Comic books really do cost too much.

[fly on the wall]

I bought a house in May and here it is November and I still haven't moved out. So I'm taking a week off work to get the process going again. Thanks to Ray for bringing me over those great moving boxes. Perfect size and built in handles.

So anyway I'm looking at this 1990 Superman comic while I'm packing my comics up. It costed 1 dollar. Now comics cost 4 dollars. What else has gone up 400% in 19 years?

Sure the paper and the printing are better now, but frankly I never requested the better paper and the better printing. I'd give both of them up if they could decrease the price. I'm spending like 150 bucks a month for a pile of comics that don't take me that long to read. Real books are a much better value.

Suddenly I'm not sure how many more four dollar comic books I'm going to buy.

Hauling my comic collection over to the new house has reminded me that I could just reread my vast collection. Why buy new ones? It's not like I remember how the stories end what with all the Lithium I've gulped. Which reminds me it's time to take my meds.

[Shellhead]

I bought a house in May and here it is November and I still haven't moved out. So I'm taking a week off work to get the process going again. Thanks to Ray for bringing me over those great moving boxes. Perfect size and built in handles.

So anyway I'm looking at this 1990 Superman comic while I'm packing my comics up. It costed 1 dollar. Now comics cost 4 dollars. What else has gone up 400% in 19 years?

Sure the paper and the printing are better now, but frankly I never requested the better paper and the better printing. I'd give both of them up if they could decrease the price. I'm spending like 150 bucks a month for a pile of comics that don't take me that long to read. Real books are a much better value.

Suddenly I'm not sure how many more four dollar comic books I'm going to buy.

Hauling my comic collection over to the new house has reminded me that I could just reread my vast collection. Why buy new ones? It's not like I remember how the stories end what with all the Lithium I've gulped. Which reminds me it's time to take my meds.

I absolutely agree. Offhand, the only prices that have moved up as quickly as comics might be the price of gas and the cost of healthcare. And certain investments, especially gold.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I actually agree about the paper and all. I really love the old paper they used for a lot of the comics. Now ...a lot of its is kinda bad. I can understand special paper/ink for the high end projects. And "Superman : Origin" really seems to shine with Frank's art so detailes and glossy with the paper quality.

Also I have looked at my collection and thought the same thing about reading them all and not buying anymore. Its crossed my mind a lot of times.

[jesse_custer]

It's simple. I don't buy things that aren't worth their price. So I buy very few single issues nowadays.

What else has gone up 400% in 19 years?

Three hundred percent, but your question is still valid.

[howyadoin]

What else has gone up 400% in 19 years?

Three hundred percent, but your question is still valid.Definitely not music. If anything I'm paying less for a CD than I was in the early 90s.

Movies are probably twice as expensive, though.

[jesse_custer]

Movies are probably twice as expensive, though.

Depends on the movie and DVD packaging, though.

You're right about CDs.

[Serik]

When I can buy superb used books for $1 (thanks to Half Price Books' clearance wall), I find it hard to spend four times as much on a comic I'll read in a fraction of the time.

[Radioactive Zombie]

-looks at 50+ page graphic novel that cost him $20-

You think?!

[Brandon Hanvey]

The quality of paper doesn't really affect the price too much.

The cost difference from the stock they are using now and say a cheaper newsprint would be minimal and probably not enough to get the price to drop at retail.

Some printers will actually charge the same or more for newsprint since they are currently setup for higher grade paper and the newsprint is considered a "non-standard" paper to them.

Plus since they are printing fewer copies these days, they are probably not getting volume printing deals from their printers as good as they used to.

The real reason for the cost increases (for Marvel and DC at least) is to turn more profit. Since printing of all kinds is on the down turn in terms of audience and profit, they can either cut cost in terms of production and staff and/or raise their profit per book.

By raising certain books by a dollar, they are making around $0.40 more per book depending on their cut from Diamond.

Are they losing readers because of the increase? Sure they are. But they are hoping that the profit increase from $0.40 per book out weights the lose of some readers.

[Buried Alien]

Definitely not music. If anything I'm paying less for a CD than I was in the early 90s.

I'm buying fewer CDs than I did two years ago, but that's because I've gone all digital since then. I'm a prime example of why the traditional recorded music business (with the brick and mortar stores) are in trouble.

I'll still get the CDs for certain artists, however.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[howyadoin]

Depends on the movie and DVD packaging, though. Sorry, I meant going to a movie at a theater.

