TMNT cover with my caption

TMNT Property Sold

What a year for comic books! It seems like the big thing this year is either lawsuits, or buyouts!

It appears that the TMNT property has been sold to Nickelodeon for a price of $60 million.

I say congrats to creators Eastman and to Laird. The TMNT are a modern day success story for comic book creators. It wasn’t like those tragic cases we have heard about. You know, the stories where an iconic character is made and the creators die all but penniless.

I’m sure the TMNT creators who owned the rights made a good fortune along the way. And good for them. But I think this was a case of their getting older and want to move on with their lives. Better to sell the property and get a big payday. As well as know the characters won’t fade away because a new company owns them.

I actually thought I’d go for more the $60 million the property, considering how iconic the characters are.

I think also the adult attitude Turtles, like they originally were in the comics are all but gone. But that’s okay because those comics still exist. And I’ve been over them and not followed the characters in years.

As for action figures I suggest getting the NECA TMNT characters on eBay. Those are probably the best turtles you will ever buy. Check out this video.

TMNT YouTube Review

Picture found on google with my caption

Besides the rise in comic book prices to $3.99 at Marvel for many books and mini-series, one thing that slipped under the radar and didn’t get much attention is that Marvel raised the prices on their collected editions.

I was in the comic shop recently just to observe the prices on paperbacks and hardcovers and they have increased quite a bit. Also page count appears to be reduced.

The Essentials line went from $17.99 to now $19.99 an issue. And page count seems thinner on some recent volumes then in previous issues.

Still it is a good deal for the price.

The Hardcover line, books like Ultimate Spider-Man went from a then standard $29.99 to now $39.99. And the last volume 11, was very thin and cost $39.99.

It’s not such a good deal anymore. Almost $40 for about 10 issues.

Marvel Omnibus line took a drastic increase. The normal big books cost $99.99. But their recent volume of Golden Age Marvel Comics cost $125.00. And seeing it in the store I was surprised how thin it was. Past volumes that were much thicker cost only $99.99.

There really was no justification for a $125.00 price tag for a book so thin.

In fact the whole Omnibus line seems to be having smaller page counts and sizes then in the earlier volumes. And sometimes Marvel’s price points make no sense at all.

For example Secret Wars Omnibus cost $99.99 for only 12 issues.

Yet Secret Wars II Omnibus cost $99.99 for more then 30 issues.

Paperbacks that were $19.99 went to $24.99.

Overall, you can still find discounted prices online in places such as Amazon. Lines like the Essentials are still great deals with the discounts. While other series such as the Omnibus line which seems to be having a new price tag of $125.00 just don’t seem like good deals anymore. Because even with an online discount you are still paying close to $80 and the volumes are not as big as before.

So the next time you are at the store, take a minute to look at the recent Marvel collected trades, and try to find earlier volumes in the series and compare the price changes.

Logo pictures with my caption

I was looking at the first issue of Haunt #1, especially the inside credits page which shows the Haunt characters chest logo. It’s a swirling icon.

I was then thinking about the Sega Dreamcast, their old video game system.

The pictures above show a similar style in look don’t you think?

It’s probably just a coincidence, but it sure is funny that both look so similar.