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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 8:58am | IP Logged | 1
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It dawned on my years ago when a friend (a lapsed fan) said something like, "Do you know what CRISIS events I have to read to come up to speed on the DC Universe?" I didn't know. If I didn't know, what chance did he have?
Plus, it shouldn't be about homework. What a nice sales tactic: "Read this issue - but, first, check out two FINAL CRISIS TPBs and browse the internet for details on these characters." Not fun at all.
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Philippe Negrin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 August 2007
Location: France
Posts: 2644
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 1:22pm | IP Logged | 2
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Maybe I'm crazy but would it be totally unfesable for a new comic company to gather a host of creators and launch a new universe recreating the old retail network. They'd probably have to go back to cheaper paper, cheaper prices and no "events"...
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 1:26pm | IP Logged | 3
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Not crazy, but it'd require intent and willpower, and co-operation, for a host of creators to do that very thing.
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Trevor Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 September 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 3540
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 1:54pm | IP Logged | 4
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Part of the problem with the whole "new universe" deal
though, is that a good chunk of readers, no matter how
much they like a particular creator, or even stable of
creators, want their Spider-Man, Hulk, Batman, Superman,
Wonder Woman, and on and on stories. Not what they will,
rightly or wrongly, see as analogues/knockoffs.
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Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 1:59pm | IP Logged | 5
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I think, like with a lot of things, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle. And always has been.
People like myself can dream about comics making their way back to railway stations, grocery shops and the like, but the cold, hard truth is - it ISN'T going to happen.
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Steven Legge
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 866
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 6:50pm | IP Logged | 6
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I see the success of Bone getting into the hands of kids through Scholastic and wonder, why isn't this being done more often?
(With reprints of older more kid-friendly material, obviously.)
It's not going to be just about sales, future comic book talent comes from comic book readers. If kids don't get to read comics....
Edited by Steven Legge on 31 August 2016 at 6:52pm
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Tim O Neill
Byrne Robotics Security
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 10935
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| Posted: 31 August 2016 at 8:52pm | IP Logged | 7
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JB: "Is there an echo in here?"
****
You were saying this when I first found the Magnus board online -- nobody was expressing this publicly back then. I think there was still hope that the plane would not crash into the mountain, or possibly other artists were fearful of a backlash from the comic book store owners.
I think a lot of the flak you have received over the years has some roots in your pointing this out early on. I'm glad you had the courage to speak up back then as so many people are talking about it now.
We are so far in the hole on this that it appears comic books can never crawl out, but I still hold out hope that a company will find a way to get comic books into kids' hands. Parents still buy their kids books, and if a publisher can make an all ages book and put it through a sane distribution model, we can all have good comics again. I would like to see stories we can share with kids.
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Eric Sofer
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 31 January 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 4789
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| Posted: 01 September 2016 at 8:39am | IP Logged | 8
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Peter Martin - you make an interesting point. I'm truly not sure which is the chicken or the egg. I think it's two sides of the same coin. On one hand, there is no reasonably accessible outlet for comics, and on the other hand, even if the books were available - there'd be no way to get started, and no reason for casual readers to even want to try to figure out the morass.
Trevor Smith - you noted that the issue with a new universe is the readers who want their classic characters. That's a fair point, but is that the entire body of consumers that comics companies want to appeal to? I feel that this group is a dwindling body of readers who cannot be counted on to continue to support all the existing books. Without new readers, there's only another ten to twenty years for the existing consumers to keep buying before they simply go away.
And on the other hand, how could a new superhero universe make a significant enough impact, in the face of other venues of entertainment, to draw a substantial audience? I would certainly purchase new books that were a little more like the classics... but who else? Enough to make such a venture worthwhile? I fear not.
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Jason Larouse
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 10 May 2011
Posts: 515
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| Posted: 01 September 2016 at 9:28am | IP Logged | 9
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So I've been seeing this picture thrown around in response to this article:
Apparently this is just newsstand only sales but this still seems very low.
JB, do you have any idea how accurate these are? What were the top selling Marvel comics selling in 1985?
Edit: In case anyone is wondering, it's a sales analysis that Marvel did on DC's titles in 1985, so it's probably their best guess on what DC books are selling.
Edited by Jason Larouse on 01 September 2016 at 9:32am
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
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| Posted: 01 September 2016 at 11:36am | IP Logged | 10
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I don't know about other titles, but the FF was doing about 250,000 per month in '85.I base this on what Marvel was paying me in royalties. I'm guessing they did not inflate those numbers!
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Stephen Robinson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5835
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| Posted: 01 September 2016 at 1:30pm | IP Logged | 11
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I was born in 1974 so perhaps I'm part of the last generation where every
kid (the average 8 to 10 yr old) read comic books. Most grew out of it once
puberty hit (I bought a lot of comics for the cheap from those kids in middle
school), but there was always a new generation behind them.
The Direct Market, coupled with shocking content in what should be all-
ages books, lit the fuse, which the speculator boom ignited. Superhero
comics never recovered.
Now, superhero comics are part of a specific adult's identity. Think THE BIG
BANG theory. Sheldon -- a 30something man wearing a Flash t-shirt, when
30 years ago, shorthand for an average 12 yr old kid would be to have him
wearing a Flash t-shirt.
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Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
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| Posted: 01 September 2016 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | 12
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Well, if I'm reading this right, newsstand
sales made up 25% of all of DC's sales.
That might not seem like a lot but how
many of those were new reader impulse
buys? If the numbers were steady, and
maybe a quarter of those newsstand sales
were new readers, you're increasing your
readership by 5 to 7 % a month.
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Topic Closed)
