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Shane Matlock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 August 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 1760
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 4:25am | IP Logged | 1
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There's a hubbub going on right now where comic shop owners are angry that Walmart is supposedly getting a graphic novel (the "grown-up" name for big thick comics) section now. It's almost like they want comics to slowly die out as their current crop of fans dies with it. They are more worried about competition and possibly losing a buck than they are about THE FUTURE OF EVEN HAVING A PRODUCT FOR THEIR NICHE STORES. Jesus, the short-sightedness is astounding.
I read one retailer telling all the other retailers to go into Walmart every Tuesday to try and catch them putting the comics out a day earlier than they were supposed to so they could basically get Walmart in trouble so they couldn't carry comics anymore. Seriously. The stupidity here is just at an unbelievable level. Getting comics in the places where kids might have a chance to read them is a good thing. And it means more customers for the comic shops since Walmart is obviously not going to be able to stock a great deal of product with their limited shelf space.
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 10:58am | IP Logged | 2
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With all due respect to anyone who does it, I don't understand the concept of completing a set - with anything. Because bad issues/CDs/books are still, well, bad.
I have the first three A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET films on DVD. Next to them is WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE. I hated the fourth and fifth films - and the sixth film was passable at best, in my view. Why would I want to have them taking up shelf space just to make it look complete? It doesn't irk me to have the three films and NEW NIGHTMARE on my DVD/Blu-ray shelf. Doesn't feel incomplete.
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Wallace Sellars
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 May 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 17699
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 11:52am | IP Logged | 3
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With all due respect to anyone who does it, I don't understand the concept of
completing a set - with anything. Because bad issues/CDs/books are still, well,
bad.
—
*clap clap clap*
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | 4
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Is that a good clap or a bad clap? :/ Sorry to ask, but some things can't be conveyed online (I hope it's a good clap!).
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David Miller
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 1:38pm | IP Logged | 5
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I'm with you Wallace. Even when I was collecting comics, I wasn't a completest. I'd much prefer if my library of Walt Simonson's FF run didn't include a fill in. A perfect collection of that era contains FF 334–341, 343-350 and 352–354, and I'm a pointlessly enraged when I pull it out and get to 342.
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Dave Phelps
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 5:40pm | IP Logged | 6
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Robbie Parry wrote:
| With all due respect to anyone who does it, I don't understand the concept of completing a set - with anything. Because bad issues/CDs/books are still, well, bad. |
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In the context I was using it in, it was more that the end of a "volume" is a firmer dropping off point than a random higher numbered issue. (Kind of a "violent agreement" response to Andrew's comment.)
Andrew W. Farago wrote:
| 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. |
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I wasn't thinking of companies, I was thinking of prospective readers. Anecdotally, I see more comments along the lines of "would you start reading chapter ** of a novel?" with lower-numbered books than I ever saw when series just started and kept going until sales dictated otherwise.
QUOTE:
| They must have analysts crunching all the numbers on this to figure out how to sell things nowadays. |
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One would hope, but it seems to be "we get a sales spike every time there's a #1 on the cover; we need more #1s". (Sadly ignoring what that stunt does to the sales of the surrounding issues.)
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 6:05pm | IP Logged | 7
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Based on what I have heard directly from certain Powers at the Big Two, there is only one kind of "thinking" that drives their decision making: "Well, this worked before..."
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Wallace Sellars
Byrne Robotics Member
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| Posted: 03 February 2016 at 7:46pm | IP Logged | 8
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Is that a good clap or a bad clap? :/ Sorry to ask, but some things can't be
conveyed online (I hope it's a good clap!).
—
That's a good clap, sir!
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Shane Matlock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 August 2012
Location: United States
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| Posted: 04 February 2016 at 12:25am | IP Logged | 9
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John Byrne: "Based on what I have heard directly from certain Powers at the Big Two, there is only one kind of "thinking" that drives their decision making: 'Well, this worked before...'"
Seems that DC's last reboot was more, well, this didn't work before. Let's see if it works this time. Very mid-90's Marvel right down to the editor in chief (Harras), writers (Scott Lobdell), art (Rob Liefeld), and costumes that were all designed by Jim Lee and very, very 90's. It's like they can't remember what happened to Marvel in that era. Granted a lot of that speculator implosion fell directly on the Direct Competitions huge Death of Superman scam that soured tons of people on comics for good, but I don't think DC can be totally blamed for Marvel nearly going bankrupt.
