The Official The Walking Dead Discussion Thread 13 13

[Junkdrawer]

i hope they go down to $500

I doubt they will get below 1000, even over next summer, but 1200 should be a reality come July August 14'

[ThoseBackPages]

yea, that makes sense.

[comicsnyc22]

Okay I like the WD, love the show, wish Kirkman and the whole cast years of success. My concern is the comic book, and mainly the CGC 9.8. At the end of last season I predicted in this thread that the book would hit 1700 over the summer and it actually slipped below. My plan was to hold out my copies and sell during the mid season break. I opted to end my auction just a day before the Season 4 debut and both of my 9.8s failed to break $2000. I decided not to wait til the mid season break. I get the impression that many others have this same plan as in the past the mid season break had always been a frenzy for price spikes on this book. Well currently there are 20 CGC 9.8 universals on ebay and one in every clink auction from now til eternity. This is obviously a challenge for the book to maintain its value ans I predict a massive saturation of 9.8s between now and during the mid season break. Owning a copy over the summer of 2014 will certainly result in plummeting sales results much less than summer of 2013. Any one care to bet? Over /under line is 1500 and I take the under

 

I just sold a copy less than a month ago for $2250. Had a few bidders, too. I sold because i just don't think it's going to go higher. I still have a personal copy that I'll keep, but a 9.8 should still be able to fetch 2K if you do a legit auction timed right.

[Garf]

So the Kendal Comic Art Festival was all I had hoped for and more...

 

The Sean Philips exhibition was great, Bryan Talbot was fascinating and there were plenty of sketch ops with several artists. I have some non TWD stuff but will keep the pics on theme in this thread.

 

Charlie Adlard was certainly the highlight of the event for me and my brother. The organised event was a "Watch him draw" with Q&A whilst he was sketching. All sketches from the event are going to be auctioned tomorrow or eventually to benefit the next con, probably at the con.

 

Here is an album of the sketching process. It was a sold out 140 seat venue.

 

<----- Adlard sketching (album)

 

Pictures should be full res if you click into them. Have a look because it is more interesting than any of the pickups I made.

 

There were some interesting answers to the questions we asked. Asides from the technical stuff, art size, format beyond the bi-weekly issues... he did say that the one character he would re-imagine if given the chance would be Nicholas. It wasn't evident that he would become a B list character at first and he would perhaps have invested more into him were this not the case (Eugene's hair was also mentioned regarding re-imagining )

 

There was signing after but no sketches, and a chance to chat some more. We were told to go to the open signing at 4pm for a sketch chance. Yeah... well we were there at 3pm, naturally. Now the con was kind of remote and a lot smaller than other UK cons like Thought Bubble or LSCC. We were a bit surprised that the queue didn't go beyond the corridor we were in. I got the impression earlier that a few people attending the "Watch them draw" didn't even know about the open signing later, and those that did mostly did not go along. Nothing to do with Adlard's popularity but there were special events throughout the day alongside the signings and the ones I did attend were a joy.

 

I asked Charlie if it would be ok to queue again after a quick sketch of Rick. He said sure "if" there was time, hinting that based on previous experience there probably wasn't. We checked the queue and there was only another 10 people or so added to the line since last looking. Yay. 45mins later Charlie was kind enough to add a quick sketch of the Gov as well! Thought it would be cool to get them on the same page (A3) rather than have separate sketches.

 

 

 

My brother also got a few sketches and I love the Andrea he got.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah we were shameless (really shameless) enough to queue a 3rd time and didn't even have to leave the open signing stage to do so. It was closing in on the end of the day and people were leaving by then. I have to say though we were letting people skip past us if they had not already had anything signed or sketched, had no problem with playing fair. Got to the front of the line again and Charlie did kinda laugh at me with raised eyebrows. Chatted again and I asked if I could go to the back of the line, as it had closed to any more comers, for something with a bit more detail as the last sketch of the day (although my brother got the last one). Throughout all of this and the event we attended previously he was really friendly, doing as much as he could with the time he had for all the fans and like I said earlier very humble about his work and process.

 

I was stoked when he agreed. Got a full sketch!

 

 

 

 

Thanks Charlie!!!

 

I did ask about the #100 pages and the #115 variants amongst plenty of other things. Regarding the #115 covers... When Kirkman asked what he wanted in return for them Charlie requested a 3 foot tall Lego mecha Godzilla. I did protest this... even using the phrase "Are you ting me????" but ... that's the story folks.

