Marvel Leads the $3.99 Charge with 70 Titles This July

The majority of Marvel's single-issue offerings will hit near $4 this July, and unlike its first family of superheroes, this price rising trend might seem less-than-fantastic to fans.

Comicbookresources' Bill Reed broke down July's solicitation stats to reveal that 70 (or 68 percent) of Marvel's books will retail for $3.99.

The trend seems significant across the industry with 22 of DC's monthly titles (24.4%), 32 of IDW's titles (91.4%) and 7 of Image's titles (27%) all starting at just one penny shy of four bucks. Interestingly, Dark Horse has thus far avoided the hike, maintaining most of its books in the $2.99-$3.50 range.

Reed goes on to compare Marvel's cost-per-page to DC's, pointing out that DC's $3.99 books are mostly 40 pages long, while Marvel's are in the 32 page range.

The $3.99 genie seems to be out of the bottle and fans have few options but to adjust their spending accordingly. Mainstream digital titles seem steady at $1.99 for the time being, but until same-day digital/print releases become a viable shopping option, most impatient fans will have to accept $4 floppies as the new normal - especially from the House of Ideas.
[Via Comicbookresources]