Back in the early 1980s, I had mail subscriptions to Captain America, Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk and Avengers. I soon added Team America, Alpha Flight and Uncanny X-Men. The only DC series I subscribed to back then was New Teen Titans (I think #38 was the first issue of my sub). I let all of my comics subscriptions lapse in mid-1984. (I subscribed to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine instead, beginning in May 1984.)
Comics fans often complain about the high price of new comic books. I know for myself that I stopped buying new comics regularly around 2013 due to the ever-rising cover price, combined with the lack of interest I was having in them (mainly due to favorite creators leaving the books I was following). Nonetheless I sometimes think that it would be nice to get myself a subscription to one of those titles again. Not only would it be cheaper than buying the comics new off the shelves at the local comic book shop (where the cover price of an average comic is either $3.99 to $4.99), but it also appeals to my sense of nostalgia. And heck, who doesn't like getting cool stuff in the mail?
In this post, I will show screenshots from the official websites of Marvel, DC and Archie to demonstrate how easy and affordable it can be to subscribe.
First up we have Marvel. Here is what a 12-issue subscription to Captain America costs in the US: $28.96 (with free shipping). That works out to roughly $2.41 per issue -- much lower than the current $3.99 cover price.
However, if you buy more than one subscription, the price drops slightly. Here is what it looks like if you get two subscriptions: one to Captain America, the other to Daredevil (just to choose two titles that were on my pull list for years). The price drops to $26.99 per subscription. So, that is a total of 24 brand-new comic books for $53.98 -- or $2.25 per issue. That is nearly half off the cover price.
Many titles published by DC Comics have a higher cover price than Marvel's because they often have more pages (usually with a backup strip). For example, Action Comics has a $4.99 cover price, with a 22-page lead Superman story and an 8-page Martian Manhunter backup strip in each issue. Detective Comics also has a $4.99 cover price, with a 20-page lead Batman story and a 10-page backup strip. Apparently the DC website doesn't give an additional discount when you add more than one sub to your cart -- unlike Marvel, even though I think both subs are fulfilled by Midtown Comics.
Anyway, shown here is a screencap of what it looks like if you were to subscribe to both Action and Detective: $71.86 for 24 issues. That works out to roughly $2.99 per issue -- higher than Marvel, but again keep in mind that you are getting 30 pages of comics per issue, whereas Marvel has usually 20 pages.
Not every DC comic has more pages and costs more. A 12-issue subscription to The Flash costs $28.96. That is $2.41 per issue, the same as it costs to get a subscription to Captain America [see above].
DC also has two series aimed at younger readers which cost less. Back in 2005, I got a mail subscription to both Looney Tunes and Scooby Doo, probably because they were cheaper than the regular DC titles, and they still are today. Not sure how it is done now, but back then I had no problems with the comics getting damaged in transit. Each issue was sent in a plastic wrapper/bag with a sheet of white paper in front of the cover where the mailing info (address, etc.) was printed.
A 12-issue subscription to Looney Tunes costs $19.99. That is roughly $1.67 per issue. Comics fans often say that the Big Two should publish more comics aimed at general readers and kids that are more affordable. Well, here you go...
And here's the page for the 12-issue sub to Scooby Doo for $19.99.
DC also has 6-issue subscriptions to MAD Magazine for the same price: $19.99. That works out to $3.33 per issue. MAD used to say "Cheap!" below their cover price, but this sub price is cheaper than the cover price.
Archie Comics' website offers subscriptions to their Archie digests, as well as ordering individual comics and books. They have a code word ad on the main page right now for taking off an additional discount.
Archie has recently been releasing occasional one-shot issues featuring the classic versions of their characters (not the realistic looking ones) in the regular comic book format (not digest). You can get a 6-issue subscription to these new comics for $11.99.
There are also sales where you can get a "bundle" of random issues for a low price. Here is a "flash sale" where you can get 20 semi-recent comics for only $7.99. That's like 40 cents per issue! Too expensive?
Unfortunately it looks like only the subscriptions on the Archie website have free postage. When I went to pay, with both the 6-issue sub and the 20-issue bundle in my cart, there was a postage charge added to the cart. This was because of the bundle, not the sub.
If you order an item (not counting subscriptions) on the Archie Comics website, there is a postage charge added based on the following rates.
So, I removed the bundle from my cart, and just stuck with the 6-issue subscription (which is what I mainly wanted anyway) and voila, the shipping was now free. Using the SPOOKY promo code, I got $3.00 taken off my order as well. You can use Paypal to order on the Archie website (which is also true of the Marvel site, and I think of the DC site) and so I paid for my sub. I will now have 6 new Archie comics coming in my mailbox this year, for the grand total of $8.99. That works out to $1.50 per issue. Not bad for a new comic hot off the presses.
I will update this post as the Archie comics arrive in my mailbox, to let you know what it's like. I'm tempted to get myself a Marvel subscription as well, but we'll see...
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