ParamagicFF

On 5/6/2018 at 1:21 PM, Bakerbr13 said:

Really enjoyed reading this book. I think I read somewhere that it is going to be a 12 issue series.

Anyone else pick this book up? Thoughts?

I think dedicated Remender fans will enjoy it as I did. I think this feels like a throwback in the way that there is very little subtlety in the social commentary. Some of his other titles weave it into the narrative better, here it feels like it's dumped all over you. 

The art was excellent. Bengal does a great job telling a story which really supports the narrative.

Definitely worth the 4.99 price of admission.

6 hours ago, Steven Haskayne said:

to be fair they put in the back matter always stated 4 months on and 4 off, but I agree the latest hiatus of 10 month is almost too long.  I'm guessing opena's art is very lengthy process, and I'm guessing that Remender has focussed on Deadly class now that it's getting a full series.  Annoying but worth the wait ultimately for opena.  

Im also guessing that Remender isn't betting on the floppy market so much anymore. I think he's made enough of a name for himself in the TPB world that he and his partners can afford to let the monthly sales slip because a large enough portion of their market buys trades. That probably takes some pressure off of him to keep his books regular.

I loved this book but I probably won't be back for the monthly releases.

17 hours ago, followtheleader said:

Not sure if Black Hammer is much better. 

Both series are pretty frustrating.   But Seven to Eternity is definitely more irritating.

Patrick

Black Hammer is in the middle of a planned and announced hiatus. I wish it had continued monthly as well, but at least fans were informed. Maybe it could have been made more clear if some people didn't catch the announcements. 

Seven to Eternity on the other hand, is simply in the middle of a gigantic delay. No creators discussed it ahead of time, and there have been several false starts about when it would be back.

Just read the first 3 trades. That is one of the most interesting and dynamic books I have read. I think I'm going to stick with trades due to the release schedule though. I would buy this book as often as they put it out though.

On 2/21/2018 at 3:27 PM, Doktor said:

 

And 2) get Tom Brevoort out of having his hands anywhere near the publishing division. He's the one that wanted to "solve" the problem of "new readers being scared off by high issue numbers" by deciding to treat comics publishing like it was a TV show. And each "season" gets a new #1 on ostensibly the same title just with a slightly new direction, a few changed cast members, and maybe a new creative team. 
 

You may not like this model, and I'm not saying I do either, but the publishers need to pick a model and stick to it. When I was a retailer, the publishing model was the biggest hurdle with getting new readers. Fans would come in and have a hard time figuring out the different spider-man books. And they would always ask "are there any books that are just starting?". This wasn't an occasional situation, this was many times a week. Not many people want to come in 500 issues later and spend a few evenings doing continuity research before they can read their comic.

I'm like many here, I'm good with the long term continuity. I love having a backlog I can read through as well as current publishing. But to teenagers/young adults today, they want something that can be theirs. I think a clear season/volume model would be good.

6 hours ago, the blob said:

Anyway, I remember a conversation in my old shop with a low level DC executive who shopped there. Anyway, he made it clear "we at DC do not give a damn about the collectors." That is almost a straight up quote.  But it's a short-term view, because the collectors are readers and they bow out.

Collectors do not keep comic shops open, period. There are some "buy everything" collectors that are FANTASTIC for their local LCS' bottom line, but the majority of the market comes from readers.

The majority of patrons don't care about comic grading, vintage comics, or variants. They just want to read the stories they like and be able to understand what is going on.

From a retail standpoint, collectors are generally the biggest pain in the , and are often more trouble than they are worth. Publishers should ABSOLUTELY focus on acquiring readership and easing entry into the market. One of the easiest ways to enter the medium is through trades/graphic novels. Many successful creators at Image are catching on to that and capitalizing on it. Marvel/DC have to find a way to catch that audience as well.

30 minutes ago, spreads said:

Ya exactly.  I find also having stuff like 'staff picks' - where maybe each staff member has a different comic for that month helps provide some good insight and recommendations.  That's service you won't find with a discount online retailer.

Staff picks are excellent for upselling. Typically a customer will identify with at least one "picker". This may increase the odds of them picking up a new title if "their" employee picks it.

2 hours ago, the blob said:

 

 

How many books are getting sold via on line subscriptions vs. the stores? Isn't that mainly people in remote areas? Heck, one of my shops mails pulls to some customers. They all give some type of discount. As for my experience in comics, not as an owner, but i worked in a comic shop in grad school. His pull list folks got a discount. He went under, but half due to ebay killing his back issue sales and half due to a rent hike. I understand the margins are tight.

You'd be surprised. I was in the metro area of a large city. Plenty of people had no shame coming in telling me they were DCBS customers. Some even wanted to flip through books before they got their shipment. You simply can not acquire that customer at a profit. 

This is why I mention I found personal gestures mattered more to the typical LCS supporter. Attentive and personal service keeps them coming in. 

On 2/18/2018 at 11:56 PM, the blob said:

It requires software to do it effectively, but midtown's $10 or $20 bonus for buying $100 ofcomics(i forget the bonus) is perhaps a way of rewarding your spenders. I disagree that a shop can't compete with online sellers. a $1-5 back issue is going to be cheaper live than online with shipping. That is the bulk of stuff in the bins i presume.

