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A Modern Comic That Sells 200,000+ ?!?

Started by drice6900,

31 posts in this topic

Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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"Since May, from Wolverine #1 to July's Spectacular Spider-Man #1 to August's 1602 & Supreme Power #1, sales of all our big launches have surpassed our already high expectations," said Marvel Marketing Communications Manager Michael Doran. "And that trend continued into September with JLA/AVENGERS #1 and ULTIMATE SIX #1."

 

Great tongue.gif - now we know which books NOT to speculate on. Everyone and their mother will have copies of these books now.

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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I agree, I like the book as an entertaining read - but I'm getting the same vibe I did from reading DC vs MArvel - here's to a return of Amalgam comics 27_laughing.gif

 

this story just fits in the ranks of, say, any Elseworlds/What if story I've read in the past. The hype on this book died in the 80s(?) when someone actually cared to see these two teams get together but the excitement has been diluted the decades of delay and enthusiasm for seeing these two titanic teams clashing has passed me by.

 

This is one that most fans can just wait for in the TPB format. I wasn't falling off the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next chapter in this long overdue (why is it being told anyway?) saga. IMO, this story was worth more to both companies being shelved and have folks wondering rather than bringing it out now. Timing is everything...

 

I read it and thought hmm, lets go chasing after 12 items of power, 6 from Marvel U and 6 from the DCU and gee wouldn't it be cool to send the superteam from the other universes into the other and let them fight over each items...how trite. Then, paging thru the book - there is only one page spread with the 2 teams about to face off and it's TERRIBLE! On a [@#$%]in' rooftop? Is that the best you can do, Perez?

thor's hammer smacking the Man of Steel - nice effect; but the whole Cap and Supes blatantly acting out of character and the team members noticing and just whispering amongst themselves like a bunch of wusses. Speak up,you pansies...lay the smack down on your leaders!

 

coming off as a JLA/Avengers/Perez hater, but what can I say? Never could stand DC, much less a comic version of the SUPERFRIENDS, and the Avengers in the Marvel U is one team that I wouldn't mind disbanding...permanently. smile.gif

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Spectacular Spider Man # 1 had to be the most over-ordered book in history. Every comic shop I go into has at least 50 copies still sitting on the shelves, and probably more in the back.

 

 

Talk to lighthouse and his cases of Wolverine 1 and Trouble 1 and Marville 1-6 27_laughing.gif

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drice6900

drice6900

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Ultimate Six #1 just came out today.

 

Ahh Darth - how can you say most fans will wait for the TPB when there were over 200,000 sold? And check out the fanboy boards - they are going off the hook on this series, more than I have seen for other series in a looong time.

 

Ah well, I'm not a big DC fan either - but anything that gets nice mainstream attention (EW) and sells well is great for the hobby. And I think Busiek/Perez are crafting a classic.

 

Perhaps if they threw in Cherry Pop-tart? shocked.gif

 

- D.

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fantastic_four

fantastic_four

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That article is too positive...it makes me believe that a resurgence of popularity in comic book sales might actually be a possibility. Can somebody please list 10 unverifiably speculative reasons as to why these higher sales figures are a fluke? I haven't had my daily dose of CGC Forum negativity yet. makepoint.gifstooges.gif

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Ahh Darth - how can you say most fans will wait for the TPB when there were over 200,000 sold?

 

People like me ordered 20+ copies, in the hopes of flipping them at the next show or on eBay, a la Supes: Red Son??

 

I'm not saying this attention is bad for the hobby; just giving my fanboy opinion that it can be waited out until TPB format. My retailer still has about 50 copies sitting there on his register counter.

 

Anything with the Poptart is obviously a crossover worth looking into tongue.gif

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Darthdiesel

Darthdiesel

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Also adding, as JC duly reminded me, the similarity in plot between this and the Defenders/Avengers crossover back in the 70's where the teams went on a similar quest for 6 power items... 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

 

JC can't stand the retro rehash as much as I can, but even this one is testing my limits crazy.gif

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drice6900

drice6900

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You are speaking of the Evil Eye in that Avengers/Defenders crossover, which is one of the 12 items in the JLA/Avengers storyline. I don't see that much similarity in the two plots so far, but we have only seen the first JLA/Avengers issue. It certainly beats the lame Marvel/DC crossover [!@#%^&^] we have seen to date, and any comic that shows Supes taking a mystical hammer to the noggin is OK with me.

 

I guess we agree to disagree - except for the CPTart thing smile.gif

 

Retailers in my area (Detroit/Lansing) are either out, or just have a few copies left, by the way.

 

Hey - wait a minute! Maybe you are just sore because it wasn't an Ultimate title that cracked 200,000? tongue.gifdevil.gif

 

- D.

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blutobc

blutobc

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My local store still has about 20 copies stacked behind the counter of the JLA/Avengers #1. In fact 3 of the 4 stores located within 60 miles of me still have plenty of copies. Is it collectable? sure for reading value, but not for flipping. Unless you take into consideration the cover binding format of the book. Trying to read the darn thing without creating a crease on the cover is impossible unless you can read it by only opening the book less than an inch. How many people will be buying two...one for reading and one for slabbing.

