Breaking news: Kids don't go to comic shops

This just in: Maine Today reports that comic book shops are being invaded by men in their 30s and 40s.

The article goes on to note that comics cost a lot more than they used to:

Using an inflation rate based on the consumer price index, a comic book that sold for 20 cents in 1972 would sell for 68 cents today. But the rise in comic book prices has far exceeded the inflation rate. The average cost is about $2.50, although some go for as much as $3.50.

On the other hand, if you used that inflation rate index to deflate the average cost of a 2003 comic book over that same 31-year period, you would have to pay $1.93 for that copy of "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 1972, or nearly 10 times more.

"I can remember when I collected (as a child), and my comics cost me about forty to fifty cents," said Nate LaChance, owner of Wallcrawler. "When they went to sixty cents, it was hard for me to scrounge up the money."

Also: a profile of retailer Nate LaChance.