[Spidercmb]

I'm fairly new to comics and I only buy a few titles, but I don't mind the price. I'm planning to get all of the trade paperbacks for "The Goon" and "Astrocity" and I don't mind the $16 a pop. I only have one of each right now, but it gives me something to look forward to each payday. I don't think of it as just a book, but as art. But hey, if you don't think it's worth the price, then don't buy it. Maybe if enough people stop buying, they will reduce prices.

[Ontir]

A 400% increase is unjustifiable, and it's why I've not bought a comic in months.
They're just too bloody expensive, especially now that we're in a depression.
Not only can't I afford it, if I could, I wouldn't be able to justify it.

[Radioactive Zombie]

Depends on the movie and DVD packaging, though.


Not really. I've seen 100-page/50-page comics that cost $20+, and they usually sell DVDs for twenty bucks or less.

[jesse_custer]

Sorry, I meant going to a movie at a theater.

Oh yeah, that has gone up.

[jesse_custer]

Not really. I've seen 100-page/50-page comics that cost $20+, and they usually sell DVDs for twenty bucks or less.

Uh, you can get bare bones DVDs of good movies for $5, but other more extras-oriented discs of those same movies can go as high as $30.

And because Alejandro Jodorowsky movies are rarer than Oliver Stone movies, you're not going to see cheaper prices for the former regardless of the packaging.

So yes, movies do vary in price by movie and packaging.

[Romero]

When I can buy superb used books for $1 (thanks to Half Price Books' clearance wall), I find it hard to spend four times as much on a comic I'll read in a fraction of the time.


My local Half Price Books just brought back quarter boxes. I have found a few good things in there.

I might spend up to $4 for a back issue of something I really like from the 70s or so.

Otherwise, I check out trades from the library and reread my old books.

[Radioactive Zombie]

Uh, you can get bare bones DVDs of good movies for $5, but other more extras-oriented discs of those same movies can go as high as $30.

And because Alejandro Jodorowsky movies are rarer than Oliver Stone movies, you're not going to see cheaper prices for the former regardless of the packaging.

So yes, movies do vary in price by movie and packaging.

$5/$9 around here means used. They're usually in pretty good condition, though.

[jesse_custer]

$5/$9 around here means used. They're usually in pretty good condition, though.

Walmart has $5 DVDs all the time.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Walmart has $5 DVDs all the time.

That's because they get huge discounts from the publishers/distributors due to their volume/market position.

[Radioactive Zombie]

Walmart has $5 DVDs all the time.

But I...

I don't go to Wal-Mart!!

(It's not because I'm some hippy, it's just the closest one is too far.)

[jesse_custer]

That's because they get huge discounts from the publishers/distributors due to their volume/market position.

True, but I'm just saying if you really want a new Jaws DVD for only $5, it can be done easily [in most cases].

But I...

I don't go to Wal-Mart!!

Well, you're pretty much fucked as far as going to heaven is concerned.

[mikekerr3]

When I can buy superb used books for $1 (thanks to Half Price Books' clearance wall), I find it hard to spend four times as much on a comic I'll read in a fraction of the time.

I tend to buy books at good-will, 50 cents for a hardcover

[Lime Media Hawaii]

Aloha! Lets face it, the industry is facing some mighty tough times; advertising down, marketing, production and transport/shipping all up. Yet LMH is preparing to launch a "new" type of product in all this madness. Well, NOT so new. The Hawaii Star Manga Project is NOT a new idea ... others have successfully used a similar format or concept, in some cases for DECADES. It's inexpensive to make (try 20k for about $2500), and it can be priced VERY reasonably!

Each Newsprint comic below was successful because they were based on the same simple concept. AND had the winning combo: damn good product concept, and damn GOOD product to back it up. There are many different ways to go about creating comics; the "pure" newsprint comics have some VERY successful examples, such as:

The Spirit Section (1940-1952 Monthly US Newspaper Comic Book Insert Supplement, created to allow newspapers compete with the late 30's comic book boom caused by Superman/ Batman etc) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_(comics)

2000 AD( Weekly English (UK) Newspaper Tabloid Comic, begun in 1977, 32+ yrs and over 1600+ issues : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD_(comics)

Shonen Jump (Weekly Japanese Newsprint Anthology Comic 20+ years, and now a Monthly US Comic Magazine): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shonen_Jump_(magazine)