 

 

Hope you guys are having a great weekend. I have been awake for 23 hours now, was a long trip up and back. Arrived very early and one of my local friends I visited on the way down said had I gone up an hour later a Van which flipped would have been blocking the motorway. *PHEW*

 

[ThoseBackPages]

LOVE IT!!!!

 

you KILLED IT!!!!!

[the authority]

LOVE IT!!!!

 

you KILLED IT!!!!!

 

+1

 

I like the double sketch with Rick and the Gov but they all rock. I also like the story of getting back in line. True fan, kind if like TBP, you guys go hard on TWD. I also think think its classy to let those who didn't have a sketch get in front of the line. If you believe in karma, you should have plenty of good stuff heading your way. (thumbs u

[James J]

Hi Garf..

 

Great pics....you got some cool stuff. Thanks for taken the time to tell us about the show. Sounds like it was a blast. Did the 100 pgs go to Kirkman? Think you said you asked about them.

[JS]

Neato stuff Garf! Only you can charm the sketches out of Charlie enough to queue 3 times and get a full sketch out of him!!

 

Love the pics of him drawing too - hes such a talent to see the pencil to ink!

 

 

[bffnut]

That last sketch is sick.

[bffnut]

Okay I like the WD, love the show, wish Kirkman and the whole cast years of success. My concern is the comic book, and mainly the CGC 9.8. At the end of last season I predicted in this thread that the book would hit 1700 over the summer and it actually slipped below. My plan was to hold out my copies and sell during the mid season break. I opted to end my auction just a day before the Season 4 debut and both of my 9.8s failed to break $2000. I decided not to wait til the mid season break. I get the impression that many others have this same plan as in the past the mid season break had always been a frenzy for price spikes on this book. Well currently there are 20 CGC 9.8 universals on ebay and one in every clink auction from now til eternity. This is obviously a challenge for the book to maintain its value ans I predict a massive saturation of 9.8s between now and during the mid season break. Owning a copy over the summer of 2014 will certainly result in plummeting sales results much less than summer of 2013. Any one care to bet? Over /under line is 1500 and I take the under

 

I just sold a copy less than a month ago for $2250. Had a few bidders, too. I sold because i just don't think it's going to go higher. I still have a personal copy that I'll keep, but a 9.8 should still be able to fetch 2K if you do a legit auction timed right.

 

Mine ended about a week before the season premiere for about the same. The seem to be going for 2k +/- a few hundred. I never thought this book would ever reach this amount, so I guess I would be surprised if it ever got higher. But on the same token, the book is as popular as ever and the show just announced a spin off . . . I don't know if I see the book dropping to 1500 on a consistent basis.

 

However, the price is heavily dependent on the show. If the show slows down, or if this season sucks, then maybe we'll see a drop. But season two sucked pretty hard until the end, so who knows. A season or two more will be enough for syndication and when that happens...

[Nexus]

Hi Garf..

 

Great pics....you got some cool stuff. Thanks for taken the time to tell us about the show. Sounds like it was a blast. Did the 100 pgs go to Kirkman? Think you said you asked about them.

 

Congrats Garf! Nice reward for your persistence and fair play.

 

#100 interiors sold complete to an overseas collector. Believe he got one (maybe more) of the variant covers, too...so basically, a complete issue with cover.

 

Kirkman has the regular #100 cover.

[Garf]

Yup this is the case. I think a few of us were wondering if Kirkman had kept them... Hence asking.

[retrothecollector]

 

So the Kendal Comic Art Festival was all I had hoped for and more...

 

The Sean Philips exhibition was great, Bryan Talbot was fascinating and there were plenty of sketch ops with several artists. I have some non TWD stuff but will keep the pics on theme in this thread.

 

Charlie Adlard was certainly the highlight of the event for me and my brother. The organised event was a "Watch him draw" with Q&A whilst he was sketching. All sketches from the event are going to be auctioned tomorrow or eventually to benefit the next con, probably at the con.

 

Here is an album of the sketching process. It was a sold out 140 seat venue.

 

<----- Adlard sketching (album)

 

Pictures should be full res if you click into them. Have a look because it is more interesting than any of the pickups I made.

