Marvel and DC to lower comic book prices

 Illustration courtesy of Google

In a move that probably have surprised many people, myself included, both Marvel and DC announced at the New York Comic-Con that they were lowering the prices on a number of their titles from $3.99 to $2.99 starting in January 2011—but it’s a mixed bag.

According to DC’s press release, over 80 percent of their titles will have the lowered pricing including new and current comics.

This means that, ongoing titles that currently have a back-up feature like “Action Comics” and “Adventure Comics” will drop those features in order to accommodate the lower prices.

While Marvel, on the other hand, will only be lowering the prices on only new titles. This is extremely disappointing since Marvel made no mention on the prices on their current stable of ongoing titles.

And there’s a chance that the lower price might not last. The current “Captain America” title was initially at $2.99 but a back-up feature was eventually added and Marvel raised the price of the comics.

So it’s entirely possibly that, for both companies, they will entice new and old readers in with the lower prices only to raise the prices again. But all this is currently, hearsay on my part.

Source: Comics Alliance, Comic Book Resources