In the tradition of these pioneers, the Hawaii Star Manga Project is our Prototype Newspaper Comic Magazine, and it's made IN Hawaii. HSMP's a weird cross between a dirt cheap Manga/comic and an illustrated fiction magazine, and we hope it'll start proving the "dirt cheap" model we feel will be in the industry's best interests to embrace. We've studied what made each title above a success and applied the lessons here, added a few of our own, and developed a "broad based, flexible format product" with a little something for everyone, aimed right at the core 15-30 demographic!! http://www.limemediahawaii.com/adsales&marketing2
We got a very strong response for HSMP at the Kawaii Kon Anime con here in town. (It helped we can keep costs down to 50 cents a book, less than a can of Coke)

So...What happened to "regular" comics?

Gimmicks and disasters aside, they niched themselves out of a LOT of potential readers. Due to a new "fast money" marketing model, traditional comics started losing the mainstream in the late 70's: DC & Marvel began using a "direct sales" distribution model that substantially cut production costs as they knew in advance how many comic books to print, and that the issues were also to be paid for in advance! (The old "Standard" wholesale/consignment distribution model was blind ship X number of issues, and find out 3 months later how many sold and how many were "unsold & destroyed" by retailers to get credit back from the shops distributor.)

The "direct sales" distribution method greatly speeded up cash flow, and publisher's response time to regional sales fluctuations. The drawback to this policy, which helped give rise to "comics specialty retailers" as a byproduct (most small retailers declined to pay up front for books as the old model was way easier on the wallet), also gave consumers the perception that "newsstand" copies were inferior to their gimmicky "direct sale" cousins. (Identical content notwithstanding)

This lack of willingness to pay upfront for once "free" books, and the newsstand "inferiority complex" eliminated the once common "spinner racks" of comics at many general retailers kids went to (like drug stores, supermarkets, candy stores, discount stores etc), which helped, in an unexpected twist, to put the industry in it's current bind. When the number of "comic specialty shops" contracted sharply in the late 80's - mid 90's from over 10,000 to approx 3000-2500, the industry got a wake up call.

They hit "snooze" and rolled over again. Comic's have niched themselves as a COLLECTIBLE over those last 3 decades. hiding in dwindling specialty shops, not out there as broad based good cheap fun. Consumers for 3 generations have been conditioned to see comics in this light. While their quality has NEVER been higher, the typical comic now runs $3.00 & up, and this keeps many good titles from readers hands. The current economic downturn does not bode well, especially for smaller comic publishers, and will almost surely result in further erosion of the number of comics retailers.

New ideas, (or redoing old ones) are called for. Innovation is a necessity at a time like this, and it's time we make Comics good cheap fun again!!

Happy Holidays!

Doc

[Shellhead]

Doc, that was a mind-blowing combination of excellent first post and spam. It's disturbing to realize that DC and Marvel traded away 90% of their customer base in return for a 3-month boost in cashflow and a modest reduction in costs. Anyway, hope to see more from you here.

[mikekerr3]

Doc, that was a mind-blowing combination of excellent first post and spam. It's disturbing to realize that DC and Marvel traded away 90% of their customer base in return for a 3-month boost in cashflow and a modest reduction in costs. Anyway, hope to see more from you here.

They also traded away their futiure as a business since impluse buys are what used to get people strarted in comics, "The Mommy can I have one" effect and since comics are not where kids can see them that's gone

[Brandon Hanvey]

They also traded away their futiure as a business since impluse buys are what used to get people strarted in comics, "The Mommy can I have one" effect and since comics are not where kids can see them that's gone

Kids read comics. They just are reading different things.

Ask Alex (Kid Omega here at CBR) of Rocketship. He has a whole kids section that sales a ton of different books to kids such as Bone, Shazam, some manga, etc.

Also if you go to any bookstore chain and look at their comics section I bet you'll see kids reading comics especially the manga books.

Not to say that manga publishers are doing better than American comic publishers. While they make close to 70% of the comics sales in the bookstore market (according to BookScan 2008 numbers), they've also increased prices and cut titles (such as the Shojo Beat magazine) due to a drop in sales/increase production cost in the past year or so.

[Radioactive Zombie]

Well, you're pretty much fucked as far as going to heaven is concerned.

Grocery Outlet sells for cheaper, I think.