 

There were some interesting answers to the questions we asked. Asides from the technical stuff, art size, format beyond the bi-weekly issues... he did say that the one character he would re-imagine if given the chance would be Nicholas. It wasn't evident that he would become a B list character at first and he would perhaps have invested more into him were this not the case (Eugene's hair was also mentioned regarding re-imagining )

 

There was signing after but no sketches, and a chance to chat some more. We were told to go to the open signing at 4pm for a sketch chance. Yeah... well we were there at 3pm, naturally. Now the con was kind of remote and a lot smaller than other UK cons like Thought Bubble or LSCC. We were a bit surprised that the queue didn't go beyond the corridor we were in. I got the impression earlier that a few people attending the "Watch them draw" didn't even know about the open signing later, and those that did mostly did not go along. Nothing to do with Adlard's popularity but there were special events throughout the day alongside the signings and the ones I did attend were a joy.

 

I asked Charlie if it would be ok to queue again after a quick sketch of Rick. He said sure "if" there was time, hinting that based on previous experience there probably wasn't. We checked the queue and there was only another 10 people or so added to the line since last looking. Yay. 45mins later Charlie was kind enough to add a quick sketch of the Gov as well! Thought it would be cool to get them on the same page (A3) rather than have separate sketches.

 

 

 

My brother also got a few sketches and I love the Andrea he got.

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah we were shameless (really shameless) enough to queue a 3rd time and didn't even have to leave the open signing stage to do so. It was closing in on the end of the day and people were leaving by then. I have to say though we were letting people skip past us if they had not already had anything signed or sketched, had no problem with playing fair. Got to the front of the line again and Charlie did kinda laugh at me with raised eyebrows. Chatted again and I asked if I could go to the back of the line, as it had closed to any more comers, for something with a bit more detail as the last sketch of the day (although my brother got the last one). Throughout all of this and the event we attended previously he was really friendly, doing as much as he could with the time he had for all the fans and like I said earlier very humble about his work and process.

 

I was stoked when he agreed. Got a full sketch!

 

 

 

 

Thanks Charlie!!!

 

I did ask about the #100 pages and the #115 variants amongst plenty of other things. Regarding the #115 covers... When Kirkman asked what he wanted in return for them Charlie requested a 3 foot tall Lego mecha Godzilla. I did protest this... even using the phrase "Are you ting me????" but ... that's the story folks.

 

 

Hope you guys are having a great weekend. I have been awake for 23 hours now, was a long trip up and back. Arrived very early and one of my local friends I visited on the way down said had I gone up an hour later a Van which flipped would have been blocking the motorway. *PHEW*

 

 

Very Very Very Kool Garf! Good job!! That last Rick sketch is a Beast!!

[MatMarvelV1]

Really nice stuff Garf and what sounds like a great experience

[Beige]

Okay I like the WD, love the show, wish Kirkman and the whole cast years of success. My concern is the comic book, and mainly the CGC 9.8. At the end of last season I predicted in this thread that the book would hit 1700 over the summer and it actually slipped below. My plan was to hold out my copies and sell during the mid season break. I opted to end my auction just a day before the Season 4 debut and both of my 9.8s failed to break $2000. I decided not to wait til the mid season break. I get the impression that many others have this same plan as in the past the mid season break had always been a frenzy for price spikes on this book. Well currently there are 20 CGC 9.8 universals on ebay and one in every clink auction from now til eternity. This is obviously a challenge for the book to maintain its value ans I predict a massive saturation of 9.8s between now and during the mid season break. Owning a copy over the summer of 2014 will certainly result in plummeting sales results much less than summer of 2013. Any one care to bet? Over /under line is 1500 and I take the under

 

I just sold a copy less than a month ago for $2250. Had a few bidders, too. I sold because i just don't think it's going to go higher. I still have a personal copy that I'll keep, but a 9.8 should still be able to fetch 2K if you do a legit auction timed right.

 

Mine ended about a week before the season premiere for about the same. The seem to be going for 2k +/- a few hundred. I never thought this book would ever reach this amount, so I guess I would be surprised if it ever got higher. But on the same token, the book is as popular as ever and the show just announced a spin off . . . I don't know if I see the book dropping to 1500 on a consistent basis.

 

However, the price is heavily dependent on the show. If the show slows down, or if this season sucks, then maybe we'll see a drop. But season two sucked pretty hard until the end, so who knows. A season or two more will be enough for syndication and when that happens...

 

Nail on head - when this show hit the free-to-air channels as a 10pm Friday after pub special, well hold on to your hats.

The majority of people don't have satellite TV yet outside of the USA.

The new 2nd show is to come.

There is plenty of upside yet to come.

[accessndx]

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/20/walking-dead-shatters-ratings-records-how-big-can.aspx

 

"Walking Dead Shatters Television Ratings Records, How Big Can this Show Get?"

