Blog @ Canadian Geek

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There’s no disputing comics have grown in the last couple decades. Point the finger at the Dark Night, Watchmen, the Punisher or whoever you wish but a lot of the charm and innocence of the comics of yesterday have departed us in favour of more “real” and “gritty” stories.

I’m not even sure if the supposed harmless or all ages titles being published today are really that good for kids either. I was informed by one parent that “Mouse Guard” was too violent for their 9 year old but a part of me thinks back to the fantasy animal books I read as a youngster (”Watership Down” popping to mind instantly) and wonders why today’s parents are concerned with showing their children images of mice sword-fighting snakes and each other. But that’s not really the point of this Rant.

What is more concerning me is the recent push by publishers to create comics for kids, specifically, educational comics. I’m not against education in comics, in fact I’ve learned as much from comics as one could, I suppose, but when these books are targeted at schools to be used as tools for kids, there is one thing that pisses me off more than anything.

The price.

Case in point. Standard comics (Spidey, Sups, etc.) are generally 24 pages of story, full colour, for $3 which breaks down to about $0.13 per page (if we use the actual solicited numbers, 32 pages, cause you should count the ads, it’s $0.09 per page). In my opinion, not a bad deal for some storytelling and artwork that I get to keep around and revisit when my whimsy hits. However educationally generated comics seem to have a much higher value.

Barron’s Graphic Classics produced two books in late 07, one based on Dracula and the other adapting “The Man in the Iron Mask”. Both books are 48 pages for $8.95 ($0.19 per page). Capstone Press offered a great selection of books for Black History month in the December Previews featuring not just the standard King Jr. and Jackie Robinson but also Booker T Washington and Wilma Rudolph. Sadly the books are 32 pages for $7.95 ($0.25 per page). And in 2006, HH bought several books from Rosen Publishing, with the intention of reselling them to the schools we had been dealing with. I was so excited when I first saw the books that I didn’t even look at the price. Talk about sticker shock. 32 pages for $11.95.

I complained to Rosen and apparently I wasn’t the only one and they did shave off $3 per book but that still left them in the realm of unreasonable. And not just for the price but also for the quality of the storytelling and the art. They were sub-standard by comic market levels and when I attempted to continue my dialogue with Rosen as to why their books were so pricey (I stayed away from commenting on quality), they never responded directly, only saying they were sorry I was unhappy with their product.

There are exceptions and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Eureka Productions and their series of “Graphic Classics” (usually 144 pages for $10 BUT, black and white). Overall, I am befuddled as to why comics that work so hard to entertain and educate kids feel the need to price themselves so ridiculously high. It is the same reason I never wanted to carry Pokemon cards in my stores as the price per pack, and we were on the low end at $6 for a 6 card pack, was offensive when compared against Magic The Gathering, which I could retail for $3.75 for a 15 card pack.

Is the market aimed at children so cut-throat that the “bleed ‘em dry” mentality must be so dominate? When you have a new breed of readers/players/collectors every couple years, isn’t the longevity of your product a bit more secure than that of an aging Super or Spider-fan? I’m truly at a loss.

Which is why when schools ask me about these books, I warn them ahead of time. With budgets as tight as they are, I can get them 5 times the page count and value for their money against an educational book by getting them an “Edu-manga” and teachers love that. 24 pages for $8, come on! Educators may be desperate for tools to help teach kids but they’re not stupid.

On a parting note, I should mention that a fairly big name comic publisher mostly known for their horror comics is jumping into the mix. IDW, home to such children’s classics as “30 Days of Night” and “Gene Simmons Dominatrix” is debuting the first of their children’s picture books with January’s “Michael Recycle”. Order your 28-page book for only $15.99 today!

The Shepherd