A graphic history: In this week's "A Thousand Flowers," Stuart Moore takes a look at our rocky love affair with the graphic novel, and examines the economic reasons why that format likely won't replace comic books anytime soon.

Those reasons, of course, are largely economic:

"People say they prefer graphic novels -- but they don’t back it up with their dollars. If you, Magnum Comics, a direct market leader, solicit a 22-page comic book at $2.95, let’s say you’re going to get orders of about 30,000 copies on average. But if you solicit a 96-page graphic novel at $12.95, you’re going to get far fewer. Probably closer to 4,000 -- less, if name creators aren’t involved.

"That means you -- Magnum Comics -- are getting a hell of a lot less return on your $57,600 than you would on your $13,200. And your $13,200 item has a second chance to earn its keep, as part of a trade paperback collection."

Stuart goes on to address the finances and buying habits of the average reader, noting, "$12.95 is a big chunk to lay out for a book. If a reader has heard good things about a creator or a project but is on the fence, he’s much more likely to spend three dollars for a taste and decide whether to continue from there."

I made a similar argument on a comics forum a few weeks ago, and was quickly labeled a heretic. Essentially, my point -- and it's by no means a new one -- was that it's nearly impossible to get the average reader to plunk down $2.95 for a comic by an unknown creative team, so how in seven hells are we going to get him to shell out $12.95 or $19.95?