But I know what you mean, trying to get speculators back with variant covers and constant deaths (that never stick) and crossovers and "big event comics" like, ahem, "Secret Wars" and new number ones over and over. Marvel should now be called the House of Idea. Any day now the foil covers will be making a comeback I'm sure if they haven't already.
They don't seem to understand the way to get readers is to get the comics in places beyond the specialty stores and have all-ages stories that aren't some kind of horrible convoluted mess. Kids absolutely love super heroes. My nigh five year old loves the Marvel movies, the Flash tv show, all of the superhero cartoons (especially Avengers Assembled), all of the Imaginext DC toys. He's a huge fan of the Hulk and Flash and Green Lantern. But there really isn't a comic book that Marvel or DC put out that I could read to him that would be enjoyed by both of us. I'd settle for just one I could read to him honestly beyond Spongebob Squarepants and the Scooby Doo and Uncle Scrooge comics. When I was his age I enjoyed Spider-Man. It was my favorite Marvel comic. My favorite comic book period. I just can't see him enjoying the mess that is the Spider-Man comic book today.
Edited by Shane Matlock on 04 February 2016 at 12:31am
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
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| Posted: 04 February 2016 at 1:11pm | IP Logged | 10
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That's a good clap, sir!
***
Phew! Thanks. Should have known, but I've been "burnt" with slow handclaps online (elsewhere) previously. ;)
I mentioned how I used to share comic covers on a forum years ago, one featuring lapsed fans/civilians. At one point, some were asking me to add ALL the variant covers to a topic. So what became an enjoyable thread for a while soon turned tedious when people asked, "I like that, but have you got the other 6 variant covers?" My Photobucket account became very full.
Sadly even UK reprints have done the same. SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY was the UK reprint title for various strips. It started in 1973. It ran until 1985, clocking up 666 issues (spooky!). It went through many name changes (SUPER SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER-MAN AND HULK WEEKLY) but the numbers remained. I actually find it amusing that it ended after 666 issues: maybe they should have given away a free figurine of Satan or Mephisto for the 666th issue.
However, nowadays, UK reprint titles are doing the same. ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN has been running since 1995, published my Marvel UK (now Panini Comics). It renumbered in 2007, I think. And has been renumbered many times since. They'll be doing it again soon.
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Eric Jansen
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 October 2013
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| Posted: 04 February 2016 at 6:06pm | IP Logged | 11
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I understand DC renumbering when they do something like CRISIS (and even then they kept the numbering for ACTION, DETECTIVE, and "ADVENTURES OF" SUPERMAN) and NEW 52 (even if I don't LIKE the NEW 52!), but Marvel doing numerous renumberings (HOW MANY #1's of DAREDEVIL have there been the last few years?!?) really makes no sense. I often think Marvel copies every big thing DC does--even when it hurts them. (And they're usually doing better than DC anyhow--why does the leader copy 2nd place?)
But when an independent book like ASTRO CITY renumbers, it REALLY makes no sense to me! They must have passed 100 issues recently (which WOULD have been a big event), but instead I just bought "only" #31. THE WALKING DEAD (which I don't buy) made a BIG deal over their 100 and 150 issues and that only made news and helped them. I guess SPAWN and SAVAGE DRAGON are also keeping their numbering going, and I can't see how renumbering would have helped anything there. I don't buy them either, but I sometimes pick up SAVAGE DRAGON collected editions when I find them half-off at cons.
That brings up another gripe--they stopped numbering the SAVAGE DRAGON collected editions. How am I supposed to keep track of what I need when there are NO numbers?
None of these people are making it easy to collect a series, whether it's monthlies or collections. Sometimes I think Manga got so popular just because their books were all the same size and they actually numbered the volumes 1, 2, 3, etc.
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
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| Posted: 04 February 2016 at 6:09pm | IP Logged | 12
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THE WALKING DEAD (which I don't buy) made a BIG deal over their 100 and 150 issues and that only made news and helped them. I guess SPAWN and SAVAGE DRAGON are also keeping their numbering going, and I can't see how renumbering would have helped anything there.
***
Good point. Whilst high numbers aren't indicative of quality just because they are high numbers (a 150th issue of any series could turn out to be crap!), it certainly does make you think.
I know, in theory, a title could run for 800 issues - and have 650 bad issues. High numbers don't necessarily equate to quality, but I like to think most people are attempting to put out good books - so a high number shows consistency, staying power, etc.
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Topic Closed)