I mean, seriously cheap, compared to Safeway.

[fly on the wall]

Aloha! Lets face it, the industry is facing some mighty tough times; advertising down, marketing, production and transport/shipping all up. Yet LMH is preparing to launch a "new" type of product in all this madness. Well, NOT so new. The Hawaii Star Manga Project is NOT a new idea ... others have successfully used a similar format or concept, in some cases for DECADES. It's inexpensive to make (try 20k for about $2500), and it can be priced VERY reasonably!

Each Newsprint comic below was successful because they were based on the same simple concept. AND had the winning combo: damn good product concept, and damn GOOD product to back it up. There are many different ways to go about creating comics; the "pure" newsprint comics have some VERY successful examples, such as:

The Spirit Section (1940-1952 Monthly US Newspaper Comic Book Insert Supplement, created to allow newspapers compete with the late 30's comic book boom caused by Superman/ Batman etc) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_(comics)

2000 AD( Weekly English (UK) Newspaper Tabloid Comic, begun in 1977, 32+ yrs and over 1600+ issues : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_AD_(comics)

Shonen Jump (Weekly Japanese Newsprint Anthology Comic 20+ years, and now a Monthly US Comic Magazine): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shonen_Jump_(magazine)

In the tradition of these pioneers, the Hawaii Star Manga Project is our Prototype Newspaper Comic Magazine, and it's made IN Hawaii. HSMP's a weird cross between a dirt cheap Manga/comic and an illustrated fiction magazine, and we hope it'll start proving the "dirt cheap" model we feel will be in the industry's best interests to embrace. We've studied what made each title above a success and applied the lessons here, added a few of our own, and developed a "broad based, flexible format product" with a little something for everyone, aimed right at the core 15-30 demographic!! http://www.limemediahawaii.com/adsales&marketing2
We got a very strong response for HSMP at the Kawaii Kon Anime con here in town. (It helped we can keep costs down to 50 cents a book, less than a can of Coke)

So...What happened to "regular" comics?

Gimmicks and disasters aside, they niched themselves out of a LOT of potential readers. Due to a new "fast money" marketing model, traditional comics started losing the mainstream in the late 70's: DC & Marvel began using a "direct sales" distribution model that substantially cut production costs as they knew in advance how many comic books to print, and that the issues were also to be paid for in advance! (The old "Standard" wholesale/consignment distribution model was blind ship X number of issues, and find out 3 months later how many sold and how many were "unsold & destroyed" by retailers to get credit back from the shops distributor.)

The "direct sales" distribution method greatly speeded up cash flow, and publisher's response time to regional sales fluctuations. The drawback to this policy, which helped give rise to "comics specialty retailers" as a byproduct (most small retailers declined to pay up front for books as the old model was way easier on the wallet), also gave consumers the perception that "newsstand" copies were inferior to their gimmicky "direct sale" cousins. (Identical content notwithstanding)

This lack of willingness to pay upfront for once "free" books, and the newsstand "inferiority complex" eliminated the once common "spinner racks" of comics at many general retailers kids went to (like drug stores, supermarkets, candy stores, discount stores etc), which helped, in an unexpected twist, to put the industry in it's current bind. When the number of "comic specialty shops" contracted sharply in the late 80's - mid 90's from over 10,000 to approx 3000-2500, the industry got a wake up call.

They hit "snooze" and rolled over again. Comic's have niched themselves as a COLLECTIBLE over those last 3 decades. hiding in dwindling specialty shops, not out there as broad based good cheap fun. Consumers for 3 generations have been conditioned to see comics in this light. While their quality has NEVER been higher, the typical comic now runs $3.00 & up, and this keeps many good titles from readers hands. The current economic downturn does not bode well, especially for smaller comic publishers, and will almost surely result in further erosion of the number of comics retailers.

New ideas, (or redoing old ones) are called for. Innovation is a necessity at a time like this, and it's time we make Comics good cheap fun again!!

Happy Holidays!

Doc


What Holiday are you referring to? Veterans Day?

I came unto your post searching for hope out of it's many keystrokes but I found nothing but bitter dregs.

[dupont2005]

What else has gone up 400% in 19 years?


oil, gold, building materials, i think a call at a payphone

[fly on the wall]

oil, gold, building materials, i think a call at a payphone

But it took you awhile to compile that list.

[mikekerr3]

Kids read comics. They just are reading different things.

