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Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Valiant | Tagged: diamond, tariffs
Valiant Comics Says The $4.99 Comic Is Over Because Of Tariffs
Valiant Comics says that the $4.99 cover price comic is over because of Canadian tariffs, hitting at the same time as Diamond bankruptcy.
Article Summary
- Valiant Comics faces cost pressures due to impending U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Chinese-printed comics.
- Director Matias Timarchi reveals plans to evaluate and potentially change Valiant's production strategy.
- Comic prices may rise by $1, making $5.99 the new norm for Valiant's standard floppy comics.
- Smaller publishers face significant challenges, relying on reader support amid increasing production costs.
It was only a few days ago that Bleeding Cool reported on the impact of the Diamond Comic Distributors' decision to call in Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Valiant Comics' publishing plans, with Matias Timarchi, Director of Valiant's publisher Alien Books telling Bleeding Cool, "We had already decided to publish fewer books during November, December, and January because we were working on relaunching the Valiant line with the Valiant Beyond initiative, which was scheduled for March of this year. We also have new licenses that we haven't announced yet, and we were planning to do around March/April. While the Distributor owes us money, as we haven't received payments since December, I believe we'll be able to reorganize and move forward."
But tomorrow, the US tariffs on Canada, where most single comics are printed, and China, where many large collected comics are printed, are to be enacted. And Matias Timarchi is having to make even more changes for the future of Valiant. He tells Bleeding Cool, "we're going to have to rethink our entire production process—compare prices and assess the situation. Fortunately, the Kickstarter campaign we're running now is already secured since the books are already printed and stored on U.S. soil. We'll need to carefully review the costs of printing in Canada. Maybe the printing companies there might offer some kind of incentive to retain their U.S. clients? And considering the costs in China, even with that 10% tariff, it might still be more cost-effective to print books with many pages or hardcover editions there. In any case, we'll have to reevaluate, as I believe that continuing to sell the floppies at $4.99 won't be sustainable in the long run, and we should probably increase the price by at least $1… Bigger companies with bigger print runs may be able to absorb the cost increment, I guess… I know readers understand the extreme difficulty that most of the small publishers are immersed in now, and I hope they will continue to support independent projects, as we need them now more than ever."
We have recently seen Marvel and DC join the likes of Valiant, Boom and IDW with $4.99 as the standard price for the standard floppy comic book. Looks like Valiant would have to jump to $5.99 because of the tariffs. Who else will join them?
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