Chuckles slams DC for not following Marvel

[UnrulyAppendage]

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=36&t=002121

 

You want Marvel Previews? Mile High's got yer previews! The comic book store is beginning to publish full Marvel Previews of select issues on its website. Up first is a look at Daredevil Father. However, along with praising Marvel for letting this happen, Mile High President Chuck Rozanksi also slammed DC for not having the same type of program in place.

Rozanski wrote in his e-mail newlsetter:

 

I am delighted to finally be able to bring you a completely authorized advance preview of an entire comic book. For those of you who have been with us for a while, you might remember that about three years ago we posted on our website the entire contents of several black and white DC comics that had yet to be published. We were given these advances at a DC retailers meeting, with the proviso that we couldn't show them to our customers until the following week.

 

Once we posted the books to our website, and I simultaneously mentioned them in this newsletter, advance sales on all of those books surged upwards by 20%.

 

You would have to think that DC would be delighted by a 20% increase in sales, but when DC President Paul Levitz discovered that we had posted these sneak peek books online, however, he threw a fit. It seems that while DC intended the 40 retailers in attendance to physically show these advances to their customers in their stores, they had no intention of letting anyone see them on the Internet. The logic entailed in this distinction escapes me. How is an online customer different from a retail store customer? Both get to read the entire comic, and both then decide for themselves if they want to buy a copy for their collections. DC, however, in their infinite wisdom, made it a policy from our “transgression” forward to no longer allow retailers advance copies of their comics.

 

Now, in a clear manifestation of why Marvel will always be able to outperform DC in the comics marketplace, Marvel Comics has set up a program with us under which they will be sending us all of the pages of entire comics to post for your reading pleasure. In this first instance, we are thrilled to be able to let you read DAREDEVIL: FATHER #1.

 

Several of our staff members who are Daredevil and Joe Quesada fans read this book yesterday, and they liked it very, very much! Based on their initial reactions, I would predict that this book is going to be a nationwide sell-out within just a couple of days of it's scheduled April 28th release.

[Darthdiesel]

It seems that while DC intended the 40 retailers in attendance to physically show these advances to their customers in their stores, they had no intention of letting anyone see them on the Internet. The logic entailed in this distinction escapes me. How is an online customer different from a retail store customer? Both get to read the entire comic, and both then decide for themselves if they want to buy a copy for their collections. DC, however, in their infinite wisdom, made it a policy from our “transgression” forward to no longer allow retailers advance copies of their comics.

 

Way to go Chuck! Screw up the DC first look for everyone and then turn around and blame DC for your transgressions and irresponsibility, and at the same time attempt a justification of a sneaky sales tactic. This guy's rep must be Teflon ...nothing he does can be traced back or pinned to him; always a scapegoat If any other retailer had scanned any DC or Marvel First look issues and reviewed it like Chuck;es, see how fast that dued would be blacklisted and shut down...

[Zanarkand]

I think Chuck is right. He was given an advance preview and told to show it to his customers. Well, he showed it to his customers. Who was the insufficiently_thoughtful_person at DC who told the largest internet comic book dealer to show off the preview, but didn't think it would be shown on the internet?

 

However, Chuck might've mentioned his intentions. The histories of both Marvel and DC are littered with bad business decisions, it should have come as no surprise the the DC rep was operating in ignorance.

[Ian_Levine]

I think Chuck is right. He was given an advance preview and told to show it to his customers. Well, he showed it to his customers. Who was the insufficiently_thoughtful_person at DC who told the largest internet comic book dealer to show off the preview, but didn't think it would be shown on the internet

 

I completely utterly vehemently disagree.

If DC give exclusive Previews to their distributors and favoured retailers, to be shown to potential customers, that's at DC's discretion.

If they don't want unauthorised pages plastered all over the internet, that's their choice. They own the copyright, they're entitled to market it any way they see fit.

Every month, Diamond (Steve Geppi) issue Previews magazine, full of teasers of upcoming DCs.

Every month DC fill their wonderul and informative website with loads of sneak previews of upcoming comics.

How can you possibly criticise Paul Levitz for being upset because someone abuses their privilege and puts up whatever advance pages they like without DCs permission And then use that fact to criticise DC and to praise Marvel.

I think it's truly horrible.

If I were in Paul Levitz's shoes, I'd be upset too.

 

And it ruins it for all of us too. Exclusive previews are a wonderful thing to obtain. It saddens me that irresponsible actions ruin it for everybody.

[awe4one]

I think Chuck is right.

 

I agree. If it in fact went down as Chuck has described it, and we all know his tendency to exaggerate, then he was in the right and DC wrong.

 

What did they expect Chuck to do, read crib notes of the issue? DC evidently didn't think this through and have overreacted as a result. If they're smart, they would restart the look ahead program and specifically address Internet distribution. I'm sure that both avenues, stores and the Internet, can be accommodated. To not address Internet sellers in the program seems very old fashioned on their part and stupid from a publicity point of view....

 

Jim

[sterlingcomics]

If DC doesn't want increased sales, who am I to reason with their stupidity?

[UnrulyAppendage]

Chuck is not in control of DC marketing or it's properties. Yes it may be a bad marketing decision by DC, but Chuck is in no position to make take matters in his own hands. Chuck may be right on the marketing part, but very wrong upon acting on it.

[awe4one]

Chuck is not in control of DC marketing or it's properties. Yes it may be a bad marketing decision by DC, but Chuck is in no position to make take matters in his own hands. Chuck may be right on the marketing part, but very wrong upon acting on it.