 

I like the storyline...even thought it was worth the wait. Think about how open marvel and DC are now to a critique of their universes. DC slammed for being so wishy washy - hero worship and Marvel for being too grim and gritty. I thought it sounded quite a bit like a Joanna story.

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lighthouse

lighthouse

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"Since May, from Wolverine #1 to July's Spectacular Spider-Man #1 to August's 1602 & Supreme Power #1, sales of all our big launches have surpassed our already high expectations," said Marvel Marketing Communications Manager Michael Doran. "And that trend continued into September with JLA/AVENGERS #1 and ULTIMATE SIX #1."

 

Great tongue.gif - now we know which books NOT to speculate on. Everyone and their mother will have copies of these books now.

 

Not so fast my friend...

 

{Warning: Brick and Mortar storytelling time}

 

Origin 1 saw heavy speculation and there was still enough demand to push the book to 10x cover price. There isn't a title out there that sees better than 20% subscriber penetration, and few crack the 10% mark. That's a whole lot of comic fans that buy comics who aren't buying a particular title. If that title turns out to be cool, there's a lot of potential customers.

 

Roughly 12% of my subscribers get JLA each month. About 7% get Avengers (including around 3% who get both). Approximately 30% get at least one title featuring a character featured in JLA/Avengers...

 

22% of my subs are currently signed up for JLA/Avengers, including all the folks who get both titles, 80% of the folks who get Avengers but not JLA, 70% of the folks who get JLA but not Avengers, and a third of the people who follow one or more of the characters but not the teams. But almost a fifth of the people getting JLA/Avengers don't get any of the titles related to it at all. They are buying it because it's a cool story.

 

Yes, I still have copies of #1. I would be stupid if I didn't. Not everyone comes into a comic shop every month, and when #2 and #3 hit the stands there are plenty of folks asking if I have a #1 so they can get caught up. But even discounting that, I still have JLA fans who haven't bought it, Avengers fans who haven't bought it, Superman, Batman, Captain America fans who haven't bought it, and people who will read any good story who haven't bought it.

 

People look at numbers like 200,000 and think there just aren't enough comic fans to support that kind of sales. Yeah, okay... There are around 700,000 to 1,000,000 people in the US buying new comics. The real question for mainstream comics is the quality of the product. Ultimate Spider-Man is good enough that 15% of the people buying comics are buying the title. Thor is good enough that 4% are buying it. Wolverine's solo title sits around 6% and has for several years. Retailers guessed that around 8% of their customers would want a copy of Origin (thinking there were at least a few Wolverine fans sitting on the sidelines). When the book saw demand in the 11-12% range there weren't enough copies to go around and prices took off... Even though raw copies of Origin 1 went to $40, that wasn't because everyone was buying a copy, not even close...

 

Spec 1 was a terrible choice for speculation because of Ramos. And there aren't many dealers out there who got burned by it, because few of them really thought the book would do well. Wolverine 1 saw dealers guessing in the 8% range and being just about right. There is some potential for the book down the road, but it's $10 potential, not $30 potential. Supreme Power and 1602 are more up in the air. Unlike Origin, Spec, and Wolvie there was no current title to project sales from. You couldn't base your sales numbers on an established product. So dealers were all over the map with their orders. You see big regional differences as a result. Gaiman's fan base is fiercely loyal, but slow to respond. So the real opportunity for movement on 1602 will be around the time #4 or #5 comes out. It will take that long for Sandman fans to really get the word... Supreme Power was probably dead before it came out. JMS' fans are still furious over the publication schedules of Rising Stars and Midnight Nation. And Supreme Power isn't an easy sell to Spidey fans, so his ASM run doesn't give the push it otherwise might. The book would have to be incredibly good to generate enough buzz to overwhelm the bad taste from Rising Stars...

 

But the lesson of Origin is still there. If dealers predict a 6% interest and get 9% instead, there's a lot of room to prices to climb. This isn't a matter of convincing 10,000 people off the street to pick up a copy and come help drive up prices. It's guys who get 6 books a month deciding that this will be the 7th... It drives me nuts when people talk about 120,000 copies of USM being sold and act like that's how many comic customers there are. That every single person reading comics gets USM, and 90% of them also get UXM, and 50% of them also get Avengers, and 5% of them also get Strangers in Paradise... That the only way a comic could sell 20,000 more copies is if the same 120,000 people bought extras... 893frustrated.gif There are half a million people reading comics every month who don't read Ultimate Spider-Man. It's not that difficult to see 20,000 of them deciding to pick it up...

 

As for JLA/Avengers. It will do just fine. And it will be an evergreen seller. I'll be able to sell it just as well five years from now as I can today. But whether it sees any real price increases remains to be seen...

 

{End of Brick and Mortar storytelling time}

 

I did like the tribute to Alex Toth though... smile.gif

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drice6900

drice6900

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Excellent post, Lighthouse. This is why I come to this board - for smart, incisive, and insightful input from all segments of comic collecting. Bravo!

 

893applaud-thumb.gif

 

- D.

 

PS: The Wolverines are going to tear the Ducks apart, but I bet the Ducks put up more of a fight than those wimpy Irish!

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