Comic Book Resources

I'll try any comic for $1 or less. If it's good, I'd keep buying it.

Sure, why not.

i'd try it sure. it is a buck, why not. seems like a wonderful way to do a bi weekly book. with some great cliffhangers too.

Depends, maybe, on the backmatter. A buck ain't much, granted. But if too many full-size $2.99/$3.50/whatever already take only 4-5 minutes to read (plenty more take a lot longer, of course), how long would an 8-pager take? Two minutes?

I don't think so, as the drop-off would be more considerable (22 to 16 is a drop of 6 or about a 30% drop off while 16 to 8 is a drop of 8 or a 50% drop off).

If it's good, it matters, or it's cheap, I probably would. There are a lot of FCBD books that I didn't pick up because they failed one or two of those criteria. I feel I got my money's worth out of DCU 0, but it would have been nice if that was free with purchase.

It would need to be at least bi-weekly. Feeding me three minutes of a story every thirty days isn't going to work for me. I'm more skeptical that most writers could tell good 8 page stories than I would be concerned with the price. Some back matter that contributes directly to the story, like the "newspaper" printed at the end of Rex Mundi could really help.

I'd try it but I don't know how well it would do. 1 dollar will get me to try anything. 8 Pages seems too short for story telling purposes (at least to my taste, I know it used to be the norm). I could see two 8 page stories in a book for 2 bucks, but one 8 page story doesn't seem like enough meat for me to digest. It would depend on the book.

The British anthologies run eight page stories, right? 2000AD and the like? Of course, those probably include loads of stories, packaged together.

An eight page story might seem a little slight on its own, unless it was packed to the gills with plot and character and sundry. Might find yourself forced to use, say, an eighteen-panel grid -- which could prove problematic for both writer and artist.

And, you'd probably have to have a sizable readership to defer the cost of printing, let alone turn any kind of profit.

But, yeah, I'd check it out.

Shouldn't it be 2.99 for full (32), 1.49 for half (16) and then 75 cents for an 8 pager? Thats basic math

Anyway, I would be willing to pay a dollar for the eight pages if the content was good just to make it worth printing for the company but at that point why not just serialize online with one page twice a week or something supported by ads?

I'd just buy the TPB containing the entire 16 issue arc for $10.

Brian said:

Shouldn’t it be 2.99 for full (32), 1.49 for half (16) and then 75 cents for an 8 pager? Thats basic math.

Ahh, but with that 32 pages you mention for a three dollar periodical, you're only getting 22-24 pages of comics content. In the Fell/Casanova 'Slimline' model, it's 16 pages of comics, with four additional pages of backmatter, and then covers, for two bucks-- in essence, they're charging about a dollar per eight pages of comics. With this model, it'd be eight pages of comics, plus four of backmatter, plus covers (if that's feasible on the publishing end-- anybody remember the specificities of pagecount in regards to publishing?). Seems like a dollar is reasonable for that.

if that’s feasible on the publishing end– anybody remember the specificities of pagecount in regards to publishing?

Yeah, it's feasible - 16 pages is how much you have to work with.

I'll try anything twice.
It would have to be two things to keep me coming back though, $1 or not:
a) Good.
b) Published in a timely manner (this is why I no longer buy Fell, which I did enjoy reading.)

I buy a lot of comics for $1. 50 cents, too. Just bought a bunch the other day. The dealer even threw in a 100-page Giant for free. Well, it was actually only about 90 pages, and both covers were gone, but it was FREE and good entertainment for the price.

Assuming it was well written enough, yeah. Fell usually takes me longer to read than the average twenty two pager, because Ellis works the format. 2000AD's writers have been fitting satisfying chunks of story into just 5 pages for over thirty years. Hell, put out reprints of Alan Moore's future shocks and Time Twisters as single issues for a dollar each, I'd buy those.

I think it's not an issue of quantity, but quality for me. I think it would take an excellent writer to consistently put out satisfying eight page stories. Which is not to say that it couldn't be done, but that it's actually much harder to write satisfying shorter stories.

I don't know that there would be enough story. Most stories that long feel inconsequential. Maybe if it was by someone like Darwyn Cooke of Jeff Smith, who can get a lot across in just one panel. Could you imagine if Bendis only had 8 pages to tell a story?

I would try it, but I just don't see it working. 8 pages just isn't enough to tell a story in. I think to pull it off it would have to be more of a comedy book (something Like Halo and Sprocket could probably work).

I think I would buy the shorter $1 issue, but it would depend on the property and the creators.
Eclipse did something like this years ago (at 50 cents a book) with Airboy (and maybe DNAgents). I also think both books were bi-weekly. With creators who can work the format with evocative or interesting characters and plots, it would be great. I'd rather get a few short, good, decompressed stories instead of "whole" issues I can read in 3 minutes and still feel largely unsatisfied.

That might be a good way for DC to reprint classic Spirit stories. You know, before that movie.

If it’s good, it matters, or it’s cheap, I probably would. There are a lot of FCBD books that I didn’t pick up because they failed one or two of those criteria. I feel I got my money’s worth out of DCU 0, but it would have been nice if that was free with purchase.

If it matters?

What the hell does that mean?

If it's a work likely to have an effect on society as a whole???

A skilled writer can tell an entire story on one page - has anyone here read Ken Reid's Jonah? I grew up in Britain in the 1970s, where a typical chapter in an adventure story was 2 pages. 22 page chapters encourage lazy storytelling.

Chris: "8 Pages seems too short for story telling purposes"

RIP Will Eisner.

Eric: "Could you imagine if Bendis only had 8 pages to tell a story?"

It would be a conversation fraction... he might be able to squeeze in a few "Um's" and "Uh's" before the "to be continued" box popped up.

Marvel Comics Presents originally went for what, 150 issues or so? I don't remember. The current one is basically the same format. We're fetting 4 stories or chapters of stories clocking in at 8 pages each once a month. Isn't it a $4 book? So... that means we're already buying what you propose, just in a collected format instead of individual booklets, and there is a history of success with the formula.

If it matters?

What the hell does that mean?

If it’s a work likely to have an effect on society as a whole???

Yes, if it is likely to become a religious or philosophical or otherwise bring about Utopia, I would definitely buy an 8 page book for $1.

grammar am not good but you get point

I think you could tell a good story in 8 pages. In fact, I bet there are some who will agree that we are currently getting 8 pages worth of story in many of the books published. (Not trying to jump on the decompression soap box, because there are times when it is justified.)

Good point, Avengers63. I just got through reading MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #s 1-9 in one fell swoop this weekend (except for the Weapon Omega, which I couldn't care less about but will probably peruse at some point) & don't have much trouble conceiving of paying $1 a shot for, say, the Vanguard serial, & maybe at least a few of the one-shots & shorter-serials.

Granted, I bought the first 8 in an eBay lot for an average of probably less than $1 an ish, shipping included, Even so, I *did* buy #9 off the shelves & could well do the same through the end of Vanguard.

I'd buy it but I have no idea why my retailer would order it.

Ian said:

I’d buy it but I have no idea why my retailer would order it.

Because, for a buck, he can keep it by the cash register and talk every one of his customers into throwing it onto their stack for a little bit extra profit of his own.

Could you imagine if Bendis only had 8 pages to tell a story?

I seem to recall that his book Total Sell Out included things as short as one page.

If Bendis tried to tell an actual story in 8 pages, he'd barely get through the awkward pauses and superfluous dialogue. Such a story would not be a story - but it would be a vignette.