I meant that they can not compete on subscriber discounts. 

When talking LCS retail, subscribers are the largest part of comic income. That was far and away my experience, and the experience of most I spoke to. Of course there are outliers.

Many on this board who have not done retail tend to comment about retail as it pertains to them (the back issue collector). In most stores, this is a fairly small part of the business.

31 minutes ago, shadroch said:

I always kept a box or two of stuff behind the counter that I'd only show to the best customers.  It usually was nothing, just stuff I'd be seeding into the boxes in a week or so anyway, but it made them feel special. 

This brings up a good topic, rewarding your best customers.

The market is so open these days, that shaving a few % off doesn't do much to keep a customer. LCS can not keep up with online stores discounts, and I don't think they should even try to compete. Knocking 5-10% off a bill doesn't mean much to each customer. But when it adds up, it can really hurt your bottom line.

I rewarded my best customers with things that felt unique. On special occasions, I would add variants to their pullbox at no extra cost. Granted if it was a smoking hot high ratio variant, I wasn't going to drop it in a box. But the 1:10s and similar I would regularly put in a customers box. We all know how often variants end up in a box to not sell well. This was a great way to make customers feel special, especially those who don't keep up with variants in general. I would also find small gestures to include around their birthday based on their likes. These personal touches never went unnoticed, and I feel like it kept a lot of "I buy everything" customers coming to my store when I didn't offer the discounts other guys in town did.

7 hours ago, Genesis Comics said:

That is an interesting idea...I could set up a place for "new collections, not processed yet"...a few times when I've gotten collections in I've had people ask to go through them and they've always picked some stuff out, so I have "kind of" done that before by accident...I'll give it a try for next weekend and see what happens...maybe next Sunday/Monday (a week from now) and I'll report back on the results!

When I was in retail I did something similar as well. I didn't necessarily advertise the boxes as "unprocessed", but they were clearly not part of regular stock. I would allow customers to look through them and I would quote prices. I didn't advertise it because some customers are REALLY averse to this type of selling. It seemed like it would turn more off than it would attract. Also, I didn't want to get in the habit of letting stock sit in that state.

This may be a no-brainer, but I would pull aside anything over a certain value so that it's not even handled prior to being processed. Whatever threshold you set is up to you. 

1 hour ago, Wolverinex said:

Does he respond to tweets?

He used to all the time. I believe as demands on his time have increased, his response rates have somewhat decreased.

It also seems as a rule he does not discuss things involving his co-creators other than to show off their work or praise them. Admirable in a way.

I will have to say I don't think there are too many guys who value and enjoy their fans as much as Remender. We've had a few exchanges over the years that were what I would call personal and human. 

20 hours ago, Wolverinex said:

Yeah I HATED the guest artist... just awful

I can't say I HATED it, but I also wasn't a huge fan. I actually really like his other work, but for some reason it didn't fit well into this universe. 

There are plenty of artists out there, even some whom have worked with Remender in the past, that I think would be great to rotate arcs with.

Esad Ribic, Tony Moore (also notoriously slow), and Phil Noto all come to mind. 

I'm really surprised Remender let this happen. He has spoken about delays in previous books causing sales declines, and seems to be in the midst of a big branding push with his Giant Generator label. It looks like he is deservedly becoming a pillar in the Image family. Maybe trades have become such a large part of sales that he thinks consistency is more important than shipping on time.

It is unfortunate. I actually used this book to get an adult friend of mine into comics on a recent vacation. He bought the first trade and was very interested. I explained to him how long it took to wait for trades and comic release schedules etc, and he understood that good ones sometimes had pauses.

I talked to him recently and he kept up with the other books I introduced him to. Even though he began with Seven to Eternity being his favorite read, he has already forgotten about it and said he will not be in for the 3rd trade. As soon as news shut down about the book, and he had no reliable way of knowing when the releases would be, he said he was done.

It's hard enough for established fans to follow this type of schedule. For newcomers, you will never get them to follow something like this. Regardless of how incredible the art is.

I hope Remender gets another artist to share duties with. Would love to see Ribic work with him again.

7 minutes ago, Polirer said:

My understanding is that the delay is so all the awesome Opena art can be done in advance so he doesn’t fall behind again. This comes from Opena’s rep. I believe they were expecting a February or March release on the new arc.

I think most people are fine with being told there will be a break. The problem is, we're all speculating. This day and age, it's so easy for creators to disseminate information. It almost feels bad when they don't give you a heads up. "Hey, we're taking 6 months off so that we can get back to regular releases" sounds way better than "we're working on it". We all love the work, that's why we're here discussing it. But realistically, an episodic and serialized work can not fall into obscurity like this. 

On 2/8/2018 at 5:38 PM, maraxusofkeld said:

I do not think Saga had breaks to that degree but it has not always come out consistently every month.  Walking Dead was not delayed but Invincible took the back seat to Walking Dead once the show got running and IMHO it hurt the book. There were large gaps as to when it was coming out, Invincible is ending at #144 and Walking Dead is over #170 and they came out around the same time.

