.50 I was spending. Now it's just ridiculous. I just buy collections in graphic novel form now.

If Marvel and DC drop the price I'll buy 3 to 5 books a month.
Blackvoid
Blackvoid - 2/18/2011, 3:05 PM
In my opinion, you are not a true comic book fan, unless you want read comics off the pages.

The true, and natural way to experience them.

We must keep the industry alive buy buying off the shelves or our kids will never experience the joy of turning the pages as we all have.

hannay07
hannay07 - 2/18/2011, 3:23 PM
I make a comic book run every payday!! Normally spend between 25-50 bucks each time, minimum once a month. My wife doesnt even mind, its great. I will always prefer the feel of a real paper comic in my hands over digital any day of the week!!
longbowhunter
longbowhunter - 2/18/2011, 3:25 PM
I spend like $140 a month in new comics alone. Thats not counting all the back issues and trades I'm constantly purchasing.
hannay07
hannay07 - 2/18/2011, 3:25 PM
I make a comic book run every payday!! Normally spend between 25-50 bucks each time, minimum once a month. My wife doesnt even mind, its great. I will always prefer the feel of a real paper comic in my hands over digital any day of the week!!
AvariForlorn
AvariForlorn - 2/18/2011, 4:38 PM
@comicBOOKguy you are right sir. I love comics, but they haven't been good for a while. I got really into them around the time Civil War came out and when Steve Rogers died. It was amazing! I felt like there were actually lasting concequences. Does anyone else remember when Thor spoke to the ghost of Cap? Apparently Marvel doesn't. When it was revealed that some stupid time travel bullet and not a real bullet that he was shot with (I think) I was so disheartened. Also, 3.99 a book is not something most people can afford if it's not going to even be worth reading.
Weeton
Weeton - 2/18/2011, 4:40 PM
The medium has changed; and we as consumers should begin to adapt to that change.

I agree with Harrybloodscreaming and comicb00kguy 100%. I love paper back comics, but I also enjoy having all my items in one portable form; ie: my phone. I love that I can read whatever I want on the go. I don't have to stop by the local comic shop (though I have 1 in like 30 miles of me now, all the local shops are closed). Additionally, I don't like having to collect entire series at $4 a pop (which could easily total beyond 60 or 70 dollars), when I can pick up a trade edition at Barnes and Noble for under 20.

This is a mixture of economics and just plain convenience. The older generation wants to maintain the traditional form, but even traditions must adapt. The new generation; the kids who have the attention span of a toothpick, want easy access at the touch of their fingers. True comic fans will support whatever medium their comics are being distributed under. (hello, movies anyone?)

And for those who are also into the "gotta catch 'em all" attitude of collecting, just keep in mind that comic books take up space. I'm sure I'm not the only one (either through the insistence of a loved one or necessity) that barely has the space to keep these books in pristine, collectible condition.

And to those that argue having the digital medium doesn't mean owning or keeping it forever; you're wrong. Just because my phone is off doesn't mean I can't reaccess and reread what I've purchased. Besides, if I really wanted to read a comic book, I could go out of my way to find the digital form (even the super old ones...you just need to know where to look).

I am slowly adapting to become a modern comic book reader: as much as you want to (female dog) and moan about it, digital is the direction we are headed towards. That doesn't make me any less of a comic book lover.
subzero1077
subzero1077 - 2/18/2011, 7:25 PM
Its been a while since I brought some comics. I think I'm gunna finish my All-Star Superman collection tomorrow. Thanks for inspiring my CB run!
PoPcornDude
PoPcornDude - 2/18/2011, 8:20 PM
There so many reasons a lot of people stop buying comic books, (UN-necessary deaths-UN-necessary characters changes on the continuity, over-priced, lots of ads and less story,etc.) I used to buy Spidey everyweek until BND came along and quesada dropped that bomb on us I stopped buying that one.
now I just buy paper backs of past stories and colect volumes of different characters like Captain America, Daredevil, Fantastic Four and X-men, still NO spidey, if the comics die as paper medium we know if not because of us, is because of them !
dantbadger
dantbadger - 2/19/2011, 5:25 AM
Simple to explain:

DC 2.99 20 pages of readable material the last 3 are adds plus the ones intermingled through the pages.

Marvel, In a brilliant new stroke of genius 3.99 and the last 5-6 pages, are adds for some comic most people wont buy.

If anyone in the industry is paying attention. I buy comics to read about the characters and their action related to that book. Giving me less pages for more money is why people and myself are dropping titles and stopping to collect all together.

I have been collecting for over 25 years, it's one of my favorite hobbies, but I am seriously considering stopping, I am definitely not getting a return for my investment
tocap
tocap - 2/19/2011, 9:10 AM
I'M ONLY BUYING TRADE PAPERBACK, NO ADS AND I DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT ISSUES. I HAVE A LOAD OF BATMAN TPB AND PUNISHERM MAX. I JUST FINISHED PREACHER VOL.1, SICK STUFF.
SKGannbit
SKGannbit - 2/19/2011, 6:23 PM
i'd love to get back into reading comics but the prices are ridiculous! i can't justify spending $4 for comic book. i'd hate to see the industry go digital only but being unemployeed there isn't much i can do about it. lower the cost!
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