So, did you all hear about the huge Ultimate Spider-Man collection Barnes and Noble’s got coming out? I’m betting you have, since it’s started getting some decent press on the usual sites over the last week or so, and as expected, message boarders are debating whether it’s a good or bad thing for the direct market.

The thing is, I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. I mean, sure - it’s great for the fans. One amazing (no pun intended) package at a fantastic price. Hell, I’m thinking of buying a copy for my nephew for his birthday. Maybe another copy for someone else’s birthday in the future.

And yet, as per usual, people are angry. Upset. Ranting and raving about how this book is another nail in the coffin of the comic book stores and the direct market. How Marvel doesn’t really care about the people that support their product month in and month out. How B&N is trying to kill competition. Blah. Blah. Blah.

B&N and Marvel are in business to make money. B&N went to Marvel to ask about putting together a special book for their customers. Marvel isn’t out to hurt anyone, nor are they stupid enough to turn away a good deal. If Waldenbooks or Borders or Joe’s Comic Shack had come to them with a good deal and the $$$ to back it up, I’m sure Marvel would have granted them the license to print their own 992 page Spider-Man collection. But they didn’t B&N did. And Marvel did the smart thing and said OK - go for it.

And retailers are pissed. Well some of them, at least. Most probably don’t even know what’s going on in the first place, and of those that do, a good chunk likely don’t care. And then there are those that decided that they would just put up or shut up, like TalesofWonder.com. They’ve simply decided to offer the first 3 original oversized HC editions for the same price as the B&N mega-collection. How cool and smart is that? See, they understand. They understand that in business, you have to roll with the punches rather than just stand there and lean into the hits.

Another option that some store owners are likely to take is to order the damn collection themselves and put it on their shelves. The BN.com price of $39.96 is discounted from the cover price, and believe it or not, there are plenty of people who still don’t shop online.

Why don’t more retailers focus their anger and energy where it should be directed. Not at the so-called B&N “exclusives”, but at the companies that offer them their own exclusives, but at inflated prices instead of more reasonable, easier to sell prices? Companies like Dynamic Forces who get the rights to do fancy reprints and then price them so high that only the die-hardiest of the die-hards will even dream of buying it, all in the name of “collectability”. I mean, come on - $70 for the Dreadstar HC is a bit much, even if it is almost 400 pages, and $50 for a hardcover collecting 6 issues of Transformers? That’s just fucking insane, especially since the freaking Transformers are one of the comic book properties that actually stand a shot at getting picked up by non-regular comic book readers.

This is the real problem here, people, not the occasional Amazon Exclusive BS, which is usually just a repackaging of something comic shops already had access to for months or years.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe all the doomsayers and message board quarterbacks are right and this Spidey HC really is the final nail in the comic book market’s coffin. But I tend to doubt it.

Thoughts?

General