 

The Walking Dead season 4 premiered to 16.1 million viewers last week. That's huge. The ratings success of the show means the discussion is no longer whether The Walking Dead is cable's biggest show.

 

We're starting to look at whether Walking Dead is the biggest hit across all of television.

 

With The Walking Dead returning for episode 2 of season 4 tonight, let's look at its domination not only of cable TV, but how its putting broadcast programs from FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC to shame as well.

Wow. Let's put this in perspective. When Breaking Bad returned for the final half of its last season this August, the "premiere" episode brought in 5.9 million viewers and a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating. Those numbers were both huge jumps from previous seasons where Breaking Bad was averaging closer to 3 million viewers per episode.

 

Here, we see a repeat episode from Walking Dead's last season almost equaling Breaking Bad's August premiere in addition to the after-show Talking Dead almost equalling it as well.

 

Across last Sunday, the top four shows were all Walking Dead themed. What's also interesting is how much distance Breaking Bad put between itself and other well-reviewed television. Not pictured on the list are HBO's Boardwalk Empire and Showtime's Homeland. Both of those shows saw between 1.8 and 1.9 million viewers.

 

These two shows are on premium pay networks, which limits their audience, but viewership is also off from prior seasons. Both shows were seeing viewership in the 2.2 to 2.4 million range in episodes before their season finales last year.

 

Both HBO and Showtime are looking for more than initial ratings. They're watching for subsequent DVR viewings, On-Demand views, and viewership on their apps.

 

Yet, both Homeland and Boardwalk Empire are a good illustration that building ratings success of high-quality television shows across later seasons isn't a given. How Walking Dead - and to a lesser extent Breaking Bad - are growing their ratings in later seasons is simply incredible.

 

The TV landscape

 

Looking at the broader television landscape, Walking Dead compares very favorably to broadcast television. The most popular current broadcast show in terms of viewership is CBS' The Big Bang Theory, which garnered 17.6 million viewers in its October 10th episode.

 

The problem is that The Big Bang Theory sees quite a bit of viewership, its overall 18-49 viewership was about 6.5 million viewers. That's very important, because advertisers are willing to pay far more for the 18-49 segment.

 

What's fascinating is that Walking Dead's premiere attracted 10.4 million viewers in the 18-49 segment. AMC's blog isn't bashful in boasting what a tremendous achievement that 18-49 rating was:

 

 

"The season four premiere was watched by 16.1 million total viewers and 10.4 million adults aged 18-49. Last night's ratings confirm The Walking Dead continues to be the #1 show on all of television among the coveted 18-49 demographic. 2013/14 season to date, last night's premiere ranks as the #1 telecast in adults 18-49, outperforming all programs including primetime NFL football. With time-shifted playback, last night's premiere should exceed 20 million viewers."

 

Even with a smaller base of 18-49 viewers, Ad Age estimates The Big Bang Theory is able to bring in $323,000 per 30 second advertisement.

 

NBC's Sunday Night Football, which The Walking Dead looks set to go toe-to-toe with in 18-49 ratings across the season commands $570,000 per 30 second spot.

 

When you add all this up, Walking Dead could be commanding some staggering rates. TV shows sell inventory ahead of time in upfronts. AdWeek had reported the prior season of Walking Dead was selling 30 second spots for $245,000 to advertisers lucky enough to buy ahead of time at upfronts. Advertisers who had to buy in the scatter market closer to Walking Dead showings were having to pay up to $400,000 per 30 second spot.

 

With Walking Dead's ratings smashing every conceivable cable record, you'd have to imagine scatter market advertising is now approaching, if not beyond, the lofty heights of the NFL's marquee program.

 

How much bigger can this show get?

 

Can The Walking Dead keep up its torrid pace and possibly grow off its massive season premiere viewership? The short answer is, it's anybody's guess. The success The Walking Dead is seeing is uncharted.

 

98.9 million cable subscribers received AMC at the end of 2012, which is pretty strong penetration of American television households, so its conceivable the show can continue growing with strong word of mouth.

 

The strongest indication we'll get is later tonight when episode 2 airs. If that episode sees a very strong hold from the premiere, buckle yourself in for a long year of The Walking Dead shattering cable records and entrenching itself as a cable phenomenon.

[retrothecollector]

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/20/walking-dead-shatters-ratings-records-how-big-can.aspx

 

"Walking Dead Shatters Television Ratings Records, How Big Can this Show Get?"

