Amid staff layoffs, multiple title cancellations and "new budgetary mandates" word surfaces of still another cost-cutting measure at Marvel, this time involving trade paperback royalties.

According to Bleeding Cool, about a month ago the publisher issued an updated payment agreement that finally addressed digital sales while also amending the percentage of trade paperbacks exempt from royalties because of "returns, anticipated returns, promotional copies and damages." What used to be 25 percent is now 30 percent, which the more math-minded note is a nearly 7-percent hit to creators.

Rich Johnston describes the exemption clause as "ambiguous," something expanded upon by Graeme McMillan, who points out that Marvel doesn't actually offer promotional copies to reviewers like DC Comics and most other publishers do.