Often you will hear comic book fans complain that Marvel and DC Comics are no longer available on spinner racks at 711s and drugstores (like in the old days) so that kids today could discover comics without having to go to a comics shop.

You will also hear complaints that comics are too expensive (currently $3.99 or $4.99 for a standard size issue). These fans will offer suggestions that the publishers ought to reduce the price perhaps by printing them on inferior paper in order to get the price down.

To my mind, these sorts of fan complaints are not really rooted in reality. To prove that point, this video shows the magazine shelf at a Meijer store in Michigan (a bigbox retail store located in the Midwest, similar to Walmart). This is the kind of environment that Marvel and DC would have to put their issues in, according to fans. But as you can see in the video, most periodicals today cost much more than the $3.99 or $4.99 that fans think is too expensive.

Realistically, if Marvel and DC were to effectively compete on these magazine shelves, they would likely have to change their format to magazine size, perhaps to the thicker "bookazine" style with a combination of new material and reprints, similar to the MAD special shown in the video (which has a $14.99 cover price). Another option is the thick digest size of the Archie digest shown in the video, which has a $9.99 cover price. Neither format, however, is traditionally liked by comic book collectors, who usually prefer standard size comics. And both are more expensive than $3.99 or $4.99.

There are alternatives to this situation. As mentioned in the video, Marvel and DC still offer subscriptions by mail which offer a discount off the cover price. This means that a $3.99 or $4.99 comic may cost only around $2.75 or $2.99 instead. If a kid expresses interest in reading comics, their parent can get them a subscription.

Back in May 2022, I wrote a post on my blog about how to subscribe to Marvel, DC and/or Archie Comics through the mail. You can find that post at the link below. (Note that the prices listed there have changed since 2022.)
https://robimes.blogspot.com/2022/05/...

Anyway, this video is just a brief overview of the various challenges in selling new comics to new readers these days. If you have any thoughts on the topic, feel free to comment below. Thanks for watching!