It feels really wrong to violate the Rule of 3s, but I only have two comments to make, so…

• There’s obviously nothing much negative to say about DC and Marvel dropping prices on some books from $3.99 to $2.99. Yes, DC’s move does put more of a pinch on creators due to losing two pages of story (i.e. income), but at the same time, your middling book has a better chance to survive a little longer than if it was $3.99. I think it’s a nice move, though I fear it will have a negligible effect, with the increase in sales probably balanced out by the dollar lost per book. I guess there is something negative to say, oops. But truly, I like the move even if I think it won’t make a whole lot of difference. One thing I was thinking about when I read this is something that happened at my own job last year (and yes, it’s risky talking about work but this is pretty tame). At a meeting of various departments, our President commended one department head for finally turning the corner and not losing money (not a backhanded compliment, nor really this guy’s fault — they didn’t have a good product to sell). And I thought to myself, well, sure you’re going to have an easier time making your budget when you went from eight employees to three. This made me think of DC Comics, because sometime next year I would not be surprised if there is some kind of press release pointing to greater profits than this year, but if that happens, they’ll focus on this price decrease rather than the fact they recently unloaded a ton of payroll.
• There can hardly be a single reader here who doesn’t already know and read Sean T. Collins’ blog, but there’s the link, anyway, just in case. Thanks to Jaunty Sean T. (I can do that because he does work for Marvel) for mentioning the TWC relaunch and saying some nice things. One caveat: I can’t guarantee the future levels of invective will be minimal.
• Oh, okay, one small third item. I dug ADD’s brief but strong interview with comics retailer Robert Scott who, like all the best retailers, is well past sucking up to Marvel or DC for their superficial gestures. Robert’s shop, Comickaze, is my own LCS, and it’s very well run.

— Christopher Allen