Ask Alex (Kid Omega here at CBR) of Rocketship. He has a whole kids section that sales a ton of different books to kids such as Bone, Shazam, some manga, etc.

Also if you go to any bookstore chain and look at their comics section I bet you'll see kids reading comics especially the manga books.

Not to say that manga publishers are doing better than American comic publishers. While they make close to 70% of the comics sales in the bookstore market (according to BookScan 2008 numbers), they've also increased prices and cut titles (such as the Shojo Beat magazine) due to a drop in sales/increase production cost in the past year or so.

Mos t kids don't just happen to walk in a bookstore, they used to be able to pick them up when shopping with their parents, I would bet that most kids never enter a bookstore

[Brandon Hanvey]

Mos t kids don't just happen to walk in a bookstore, they used to be able to pick them up when shopping with their parents, I would bet that most kids never enter a bookstore

And yet manga publishers are making a decent amount of money ($53 million according to the 2008 numbers) in the booksotre market.

Every time I go to Barnes N Nobles or a Borders, I see at least a half dozen kids just sitting in the manga aisle reading comics.

Plus how do you explain all those kids in book stores when a Harry Potter came out?

[dupont2005]

But it took you awhile to compile that list.

what do you mean? that was off the top of my head.

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

Suddenly I'm not sure how many more four dollar comic books I'm going to buy.

I refuse to buy four dollar comic books...$2.99 is my limit.

[fly on the wall]

what do you mean? that was off the top of my head.

Of course you would say that. I mean knowing you. I've had my eye on you.

Not that I mean that in a bad way.

[howyadoin]

The real reason for the cost increases (for Marvel and DC at least) is to turn more profit. Since printing of all kinds is on the down turn in terms of audience and profit, they can either cut cost in terms of production and staff and/or raise their profit per book.

By raising certain books by a dollar, they are making around $0.40 more per book depending on their cut from Diamond.

Are they losing readers because of the increase? Sure they are. But they are hoping that the profit increase from $0.40 per book out weights the lose of some readers.Short-term cash grabs are a great idea when you're about to shut a company down. Otherwise it's bound to come back and bite you on the ass.

Unless you have an audience who buy comics they don't even read or enjoy, of course.

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

A 400% increase is unjustifiable, and it's why I've not bought a comic in months.
They're just too bloody expensive, especially now that we're in a depression.
Not only can't I afford it, if I could, I wouldn't be able to justify it.

So true. I just buy one or two every now and then, but i have bought the last 3 issues of Guardians of the Galaxy because the Magus storyline has interested me.

[ShadowDemon]

The price differential is worse than the OP indicated. That 1990 book had ~ 32 story pages with 5-7 panels/page. Today's books have ~ 22 story pageswith 3-5 panels/page. So not only are you looking at a 300% markup in price, you're getting far LESS story for your money.

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

The price differential is worse than the OP indicated. That 1990 book had ~ 32 story pages with 5-7 panels/page. Today's books have ~ 22 story pageswith 3-5 panels/page. So not only are you looking at a 300% markup in price, you're getting far LESS story for your money.

What an insightful comment...i agree 400%! IMO today's comics are mostly all talk and no action. Can you imagine if the summer blockbuster movies were as heavily scripted as comics are? Film critics would definitively be complaining about the slow pace, for sure.

[howyadoin]

Can you imagine if the summer blockbuster movies were as heavily scripted as comics are?Then they might actually not be stupid.

[Ottmeister X]

I hate the position they have put us in. $4 a comic is too much and it is at my threshold. I know that I have cut back on the number of titles to even out what I spend a month on comics. Unfortunately for the creators, I will be less apt to try new titles at $4 a shot.

If the wife and I are reading next to each other, her reading some paperback, I start to feel angry that a 23 page comic book story is almost costing as much as her 500 page story.

$5 is my limit. That will push me over the edge and then I will have an emptiness in my life.

[ShadowDemon]

Then they might actually not be stupid.

Under the old system (esp Marvel) they were FAR from "stupid". Sure, there was plenty of action, but any one issue also serviced at LEAST three plot arcs: the immediate issue story, the "year arc", and one or more character development arcs.

[howyadoin]

Under the old system (esp Marvel) they were FAR from "stupid". Sure, there was plenty of action, but any one issue also serviced at LEAST three plot arcs: the immediate issue story, the "year arc", and one or more character development arcs.Sorry, I was talkin' specifically about summer blockbusters there, not comics.

