Forum - View topicWhy is the Phoenix Manga so expensive?
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Andrue
Posts: 79 |
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I was on ebay the other day browsing and I saw a listing that had all 12 volumes of Phoenix by Osamu Tezuka for 2,000 dollars. I was curious about it and looked on Amazon and the first volume was being sold for at least 150 dollars. I am just wondering why this series is so expensive. I know its beautiful and it's one of Osamu Tezuka's best works, but I just don't know why it's being sold for such high prices despite being released here in America only 7 years ago. Can anyone shed some light onto this?
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EireformContinent
 Posts: 977 Location: Łódź/Poland (The Promised Land) |
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Isn't it out of print? Other volumes seem to have reasonable prizes. maybe the editor didn't expect that would be successful so the first edition was small. Answerman once wrote that circulation depends on expected sales and popularity of already released volumes- that's why the prize of volumes can vary in strange way.
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bahamut623
 Posts: 1463 |
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That's bananas. Anybody who goes for that deal is also bananas.
I'm pretty sure it is out of print, but I've been in more than one comics shop with most, if not all, volumes in stock. There were also some oversized editions years ago (I remember seeing one for Future), so maybe those are sold at higher prices. |
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Andrue
Posts: 79 |
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Hrm, I dont know. I mean, I dont know if they made a small print run because they thought no one would like it, I mean, it's regarded as Tezuka's "Lifes Work". All the online listings I have seen dont mention it being a first edition or limited edition or anything like that. I have seen it in stores too. It just doesnt make sense to me.
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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RightStuf looks to have Vol.3-9, 11+12 in stock [or available for backorder], so those should still be available from most retailers. Since the stories are self contained, missing a few volumes won't hurt.
I imagine 1+2 are OOP since they came out earlier then the rest of the series [I remember 1+2 coming out a good while before the other volumes, back when there was a preview of the series in PULP]. I imagine the small print run on some volumes was the result of fans- it's not that they didn't think people wouldn't like it [otherwise, why license it?]- it's that the audience who did like it was small, but dedicated and big enough to merit finishing the series. They could reprint/do a new edition of it [ala VIZBIG or the SJump omnibuses], but that probably depends on how Tezuka titles continue to sell at bookstores. Vertical's doing well with their selection, so be sure to check those out. Also, if you want to sample some Phoenix, Media Blaster's boxset of the anime is just 20 bucks and well worth your time. Fantastic stuff, and a great dub/packaging. |
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Tamaria
 Posts: 1512 Location: De Achterhoek |
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The series, or atleast several volumes, have been reprinted before, so the best thing to do it e-mail Viz and ask if they have more reprints planned.
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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Failing that, there's always a chance someone's going to make a more reasonable offer sooner or later. Case in point: I bought all 12 volumes of Phoenix for roughly a tenth of the stated amount (plus shipping & handling) not too long ago. Not exactly cheap but definitely far more affordable. Hopefully that wasn't just a fluke.
I'll also go ahead and second Paploo on the anime adaptation, which admittedly does take a few liberties of questionable value here and there but it's still quite good overall as a general introduction to the material. |
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stuckinfresno
 Posts: 223 Location: Fresno, CA |
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Well for starters $2,000 is just flippin' ridiculous. Forget about that. It appears that only specific volumes are driving up the price. For a quick rundown:
Justmanga has 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 Animecornerstore has 9, 11, 12 Animecastle has 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 Amazon has 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 Barnesandnoble has 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 Bookdespoitory has 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12 Based on this your "problem children" are going to be Vols 1, 4, and 10. Possibly 5 since only JM had it. My best advice is to watch ebay auctions, check out local used book stores, and be patient. The reason the vols are so expensive is that they are simply hard to find and this is also a Tezuka work. So the price really skyrockets. And it isn't all of the Phoenix vols - just those problem children. But don't lose heart. I looked for years for Adolf vol 1 (I had bought 2-5 cheap on Amazon) and about two months ago I snagged a perfect copy for $15 on ebay! I was so happy to be able to read the series finally! The really good news is that Phoenix is not really a sequential title. You are free to jump around since each work is practically a stand alone work. I couldn't do that with Adolf. If you really want this title the best idea to is grab the titles for list now and work on those pesky hard to find titles later. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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Volume 4 is your biggest problem here, it's the most expensive and the story that it covers (Karma) is generally considered to be the best of the series (or top 3 in not in the #1 spot). So not only was the print run clearly low, it's also the most desirable volume.
Most of the volumes are stand alone, but volumes 7 and 8 are both Civil War and volumes 10 and 11 are both Sun. You really cannot read volume 11 with 10 and same for 8 without 7 (though 8 does have the short chapter Robe of Feather, which you can read all on its own). Believe it or not, my University has this class that seriously requires you to purchase Phoenix vol 1 and Buddha vol 1 (among others), they somehow got copies of volume 1 lets just say. And I can see not everyone selling back their copies either, applies to most any class, but they must somehow be getting a supply replenished to them, I'm just not sure how. And they don't sell it at ridiculous prices either, I'm just not sure how they do it, but maybe they're getting away with it for educational purposes or something. |
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Tamaria
Posts: 1512 Location: De Achterhoek |
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(Totally unrelated: OMG Okage: Shadow King avatar!)
It looks like http://www.senorhernandez.com still has a copy of volume 4 left. It's a Dutch store, but they ship to other countries as well. |
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Drazic
Posts: 5 |
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It's kind of funny to read this as when I started looking into Phoenix people were recommending me to start with vol. 4 cause it was the best one and easy to find ;P
The series has gotten reprints before so i'd just get what you can get now for normal prices and just wait for reprints on the expensive vols. I still need to buy vol. 3 myself, and I've got the pulp version of vol. 2 so I might want to replace that with the signature one while I still can xD |
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