🚀 go-pugleaf

> From: uok!slrichte	(Steve Richter)

> Now that direct-only comics are running 28 pages with no ads, some
> readers have expressed concern about back-ups not being reprinted
> when the direct-only "hardcover" is published for newsstand distri-
> bution.  The entire comic will be reprinted when the newsstand is-
> sue is published.

I don't know why anyone is getting concerned.

(1) The backup stories only existed the first couple of months after the
story-page count went up. The reason for them was because when the decision
was made to go to 28-page stories, they didn't leave enough time for the
regular team to fill the extra pages, so they included a short back-up
story to make up the page count. Now, the main story runs the entire issue
(except the occasional issue). It would be a tad difficult to cut stuff
out for the reprints (not impossible, mind you --- Marvel has done it in
some of their reprint comics --- but difficult).

(2) People are forgetting that the overhead for a reprint book is not as
high as a regular comic, since they don't have to pay the writer and artists
for the work (except a token royalty fee). Thus, they can get along fairly
easily with a lesser ad revenue. And the 32 pages count does not include the
covers, so assuming one page for letters and 28 pages for story, there'll
be 3 ad pages available. Chances are they will be for paid ads rather than
house ads (and also remember that there will be the two inside covers plus
the back cover for ads as well.

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA)

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