 

The Walking Dead season 4 premiered to 16.1 million viewers last week. That's huge. The ratings success of the show means the discussion is no longer whether The Walking Dead is cable's biggest show.

 

We're starting to look at whether Walking Dead is the biggest hit across all of television.

 

With The Walking Dead returning for episode 2 of season 4 tonight, let's look at its domination not only of cable TV, but how its putting broadcast programs from FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC to shame as well.

Wow. Let's put this in perspective. When Breaking Bad returned for the final half of its last season this August, the "premiere" episode brought in 5.9 million viewers and a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating. Those numbers were both huge jumps from previous seasons where Breaking Bad was averaging closer to 3 million viewers per episode.

 

Here, we see a repeat episode from Walking Dead's last season almost equaling Breaking Bad's August premiere in addition to the after-show Talking Dead almost equalling it as well.

 

Across last Sunday, the top four shows were all Walking Dead themed. What's also interesting is how much distance Breaking Bad put between itself and other well-reviewed television. Not pictured on the list are HBO's Boardwalk Empire and Showtime's Homeland. Both of those shows saw between 1.8 and 1.9 million viewers.

 

These two shows are on premium pay networks, which limits their audience, but viewership is also off from prior seasons. Both shows were seeing viewership in the 2.2 to 2.4 million range in episodes before their season finales last year.

 

Both HBO and Showtime are looking for more than initial ratings. They're watching for subsequent DVR viewings, On-Demand views, and viewership on their apps.

 

Yet, both Homeland and Boardwalk Empire are a good illustration that building ratings success of high-quality television shows across later seasons isn't a given. How Walking Dead - and to a lesser extent Breaking Bad - are growing their ratings in later seasons is simply incredible.

 

The TV landscape

 

Looking at the broader television landscape, Walking Dead compares very favorably to broadcast television. The most popular current broadcast show in terms of viewership is CBS' The Big Bang Theory, which garnered 17.6 million viewers in its October 10th episode.

 

The problem is that The Big Bang Theory sees quite a bit of viewership, its overall 18-49 viewership was about 6.5 million viewers. That's very important, because advertisers are willing to pay far more for the 18-49 segment.

 

What's fascinating is that Walking Dead's premiere attracted 10.4 million viewers in the 18-49 segment. AMC's blog isn't bashful in boasting what a tremendous achievement that 18-49 rating was:

 

 

"The season four premiere was watched by 16.1 million total viewers and 10.4 million adults aged 18-49. Last night's ratings confirm The Walking Dead continues to be the #1 show on all of television among the coveted 18-49 demographic. 2013/14 season to date, last night's premiere ranks as the #1 telecast in adults 18-49, outperforming all programs including primetime NFL football. With time-shifted playback, last night's premiere should exceed 20 million viewers."

 

Even with a smaller base of 18-49 viewers, Ad Age estimates The Big Bang Theory is able to bring in $323,000 per 30 second advertisement.

 

NBC's Sunday Night Football, which The Walking Dead looks set to go toe-to-toe with in 18-49 ratings across the season commands $570,000 per 30 second spot.

 

When you add all this up, Walking Dead could be commanding some staggering rates. TV shows sell inventory ahead of time in upfronts. AdWeek had reported the prior season of Walking Dead was selling 30 second spots for $245,000 to advertisers lucky enough to buy ahead of time at upfronts. Advertisers who had to buy in the scatter market closer to Walking Dead showings were having to pay up to $400,000 per 30 second spot.

 

With Walking Dead's ratings smashing every conceivable cable record, you'd have to imagine scatter market advertising is now approaching, if not beyond, the lofty heights of the NFL's marquee program.

 

How much bigger can this show get?

 

Can The Walking Dead keep up its torrid pace and possibly grow off its massive season premiere viewership? The short answer is, it's anybody's guess. The success The Walking Dead is seeing is uncharted.

 

98.9 million cable subscribers received AMC at the end of 2012, which is pretty strong penetration of American television households, so its conceivable the show can continue growing with strong word of mouth.

 

The strongest indication we'll get is later tonight when episode 2 airs. If that episode sees a very strong hold from the premiere, buckle yourself in for a long year of The Walking Dead shattering cable records and entrenching itself as a cable phenomenon.

[ThoseBackPages]

but but but .... the show sucks, and the comics suck too!!! ::whine::

[retrothecollector]

but but but .... the show sucks, and the comics suck too!!! ::whine::

 

and the bubble's gonna pop and then the book will be worthless, when should I sell, when should I sell,

[ThoseBackPages]