We don't know what standards have been established for the line -- are the books required to feature art from the shows? Are they required to be color? What happens if they decide they can't make money and cease production before the contract expires? Without these answers, it's really hard to guess what they'll do.
I wonder about this too. For example, say that they were to follow along the vein of Mongoose Publishing. Assuming they aren't required to print things in color, on glossy paper, etc., they could put out decent products at a reasonable cost (or so it would seem). I could care less if the supplements are soft cover, paper pages, and all black and white. They'd probably be cheaper for us to purchase then as well. The average Mongoose supplements for Judge Dredd is about $15.
With comics, I feel the same. With only one issue missing, the story is not complete. RPGs are different, however. They are not stories, but an invitation to tell your own. I think that is the reason that so many gamers use only the Core Book and little else.
To each his own, I guess. I agree that it's different with comics than RPGs, but I get that same feeling for some reason. Can't really explain it any better than that. THere's no doubt that I agree with you on saving the money, but it seems that their should be ways around the books costing so much (see above).
I'll keep playing LOTR, no doubt. We played MERP up until a few months before the Decipher game came out. Just doesn't feel the same. More than anything else, it's just my dissapointment in how the whole thing was handled by the company.
Cheers,
Reptile
In the hierarchy of living organisms, it's snakes all the way down.