A price comparison

Shawn Hoke gives you the breakdown on buying comics.

Over at Fanboy Rampage, where I learn so much about comics and comics fans, I was shocked to read that there are a few titles that Marvel charges $3.50 for. These aren’t special issues or prestige format books, just normal monthly floppies that cost $3.50. Of course, there is much rampaging and gnashing of teeth, but I suspect that fans will quietly knuckle under and pay $42 a year for twelve issues (264 pages of story that takes between one to two hours to read) of Iron Man. But to be fair, your $42 also buys you anywhere from 72 to 96 pages of cutting edge advertisements over those 12 issues.

So, $42 for 264 pages of story and roughly one to two hours of entertainment. And over those twelve issues, if your’re lucky, there may be enough story and action to equal one issue of a typical Jack Kirby comic. Marvel Comics, folks - less bang for your buck.

DC doesn't fare much better. Hoke goes on to list a few things you should buy, though I would also recommend plunking that $42 on a copy of Pikmin 2. Dozens of hours of entertainment. Or go to the used bin and grap a bunch of old RPGs. Hundreds of hours of fun. (Note that this cost does not include electricity, gaming systems, peripherals, TVs, or opportunity cost of spending a lot of time on the couch.)