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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133279
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 11:36am | IP Logged | 1
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Too many casual readers would not touch a book from a spinner simply
because of the general mentality that they are "gonna be worth something"
and the racks generally allow the books to be damaged when people are
flipping through the comics on them.
••
Casual readers don't give a rat's patootie about the condition of the books.
They buy them to READ, not to HOARD.
Casual readers used to be what kept this business alive. Hoarders have
helped destroy it.
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Greg Woronchak
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 September 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 1631
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 11:44am | IP Logged | 2
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Hoarders have helped destroy it.
I consider Wizard magazine a major culprit, perpetuating that false sense that today's comics are 'worth something'.
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Wes Wescovich
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1726
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 11:53am | IP Logged | 3
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You're right, I used the wrong term. I guess I've just seen too many people over the years, children and adults turn their nose up at stuff if it wasn't in perfect shape. That and parents that buy comics "for their kids" that really mean, "I'm going to stick this somewhere and never let them look at it because I think that I'm going to sell it for a million dollars". If a young person has a chance to choose and purchase it themselves, it should be for entertainment, not investment.
I see people at Wal-Mart and bookstores thumbing through comics and magazines, but do they really buy that many anymore? Can there even be casual readers out there enough to make a difference? It's been said in this thread that if we make them available, they will buy them. But maybe it's too late for that? I don't know. I think that for the newsstand market to ever become what it was beofre, sales-wise, it would definitely take the right product and a lot of time.
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Brendan Howard
Byrne Robotics Member
FAQ Master Supreme
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4943
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 12:05pm | IP Logged | 4
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You make a good point, Wes. A whole generation has passed since comics were readily available as impulse-buy items -- and just like kids have been "trained" for the past 8 years to download music illegally instead of paying for it, consumers have been "trained" not to crave comics as entertainment. That kind of behavior is hard to unlearn.
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Sean Blythe
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 13 July 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 342
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 12:23pm | IP Logged | 5
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Wal-Mart may seem like a quick fix for the comicbook companies, but I
have my doubts. Keep in mind, you don't just plunk your product down in
Wal Mart. They have an enormous amount of leverage over their suppliers,
and they're not shy about using that leverage to get the most from the
least.
The partnership might have its upside, especially for purists. It's easy to
envision Wal Mart saying "Why are you printing on acid-free paper when
there are so many cheaper alternatives?" Further, Wal Mart tends to view
big ticket items like lawnmowers as virtually disposable items, so it
stands to reason they'd see comics in the same light. No more writing for
the trade, no more stories a first-time reader can't understand. Certainly
no more missed deadlines. All a return to the good old days.
Except. What happens (JB, I'm interested in your take on this) when Wal
Mart decides that Tony Stark has to look like Robert Downey Jr., Bruce
Wayne like Christian Bale? What happens when they begin dictating
editorial content; when they run the numbers (and they surely will) and
decide that the companies can surely produce cheaper product by
illustrating the X-Men in the style of Arichie, and that there's no need for
new scripts when so many old ones are unread by kids today; that
Superman comics need to follow the storyline of Smallville; that Batman
should wear the same costume he wears in the movies. I can see Wal
Mart reasoning that content should be of no higher quality than the
Spider-Man newspaper strip. (Now that I write it down, this all may still
be desirable for many on this forum.)
All I'm saying is, Wal-Mart cares about cheap and disposable. To assume
that comics "as we know them" would survive under the heavy hand of
Bentonville, AK, is assuming a lot.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 12:56pm | IP Logged | 6
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What happens (JB, I'm interested in your take on this) when Wal
Mart decides that Tony Stark has to look like Robert Downey Jr., Bruce
Wayne like Christian Bale? What happens when they begin dictating
editorial content…
••
Does Wal-Mart do this with any other product they carry?
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Jeff Stockwell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1610
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 1:33pm | IP Logged | 7
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Walmart, in addition to big box stores like Costco, OfficeMax and others, routinely dictates packaging design to manufacturers. Telling you what the price of your product will be is a given. And Walmart and Costco specifically dictate contents of the box. (I have worked on product development for an item to be sold at Costco, so we learned a lot of this stiuff in the process.) Walmart has refused to stock music and movies due to content, and losing a distribution venue as large as Walmart can do serious damage to even a large comany's bottom line.
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Dan Avenell
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 06 March 2008
Posts: 1038
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 1:43pm | IP Logged | 8
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Walmart has refused to stock music and movies due to content,
-------------------
Hmmm, maybe some sort of comic... code.. might be effective.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133279
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 1:48pm | IP Logged | 9
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Or common sense.
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Paulo Pereira
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 24 April 2006
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | 10
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Dan wrote:
| Hmmm, maybe some sort of comic... code.. might be effective. |
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Exactly. If the main product were aimed at the all-ages crowd, you probably wouldn't have to worry about Wal-Mart dictating anything.
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Donald Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 2:07pm | IP Logged | 11
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I really don't see Wal-Mart doing this...Packaging, yes. Both in order to prevent theft and optimize shelf space.
Content would be more in the line of "We are family oriented so no x-rated movies"
Sure the might decide not to carry the Highly innappropriate material that is currently being published, but if the content were all ages I don't imagine they would try to steer the content to cater to other products.
Besides, Both of the big two are already guilty of altering the carachter sto match the movie incarnation already.
Don
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Jeff Stockwell
Byrne Robotics Member
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 05 February 2009 at 2:09pm | IP Logged | 12
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Walmart's dictates are not based solely on content. They decide what will sell best in their stores and go to the manufacturer and tell them changes they want. If they want Tony Stark to look more like Robert Downey, Jr. they may decide they won't carry the book otherwise.
One point of discussion on this board has been about changing the physical format of comic books to be closer to a standard magazine. This is the kind of thing Walmart might dictate. "Comics are a weird size. They don't fit in our magazine racks. Make them a standard size and we'll carry them. otherwise, forget it."
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Topic Closed)
