“From what I understand, Spider-man fans are beginning to leave in droves now, too...”
There are now less than 2000 shops across the nation that carry comics. Some mega-chain bookstores have a very, very limited variety, but if you want most of the titles, you have to go to a comics shop. So, in my mind, the comics companies really can’t afford to piss off ANY readers, as their distribution is just a fraction of what it once was. Going to “prestige format” paper and jacking up the price was the worst thing Marvel and DC ever did. They lost the traditional distribution outlets. There was a time when you could buy comics in any corner store. Those days are long gone now.
Kinda too bad. The modern high gloss look is nice, and the art work is good. Too bad the stories and messages stink royally.
It happened about the time Stan Lee lost control of Marvel by a hostile corporate takeover.
Ron Pearlman just about tanked the industry (not just Marvel) especially with his flooding of multiple cover variations and attempts at having a monopoly on distribution (for all publishers).
People may laugh but I have long said that DC and marvel will eventually put themselves out of business.
The rape and murder of sue Digby in DC's Infinite Crisis, and the Harvest Story line in Batman where they ruined a complex and near sympathetic villainess (poison ivy),plus the recent crap in marvel is one reason why so many fans are leaving