Comic book readers, publishers, and retailers have been expressing concerns over the impact new U.S. tariffs could have on the comic industry, and it seems the response has officially begun. Starting this summer, readers of Image Comics' most well-known line of books will face the first price hike of its kind in over fifteen years. Most sobering of all is that the line in question belongs to Spawn, the comic that launched the publisher from Image President Todd McFarlane, one of the most vocal proponents of keeping comic book prices low for consumers' sake.

The price increase is set to take effect beginning in July 2025, according to Image's solicitations (via Popverse), when the entire Spawn comic line will be raising prices from $2.99 to $3.99 USD, including the flagship Spawn, King Spawn, Gunslinger Spawn, Medieval Spawn, and more. That amounts to a 33% increase in cover price, after the Spawn cover prices remained below $3.00 for twenty years. And all signs point to this being just the first, and not the only cover price increase comic fans should prepare for.

Comic Prices Are Rising, And It's Only The Beginning

With Cross-Border Production, Climbing Comic Prices Are Inevitable

Compared to the price of automobiles, construction materials, precious metals, or other large-scale imports and industries already being impacted by new U.S tariffs in imported goods, the rise in comic book cost of just $1.00 USD may seem miniscule. But as Jeff Trexler, Interim Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, explained to The Comic Journal, the introduction of broad, high-percentage tariffs on imported goods can cause prices to quickly scale out of control:

"[To] keep things simple we'll use the $1.00 value to illustrate how the increase in a tariff rate can have a substantial impact. Under current law, at the 7.5% rate the tariff would be 7.5 cents per book – $1.00 x .075 – for a total of $1.075. A 100% tariff rate would effectively double the cost at the border – in addition to paying $1 for the book itself, the publisher would also pay an additional $1 tariff for a total of $2... This would lead to a significant increase of the sales price."

While the 25% tariffs (and changing) are not as drastic, the climbing costs are impossible to ignore. With vast amounts of the comic book industry's paper coming from Canada, and printing of comic books largely taking place outside of the United States, there is no hiding from import costs when it comes to comic publishers and retailers. Image Comics may be one of the first major publishers forced to commit to preventative cost increases, but there is no reason to think they will be the last.

Spawn Comics Raising Prices Means More Than Dollars

Todd McFarlane Has Been Outspoken on Keeping Prices Low

The increase in price on the Spawn line makes logical sense on the surface, with the characters's universe not only one of the company's most established and recognized, but also one of its best-selling. It stands to reason that if comic book prices are going to rise based on U.S tariffs, then the most-printed comics would bear the brunt of increased import costs. But as an outspoken advocate for consumers, Todd McFarlane made his feelings on cover prices (and his pride at holding them firm) clear during San Diego Comic Con 2024:

“I’ve got the cheapest book in the marketplace. [The reason] is simple: I don’t need the money... You guys have literally been loyal to me for decades now. I think that loyalty goes both ways. It should be a two-way street. You guys me. I gotta you.”

As co-founder and President of Image Comics, McFarlane has limited influence on setting the price of comics beyond those he personally holds the rights to. McFarlane's 2024 statements made it clear that foregoing personal profits for the sake of consumers was a point of pride. But as President of the company, the anticipated impact of tariffs must also be factored into the equation. That those financial projections have evidently superseded something McFarlane feels so ionately about may tell the whole story.

Update: After the publication of this initial story, a representative from Image Comics reached out directly to ScreenRant to clarify the price increase:

"We've been discussing raising the price on SPAWN for some time—which has been priced lower than the majority of the rest of our comics—and primarily in response to that the series was underpriced by current market standards. That the timing worked out for the increase to go live around the tariffs news is coincidental. Ultimately we hope not to have to increase the prices of our books in reaction to the new tariffs and have been exploring every option internally to avoid that scenario and keep our comics and graphic novels reasonably priced for the average consumer."

Spawn #366 releases this July from Image Comics.

Source: Image Comics (via Popverse), Todd McFarlane (via Popverse), The Comics Journal