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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135712
Posted: 22 February 2026 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply
Cost of Living

The only time I ever knew what my father earned was 1962. $660 per month.

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Peter Hicks
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Joined: 30 April 2004
Location: Canada
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Posted: 22 February 2026 at 7:15pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply
Comics were 12 cents in 1965.  Based on the US inflation rate, they should be $1.24 today.  Something went wrong somewhere.
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 22 February 2026 at 7:44pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
Greed.
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James Woodcock
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Joined: 21 September 2007
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Posted: 22 February 2026 at 10:36pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply
To be fair, after seeing so many of the creators that I grew up with end their
life desperate and in borderline or even actual poverty, I would say comics
were underpriced.
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Michael Penn
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Joined: 12 April 2006
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Posted: 22 February 2026 at 10:57pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply
I flash back to the astonished reaction in 1967's IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT when the southern cops learn that the black cop in Philly earns a whopping... $162.39 per week. 
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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
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Posted: 23 February 2026 at 5:17pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply
Hadn’t thought previously to break it down, but my Dad’s 1962 $660 would be $165 a week!

On that we had a three bedroom bungalow in suburbia*, a car, and never seemed to want for anything.

*$13,000 new, with a thirty year mortgage!

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John Byrne
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Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 135712
Posted: 23 February 2026 at 5:26pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply
To be fair, after seeing so many of the creators that I grew up with end theirlife desperate and in borderline or even actual poverty, I would say comicswere underpriced.

•••

On the other hand, there were fans who complained to me that the cover price wouldn’t be so high if my page rate was lower.

These were people who did not comprehend how much of that per-issue cost was driven by paper, printing, shipping and the like.

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Andrew Bitner
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Posted: 23 February 2026 at 6:42pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply
It would be terrific if industries like comics offered creators a class or two on career management and money management. There are way too many stories of artists and writers who experience desperate poverty after work dries up.
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Andrew Bitner
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Posted: 23 February 2026 at 6:43pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply
I was surprised (and pleased) to learn that the NFL has an extensive program for players who are leaving teams and transitioning to new careers.
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