Eureka’s Graphic Classics is one example of this; their “2nd editions” of each title in the series replace anywhere up to around 2/3 of the content with new stories–why not just make it all new content and call each “volume 2″?

Knights of the Dinner Table is another example. I really wish they’d put out an “annual” for those of us collecting the individual comics that contains all of the additional story strips they add to their compiled versions, so that I can be caught up without having to pay again for three issues I’ve already paid for, and without having to switch back and forth between the printed editions and the webcomics.

(Re: the omnibus, I have actually flipped through it, and because of the way they did the color (and non-inking) on the originals that were in color and they way they did the transfer to b&w and shrinking the oversize comics down to the omnibus size, the results are… less than stunning, IMHO. So I can pay through the nose for color versions that are readable, or pay less for muddy pictures and very little of the little details that make Foglio’s artwork so wunnerful. Of course, it doesn’t help that GG started to bore me around issue 8 or so, so that I’ve had absolutely zero desire to bother with the webcomics or picking up the collections.)

The major problem for comics is the direct market the way it’s setup currently. I wish comic books could be found in more places. Anyone remember the corner store rack?

But, yeah, most other Foglio stuff tends to be stupidly expensive and too small to really put on a shelf.

Everything Phil Foglio sells is incredibly overpriced, even compared to other low-print-run self-published material. His black & white Girl Genius “omnibus” collections, rather than being an inexpensive entry point for someone trying to catch up on the story (like the Essentials or Showcase collections, or any manga), typically sell for more than everyone else’s color collections. $20 for a collection of 4 22-page issues is unfortunately fairly typical for him, whereas anywhere else, it’d be priced at $9.95-$12.95. When he’s done 8-issue stories (such as Buck Godot: Gallimaufry), he often collects them in two 4-issue collections with more total markup than a single 8-issue collection would likely have. Overall, a 50% markup over whatever the typical market rates are seems typical.

I love his work, thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Kaja at cons, and used to obsessively collect everything he put out. Then he went and priced me out of the market. (And got a bad case of the perfectionist slows, but that’s a separate rant.) If everyone else were to start exactly following his business model, there would be very few people able to afford buying anything comics-related.

Actually, DC already has the first issues of most of their Vertigo titles on their website for free download. Sure, that’s only one issue, but have there been any testimonials as to how effective that has been for getting people interested?

As someone in the printing industry, I can tell you that it is expensive to reprint jobs. The biggest issue has to do with the medium that is used to make impressions on the sheets. Back when we used film etching instead of plate etching, keeping the film in inventory for backorders was not ideal, since each sheet of film could be as wide as 60″ x 40″ and about 12 mm thick. Storing them is cumbersome and with the kind of variety that comic books offer a warehouse dedicated to storage would fill up in a couple of months. So when those films get thrown out, you’re pretty much out of luck for reprints.

These days we use computer-to-plate systems, which forego film completely. That makes storing much easier, since we can backup the impressions on cds or dvds. But there is still the cost for the plates, and that usually runs about $1,000.00 per set, plus labor, ink, paper, and all the other good stuff. Plates are the same size as film, but they are thicker and heavier, plus they’re easy to scratch and sensitive to light. So it’s actually more difficult to store them than film.

These high minimum costs are usually offset with large orders because the actual printing is not that expensive. But when we talk about large orders, we’re talking about 10,000 ~ 30,000 copies. I’d think it’d be difficult to get those kinds of numbers on a reprint. So unless you know you will get enough backorders to make up for the costs, it’s more cost effective simply not to offer it. Essentially when backorders for an issue is made available, somebody is betting that the issue would be popular enough to make up for the exorbitant costs involved to reprint it.

Do we need the glossy paper? I don’t need it, but I wont lie and say it doesn’t make the artwork pop out. I think Marvel and DC should hold back on that stuff though and use it only on the milestone issues.

What do you think of subscription webcomics? I think people don’t want to pay for access to a website. They might take the content more seriously if it were presented in a sort of comic library program, like iTunes for comics. Or they might pay for added convenience or features, but I’m not sure how you would do that with a comic.

There isn’t a “pure” comic shop anywhere in town any more. They’re all comic/game shops, comic/anime shops, et cetera. You know why? Because comics aren’t providing a large enough profit margin to operate solely as a business here, and haven’t for years, and that trend isn’t getting any better.

If you’re really worried? Start it as a pilot program on one or two mid-range titles.