[dupont2005]

The price differential is worse than the OP indicated. That 1990 book had ~ 32 story pages with 5-7 panels/page. Today's books have ~ 22 story pageswith 3-5 panels/page. So not only are you looking at a 300% markup in price, you're getting far LESS story for your money.

really? i thought my 80's marvels were all about 22 pages.

[howyadoin]

really? i thought my 80's marvels were all about 22 pages.I'm pretty sure that's been the standard page count since the 70s, if not earlier.

[The Black Guardian]

The price differential is worse than the OP indicated. That 1990 book had ~ 32 story pages with 5-7 panels/page. Today's books have ~ 22 story pageswith 3-5 panels/page. So not only are you looking at a 300% markup in price, you're getting far LESS story for your money.
That 1990 book had 32 total pages, with usually 9-10 pages of adverts. 32-10=22. No different from today's books.

Most of today's books average about 6 panels per page, too. No different from the halcyon days' books.

We do get less story, though, because of things like decompression.
oil, gold, building materials, i think a call at a payphone
You're right about the others, but pay phone is questionable. Today (since about 2001), in most areas (and if you can find a bloody pay phone), you can make a local, direct, station-to-station call for an unlimited length of time for $0.50.

But back in the "old days" of 1990, the price was $0.25, and you had a time limit. "Please deposit 25 cents to continue your call."

[Paradox]

The Black Guardian makes me scratch my head:

You're right about the others, but pay phone is questionable. Today (since about 2001), in most areas (and if you can find a bloody pay phone), you can make a local, direct, station-to-station call for an unlimited length of time for $0.50.

But back in the "old days" of 1990, the price was $0.25, and you had a time limit. "Please deposit 25 cents to continue your call."

So was it only here in Michigan where the pay phone is whatever the price is for unlimited local calls only? That's the way it always was here. Any long distance, then and now, was extra, but for local calls we never had that "please deposit more" thing I saw in movies.

[dupont2005]

i figured it had to be a dollar by now. last time i used one it was 35 cents. right around when it turned 35 cents too

[The Black Guardian]

So was it only here in Michigan where the pay phone is whatever the price is for unlimited local calls only? That's the way it always was here. Any long distance, then and now, was extra, but for local calls we never had that "please deposit more" thing I saw in movies.
Back in the day, it was standard to charge a quarter every three minutes. At the end of the three minutes, the operator (or a recording) would come on, asking you to deposit an extra quarter or be disconnected. Mind you, most people didn't hang on a pay phone for very long.

[howyadoin]

Back in the day, it was standard to charge a quarter every three minutes. At the end of the three minutes, the operator (or a recording) would come on, asking you to deposit an extra quarter or be disconnected. Mind you, most people didn't hang on a pay phone for very long.And the operator says "40 cents more for the next 3 minutes"
Ple-ease Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell 'er goodbye

[Paradox]

The Black Guardian needs location:

Back in the day, it was standard to charge a quarter every three minutes. At the end of the three minutes, the operator (or a recording) would come on, asking you to deposit an extra quarter or be disconnected. Mind you, most people didn't hang on a pay phone for very long.

You're talking about in New Orleans, right? Because at least as far back as the early '60s, it was never like that here. In fact, I remember a grocery store that had a hand printed sign to the effect of "limit calls to 5 minutes, please" because you could talk all day for the same dime.

[The Black Guardian]

You're talking about in New Orleans, right? Because at least as far back as the early '60s, it was never like that here. In fact, I remember a grocery store that had a hand printed sign to the effect of "limit calls to 5 minutes, please" because you could talk all day for the same dime.
Most places (in and out of New Orleans) tended to have limits, but yeah, it depended on location, who rented the phone, what their billing plan was, and the model of phone.

[metr0man]

They cost too much based on the amount of content you get. Comics are these tiny little things that are done in five or ten minutes. Heck, you can buy two episodes of a show like LOST or The Wire or whatever on iTunes for the price of a comic.

Its no wonder people go to trades. Its not about a 'complete story' (most popular books, tv series, even movies are parts of series), but its about getting a filling meal before teasing you with desert, not, giving you half a spoonful of whipped cream.

[dupont2005]

depends on the comics you read. i don't get through mine in 5 minutes. lack of action scenes and plenty of narrative dialogue helps