A word to small press comic creators

So, the U.K. Is leaving Europe. Personally I didn't think it would happen, but there you go.

Now as a result of this, it's been stated that inflation will rise to account for the market crash which occured in the results wake.

I'm an accountant and, because of what's happened, I wanted to take a moment to say to the small press comic creators of how this may impact them.

(Note that this isn't guaranteed, but is my opinion. Therefore, take with a pinch of salt).

Inflation increase means that everything (and I mean everything) is going to go up in price. Unfortunately, this will NOT mean salaries. Therefore, people will be spending more to live and have less disposable income.

For the small press comics community, this means that at their online stores, at cons, the indie supporting stores and maybe Comixology, fewer people will be able to buy their comics.

So, my advice to them is this: DO NOT increase your comic stocks!!! If you increase your stocks you may (note 'may') end up with more books cluttering your homes as fewer fans will have the cash needed to buy as much as they may have a year ago. By having larger stocks which aren't selling, your funds will be tied up and, with money being important in the foreseeable future, you will need as much as you can get.

Again, this is speculation. Maybe things will work out. That said, a large number of you are my friends and peers and I'd hate for any of you to suffer as a result.

Good luck. I hope I'm wrong.

DC Universe Rebirth #1

I have to admit, the last few days have pretty controversial!

With the reveal that Cap is Hydra as well as the announcement of a Netflix style Comixology service for $6, a lot has been happening, and with it a lot of reasons to cry fowl/sing praises (depending on your personal viewpoint).

Me, I've looked at those things and seen only cynicism, which I don't really fancy talking in a negative viewpoint.

So, instead I'm going to talk about DC Universe Rebirth #1 and how much I enjoyed it!!

(Warning, some spoilers, in case you haven't read it yet!!!)

Now, I may sound surprised by this announcement and, trust me, I am. Since the announcement of the whole Rebirth shtick, I expected more of the same from DC in terms of their story telling and so this opening chapter having nothing for me.

Apart from the last few pages
I really loved DC Universe
Rebirth. Shocker right?

Well, Geoff Johns and his merry band proved me wrong and their success, I think, comes down to one simple thing; Wally freaking West!!! I don't mean New 52 Wally, but the original, red headed speedster who is used beautifully to bring a sense of pre-Flashpoint sentimentality to the story while linking it to the New 52. That said, that wasn't all I loved; Ted Kord and Jaime Reyes, Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi, Green Arrow and Black Canary, this whole book felt like Johns was announcing to the world that DC now understood that Legacy ignored and marriages retconned was a bad idea and that they are back.

The art was solid, although I'm not a fan of Gary Frank's art (no reason, just not my cup of tea), but what I loved about this issue was the story, the return of great characters and the pre-52 sense of wonder DC books had when I first got into comics. Of course, there is also that wonderful scene of Wally and Barry meeting again which is just incredible.

So, a truly great comic. DC nailed it.....until the end when they ruined it.

Watchman! Why Watchman? This really bugged me and not just because that series is quite possibly one of the worst things I've read (Everyone loves it, but I can't see it. Sorry). What irritates me more is that Johns and co. must have felt that shoe-horning this otherwise isolated universe would pull in the readers or something when the whole issue up until then would have done just that without the reveal.

So, yeah, a little bit of cynicism, but up until that point I really loved this book and it, as a result, it has me tempted to pick up some other stuff, despite stating that Wonder Woman would be it.  However, after reading DC Universe Rebirth #1, Titans looks really interesting to me (as does Deathstroke because what book by Chris Priest doesn't?). I guess I'll have to choose if I can afford them.

In the meantime though, my concern about this event has been washed away (well, mostly). Now, all that can be done is to wait and see if DC can build on this opener and not screw up.

And I really hope they don't screw it up.

Going (almost) fully digital.

This morning, while my family were still in bed, I was up an about doing some general tidying. This included putting away a pile of comics which were sat on my desk, taking space. However, when I attempted to do this I came across a number of problems and realised that maybe it's time I went (almost) fully digital.

At present, I have roughly 1,800 single issue comics (not a big collection but it gets me by). These floppies are currently stored within 2 longboxes, 3 short boxes (all under my desk) and three drawers of a filing cabinet which my wife bought me for just such a purpose after reading online that it could be done.

Now, the comics pile on my desk contained 10 'new' back issues of Fantastic Four I had recently acquired and, when filing them in with the rest of my collection, it resulted in a big mess where I had to move other runs to other places in order to find a home for everything.

It was then that I realised that I can't keep buying in print.

Therefore, going forward, I will be reading comics almost completely digitally. I say almost because both Lazarus and Black Magick I have already been collecting in print and, as such, don't really want to break up those collections. Besides those though, all my other comics will be bought off Comixology.

To be fair, there are many bonuses to buying digitally from where I'm sitting, besides the immense space saving. First of all, transportation of comics to read is no longer a problem for, as long as I have a wifi connection, I can download whatever I like to my iPad whenever I like. With print I'd be limited to what I could carry (that's about 20 single issues and a trade).

Then, there is actually a money saving incentive to buying online. This is because it costs me about eighty pence more to buy a comic from a shop that it does on Comixology. Now, this may not seem like much but, to me, this makes all the difference to how many comics I can buy.

And finally, there is the (rather cynical) fact that print comics aren't really worth anything to resell. Amongst my collection I have about 300 comics from early in my collecting which, when looking back, I have to ask myself 'what was I thinking?' However, getting rid of these is nigh on impossible because, as they aren't good series, people don't want them. Therefore, it would be much easier to buy digitally and not have to worry about trying to resell.

Of course, there are downsides to this plan of action, such as the fact that I wouldn't actually own a comic if I bought online. However, given that most are now able to be downloaded as a pdf/cbz file, this doesn't worry me as much any more.

No, what I consider the biggest downside to my doing this is that I'm, in some way, letting down my LCS. This is because, comic shops deserve readers support in fear that they become extinct, especially due to the reasons I myself am going fully digital. My hope is that I can offload the dead weight of my collection, free up some space and return to buying print copies, somehow creating a balance of comics between the two.

In the meantime though, I have to put myself (and by extension, my family) first by saving money and saving space.

Although hopefully I'll win the lottery and so make both of these problems moot.