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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133317
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 6:38am | IP Logged | 1
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I don't see how anyone starts reading comics as a kid anymore. The only way 8 year old me could have ever seen comics was because they were sold in places that most parents were already going to at least once a month (like department stores, drug stores or convenience stores). So if I liked the current issue of Fantastic Four, I had a decent chance of finding the next issue when my mom went back to the drug store a week or three later. •• It's been decades since I started crying in the wilderness that everything we, as an industry, were doing seemed designed to eliminate any chance of an impulse buy. Potential new readers are now required to make a conscious decision to start collecting comics, and to seek out a venue where they can be found -- usually quite some distance away. (When I was a kid, with all the moving around my family did, I cannot recall living anywhere that an outlet for comic books was more than a short bike ride away, and usually a lot less.)
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12708
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 7:42am | IP Logged | 2
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One of the most exciting aspects of my ever going anywhere out of my hometown on errands with my parents when I was a kid was being on the lookout for anyplace that sold comicbooks. It was so common, you could hardly ever fail. Of course, having found a place, then I had to ask (beg!) to be bought one (or more!).
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Greg Woronchak
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 September 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 1631
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 7:48am | IP Logged | 3
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When I was a kid, I liked the concept of limited series. The Big Two should use that format for concepts that continually struggle to thrive, and cut their line of continuing titles significantly.
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 11:45am | IP Logged | 4
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(When I was a kid, with all the moving around my family did, I cannot recall living anywhere that an outlet for comic books was more than a short bike ride away, and usually a lot less.)
***
Indeed.
It was the same in my hometown. Yes, there were the obvious places (i.e. magazine stores like WHSmith), but there were less obvious places, too. I mean, I saw a Spider-Man comic for sale once in...a railway station. A railway station!!! Imagine that happening now.
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Andrew W. Farago
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 July 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4079
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 3:22pm | IP Logged | 5
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There isn't much outright speculation from comic buyers any more, at least, not for Marvel and DC books. There's a new Wolverine #1 every couple of years now, so there's not any inherent value in a Wolverine #1 comic book anymore. Retailers up their orders for a new Wolverine #1 in case this is the new direction or creative team that really catches on, and everyone goes along with it because that's what you've got to do if you still want to read a comic book called Wolverine.
As a customer who used to buy every single issue of a book, month in and month out, even through periods of lackluster creative teams, it's definitely cured me of just automatically buying a book that's not knocking me out on a consistent basis. I'd buy Captain America every month no matter what, good or bad, since I had a nice unbroken run of 100-something issues. Then the constant renumbering hit, and I realized that if I wasn't enjoying the book, I could drop the book for a while, then wait until a new creative team or direction came along that grabbed me. I assume more readers are doing that now, as opposed to investing in every #1 that comes down the pike.
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Jason Larouse
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 10 May 2011
Posts: 515
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 3:54pm | IP Logged | 6
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I wonder what the last number one issue from the big two to be worth serious money (in reasonable condition) is. Lets say over $500. Hell, even over $100. My initial thought is the 80s but I can't find any even that far back. Is it possible that you have to go back to the original Marvel books in the 60s to find one?
Edited by Jason Larouse on 01 February 2016 at 3:55pm
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Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 2364
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 4:38pm | IP Logged | 7
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In response to Andrew--
I wonder at what point will these people realize that they're giving readers as many jumping OFF points as jumping on! Or more, really, since as you say, I too used to buy every issue through lackluster periods just to keep that series' numbering intact.
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Andrew W. Farago
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 July 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4079
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 5:10pm | IP Logged | 8
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I think even the high-numbered comics had plenty of natural jumping-off points, but they're much more pronounced right now. I loved Mark Waid's Daredevil, and stuck with it through both of his runs (each one starting with a #1 issue), but the newest Daredevil #1 didn't really grab me, so I'm off the book for a while now. If it were Daredevil #600-something, I'd be inclined to ride it out, but since it's Daredevil #1-through-the-end-of-the-new-writer's-tenure, I may end up skipping an entire "volume" of the book.
The four dollar cover price makes it a lot easier to cut the cord on a book, too. I was more inclined to stick with a bad storyline when I could bring home a big stack of books for ten dollars a week, less so when I'm getting four or five comics a week for twenty bucks.
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Dave Phelps
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4184
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| Posted: 01 February 2016 at 8:35pm | IP Logged | 9
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Oh sure, but there's something to be said about "completing a set." What gets me about the "number 1 fever" is that it serves as negative advertising for every other issue in the series. Whereas before there was an understanding that you could come and go from a series as you please (since clearly no one expected you to buy Batman #1-607 before picking up the latest issue), now there's a greater feeling that it's all or nothing. Not a model conducive to long term success.
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Taavi Suhonen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 April 2004
Location: Finland
Posts: 1544
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| Posted: 02 February 2016 at 9:45am | IP Logged | 10
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Here in Finland, the first issue of the year is 1/2016, the next one 2/2016 and so on until the next year rolls around. If the American comic book companies insist on having a steady stream of issue 1s, this would be the reasonable way of doing it.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133317
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| Posted: 02 February 2016 at 11:54am | IP Logged | 11
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Here in Finland, the first issue of the year is 1/2016, the next one 2/2016 and so on until the next year rolls around. If the American comic book companies insist on having a steady stream of issue 1s, this would be the reasonable way of doing it.•• Having cut my teeth on EAGLE, I long ago suggested yearly volume numbers to feed the hunger for "first issues." My tongue was only partly in my cheek.
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Andrew W. Farago
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 July 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4079
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| Posted: 02 February 2016 at 1:22pm | IP Logged | 12
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now there's a greater feeling that it's all or nothing.
Maybe it's digital/trade thinking. If you don't hear about a book until issue 4 is on the stands, publishers expect you to wait for the trade or buy the back issues from their website. Or wait until the next volume. I dunno. They must have analysts crunching all the numbers on this to figure out how to sell things nowadays.
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Topic Closed)