 

What did he take into his own hands? He was given the previews to show his customers. It just happens that his customers are on the Internet. If the previews came with the edict "do not put on Internet" then Chuck's wrong. If they didn't specify this, then Chuck did exactly what he was encouraged to do.

 

Jim

[Darthdiesel]

OMG... Ian and I agree on this

[Darthdiesel]

If it in fact went down as Chuck has described it, and we all know his tendency to exaggerate...

 

this is the key point and I think Chuck wrote that self serving statement to exonerate his actions. Someone else asked but I know my LCS gets first look copies and they are 1) not for sale, 2) only to show them to their customers (mostly weekly subsribers) that may have interest in that title or may possibly be pronne to pick up that title if they don't already. But there is a prohibition for selling the comic ahead of agreed upon release date. By posting it on the internet in its entirety is like giving/selling it for free. In addition, there is probably a clause in their retailer-Diamond rep agreement where they address internet promotion, but I'll ask my LCS today what the consequences are and if such a clause exists.

 

I've asked what would happen if they sold their copies a week early and they said no amount of money would be worth it. they would lose their Diamond account for a period of time, long enough to affect their business negatively and they may incur the wrath of other local retailers if Marvel and DC decide to pull the first look program because of their irresponsibile actions.

 

chuck should be held just as accountable, even if he is the biggest comics retailer on the world...same rules should apply...

[UnrulyAppendage]

Chuck is not in control of DC marketing or it's properties. Yes it may be a bad marketing decision by DC, but Chuck is in no position to make take matters in his own hands. Chuck may be right on the marketing part, but very wrong upon acting on it.

 

What did he take into his own hands? He was given the previews to show his customers. It just happens that his customers are on the Internet. If the previews came with the edict "do not put on Internet" then Chuck's wrong. If they didn't specify this, then Chuck did exactly what he was encouraged to do.

 

Jim

 

Customers are ones who buy comics. Posting it on the internet allows those who do not purchase comics to see it.

[Zanarkand]

chuck should be held just as accountable, even if he is the biggest comics retailer on the world...same rules should apply...

 

Agreed. The gray area is the rules. Chuck didn't circumvent DC's copyright, he didn't offer it for sale, and he didn't make copies for his own self. Chuck took advantage of a loophole regarding images of copyrighted material posted on the internet, and took an ends-justify-the-means approach.

 

If DC doesn't think retailers should be allowed to do that, they should say so when he hands out previews, not get bent out of shape after the fact. Marvel has gotten on board.

[awe4one]

Chuck is not in control of DC marketing or it's properties. Yes it may be a bad marketing decision by DC, but Chuck is in no position to make take matters in his own hands. Chuck may be right on the marketing part, but very wrong upon acting on it.

 

What did he take into his own hands? He was given the previews to show his customers. It just happens that his customers are on the Internet. If the previews came with the edict "do not put on Internet" then Chuck's wrong. If they didn't specify this, then Chuck did exactly what he was encouraged to do.

 

Jim

 

Customers are ones who buy comics. Posting it on the internet allows those who do not purchase comics to see it.

 

And since he runs a monthly comics subscription service (N.I.C.E) on the Internet, he's catering to his customers. Not everyone that reads the previews in the comic shop buy the comic either.....

 

Jim.

[shadroch]

OMG... Ian and I agree on this

 

If that doesn't convince you that you're on the wrong side of this brewhaha,nothing I write will!

Unless DC said or wrote not to put it on the internet,how is Chuck wrong?It would be akin to someone giving Amazon.com a sample to show their clients,but not wanting it posted on the internet.

[dam60]

I think Chuck is right. He was given an advance preview and told to show it to his customers. Well, he showed it to his customers. Who was the insufficiently_thoughtful_person at DC who told the largest internet comic book dealer to show off the preview, but didn't think it would be shown on the internet

 

I completely utterly vehemently disagree.

If DC give exclusive Previews to their distributors and favoured retailers, to be shown to potential customers, that's at DC's discretion.

If they don't want unauthorised pages plastered all over the internet, that's their choice. They own the copyright, they're entitled to market it any way they see fit.

Every month, Diamond (Steve Geppi) issue Previews magazine, full of teasers of upcoming DCs.

Every month DC fill their wonderul and informative website with loads of sneak previews of upcoming comics.

How can you possibly criticise Paul Levitz for being upset because someone abuses their privilege and puts up whatever advance pages they like without DCs permission And then use that fact to criticise DC and to praise Marvel.

I think it's truly horrible.

If I were in Paul Levitz's shoes, I'd be upset too.

 

And it ruins it for all of us too. Exclusive previews are a wonderful thing to obtain. It saddens me that irresponsible actions ruin it for everybody.

 

Ian, something we agree on!

[TheBrockley]

you know Chuck might be a left wing tool, but the man has business sense. I just could care less about his mountain climbs and pottery farms, and his herbal patches when I get his email news letter, I would rater hear about his plumper daughters then his mumbo jumbo.

 

Since Chuckie is offering like $17 for a NM AF 15 in those Marvel adds, I wonder how much he wants to cut off that damn pony tail,

 

that is so ratty looking, even if it was the 70's, and Chuck rolled into a disco sporting that thing, he would get a shiny bellbottom platform shoe right in the lips.

[Ian_Levine]

If that doesn't convince you that you're on the wrong side of this brewhaha,nothing I write will!

 

If you're going to use clever words, kindly learn how to spell them.

It's brouhaha.