Saga has a seasonal release schedule. There are planned and announced breaks between each arc.

Walking dead got so far ahead because it was double shipping a few years ago. I think it was around the time they got a new inker.

I love this book, but this extended hiatus is a real downer. I don't mind breaks, but they should be communicated. I am about as big of a Remender fan as there is, but all of his books fell behind when he began working on the Deadly Class pilot. I don't know if that's a coincidence, but it is unfortunate. It definitely has me considering trade waiting his books from now on.

I'm not going to say any artist is terrible. It is all a matter of taste and opinion.

That being said, when I was buying marvel books there was a single artist that led to me ending my ASM run.

Humberto Ramos. I couldn't stand trying to look at it, and follow it. I get that it is heavily stylized, but I couldn't enjoy it. In fact,

the art got in the way of me even reading the panels.

Very disappointed by this. Dinesh was the face of the company, and a good one at that. Probably the only non-creator industry person I know by name and face. I can't say I know much about the inside of the company, but his leaving doesn't look good. He obviously loved comics, and his company. One of the few people to lay out a reader oriented publishing plan and stick to it.

After reading comments from the new guys in charge, it is clear comics are not something they are interested in. IMO valiant was the only superhero company still doing story driven comics where creators have control. I have a feeling that is coming to an end.

8 hours ago, pemart1966 said:

You'll be sure to find some a the next Baltimore con...

I'll look out for them there. That's a long ways away though!

On 1/26/2018 at 7:50 PM, Darth Corgi said:

Sounds good. You are in luck as well since these books tend to sell for cheap even in high grades when compared to books from other genres and eras. Lots of high grade file copies out there too. Have fun! 

It's enjoyable learning more about comics through this. I have not found any at the comic shops around me. 

This is my first venture into older comics, so I am learning more about grading and condition for the purposes of buying a readable and presentable copy for a fair price.

It appears they are all single issue stories, is that the case? I'm hoping to buy and enjoy single issues without much research on the story content!

27 minutes ago, Darth Corgi said:

I started putting the run together last year. I've got most of it ready to read through soon. From the handful I have read it is a mixed bag, similar to Biris Karloff and other Dell Gold Key books from this time period. 

I will say I skimmed many and there are definitely some clunkers in there but those wonderfully painted covers are worth the price of admission alone! Worth looking into with an open mind and I'm a huge fan of the show as well.

 

Thanks for the insight.

This would be my first foray into anything other than copper or modern books, so I have no frame of reference. 

The covers are amazing from what I've seen, but I'm definitely a reader.

Searched for a thread on this series but couldn't find one. Has anyone read these books? Are they decent reads? I'm a fan of the show, and really enjoy anthology sci-fi in general. 

I only recently discovered that this series exists and am now looking into tracking some down to read. Does anyone have any insight into their quality?

59 minutes ago, Shrevvy said:

Isn't it always implied that a book is unrestored if sold without saying it is restored (or, in this case, married)? If it was missing a centerfold or pinup would you say the same thing? Since you didn't ask if the centerfold was there, why would you assume it was? Any seller that would knowingly not disclose restoration without being asked on every book is not a seller I would want to deal with.

I was simply asking if there was another perspective to approach this from. I stated that I am not someone who regularly deals with comics from an era where restoration is common. That being said, I don't know if this assumption is built into every transaction. 

That is quite different than "knowingly not disclosing restoration", if the seller isn't even aware it is a common issue. I was simply offering that it may be ignorance and not deception. 

53 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

I do not get this at all.  Restoration needs to be disclosed for sure.  But lack of restoration?  Come on.

That's not what I was suggesting at all. Again, this may have to do with my ignorance regarding comic restoration in general. Being someone who doesn't deal with these type of books, I believe if I was to begin to move into some older books, I would probably ask about restoration/completeness. 

Did the seller state or imply that the book was un-restored? Was there any conversation on the subject at all? Is it possible that it just wasn't on the seller's radar?

Personally, I feel like a seller would not have to refund you unless assurances were made or implied. If it is that important of an issue, I would imagine it would be brought up in the original transaction.

Maybe my perspective is skewed because I collect comics and hardcovers from a more modern period where restoration isn't as common.

Regardless he should reply to your PMs telling you his stance. Even if his stance is "I'm not sure how I want to handle this situation yet."

5 hours ago, thpike said:

I finished Fear Agent a little while back... I really loved that whole series. Luckily a lot of Remender's work is on Hoopla so I pull a lot of that to read. I also subscribed to The Realm and really liking that. It's just kinda up my alley I guess.

If you enjoyed that, check out Black Science. Both have semi-tragic, flawed leads. Black Science has more of an ensemble cast, but hits on some similar themes, though it can be a touch heavy handed. But very entertaining.

On 12/12/2017 at 8:22 AM, thpike said:

Since it seems most of us are fans of this book... what are you guys reading in between breaks?

 

Several other Remender books, though none quite as compelling as this one IMO.