If Marvel is broken, how would you recommend they get "fixed"?

[Rival61-migration]

As a young 'un in the 60's and early 70's, I collected comics. So did all of my friends. So did everyone at my school. We traded often, and most people bought usually 4-5 titles per month. We hunted garage sales and flea markets for back issues, and life was good.

 

But I grew up, went to high school, then college. Years later (the late 80's) I dug up my old collection from my mom's house, just as I had left it. I got curious, so I headed to my LCS to see what had transpired in that time. Weird stuff. Those junky old X-men I bought because the stories were slightly interesting (although I found the new characters boring) were worth a fortune. Wolverine, a second rate hulk foe now a major player? And the Punisher? Sheesh, I never would have bet on that one. But other than that, things were still the same... The FF was still printing some good art and stories, so I backfilled my FF collection to keep it current, and enjoyed catching up. Eventually I got busy with my career, and the comics were delegated to the attic.

 

Fast forward to the next Century.

 

What the heck is going on? Ultimate this that and the other. Limited this that and the other. Buy all 10 limited covers. Series renumbered 2-3 or more times. Titles changed repeatedly. more spidy, X-type, wolvie and FF titles out there to even begin to figure out whats going on. Print runs in the millions?

 

Marvel lost me finally. A little research showed me that FF ended with issue #416. For me thats the end of comics. So now, collecting for me revolves around sending issues to CGC, filling holes and upgrading. I cannot imagine any reason I would ever purchase a new comic again. And life is good once more.

 

While this little story may not be all that important, it just illustrates how a happy collector throught his life has been handed a stopping point for new issue purchases, and Marvel has just lost another customer. One more straw for the industry I suppose.

 

-Rival

[shadroch]

Shad just curious how Diamond's monopoly plays into this. It is likely more cost effective unless Marvel can set up their own inhouse distribution but I doubt they would commit that kind of capital. Why bother?

 

You do realize that Marvels decision to set up an in house distribution system is what drove them bankrupt,and is a leading factor in the mess the current marketplace has become.

Competion amongst distributors was what allowed retailers to greatly expand their advertising in the 80s.

In the space of some 18 months, I recieved a new store sign,thousands of flyers,uncounted posters,a new cash register, and new racks. Simply by switching,or threating to switch my small stores monthly order.All of my print ads were heavily subsitized by my distributors.

Geppi has squeezed the profit margin on comics to such a degree that many stores can't afford to take a chance on many titles and it is almost suicidal to risk over-ordering a book.

I used to get my books delivered to my door at 50% off.

Now,many stores barely get 40% and they have to pay for the shipping on top of that.Plus no co-op money to advertise and upgrade their stores.Its no wonder the LCSs are constantly looking for the next big thing,be it Magic,or the next generation of pet rocks.

By having a single distributor,you open up many problems.

 

Interesting stuff. I guess if Marvel contracts an outside company to handle the distribution and it flops then they have to crawl back to Diamond again and be at their mercy. Sounds like a terrible risk to take unless they can find a big player in the distribution business to sign a new contract with, but who?

 

 

If Marvel was to break with Diamond,I doubt Diamond would be around if Marvel ever wanted to go back.

I think there are so folks out there that would be willing to start-up companys if they were given a chance.

I'm of the opinion that its not just Marvel that is broken,its the entire Direct Market that is rapidly becoming a trainwreck.

[Silver Surfer]

Shad just curious how Diamond's monopoly plays into this. It is likely more cost effective unless Marvel can set up their own inhouse distribution but I doubt they would commit that kind of capital. Why bother?

 

You do realize that Marvels decision to set up an in house distribution system is what drove them bankrupt,and is a leading factor in the mess the current marketplace has become.

Competion amongst distributors was what allowed retailers to greatly expand their advertising in the 80s.

In the space of some 18 months, I recieved a new store sign,thousands of flyers,uncounted posters,a new cash register, and new racks. Simply by switching,or threating to switch my small stores monthly order.All of my print ads were heavily subsitized by my distributors.

Geppi has squeezed the profit margin on comics to such a degree that many stores can't afford to take a chance on many titles and it is almost suicidal to risk over-ordering a book.

I used to get my books delivered to my door at 50% off.

Now,many stores barely get 40% and they have to pay for the shipping on top of that.Plus no co-op money to advertise and upgrade their stores.Its no wonder the LCSs are constantly looking for the next big thing,be it Magic,or the next generation of pet rocks.

By having a single distributor,you open up many problems.

 

Interesting stuff. I guess if Marvel contracts an outside company to handle the distribution and it flops then they have to crawl back to Diamond again and be at their mercy. Sounds like a terrible risk to take unless they can find a big player in the distribution business to sign a new contract with, but who?

 

 

If Marvel was to break with Diamond,I doubt Diamond would be around if Marvel ever wanted to go back.

I think there are so folks out there that would be willing to start-up companys if they were given a chance.

I'm of the opinion that its not just Marvel that is broken,its the entire Direct Market that is rapidly becoming a trainwreck.

 

I agree with you but if things don't pan out with the new company, Marvel is all but dead in the water. They do need to direct market much more effectively and I'm hoping that they will.

[shadroch]

I believe its the direct market thats dead in the water.

New means of getting books into and out to the public must be found or the days of the monthly comic-book are doomed.

Just as we have had several "ages" with the content of books,there have been two "ages" of distribution methods. First we had an age of newstands. When that was failing

Mr Seuling had the idea of Direct marketing,and that lasted for about forty years,same as the first "age".

Now is the time for someone to bring forth a new idea for distrubution.

They can play it safe and die slowly,or they can take a risk and see how it plays out.

[UnrulyAppendage]

Perfect example is the new Green Lantern series. Dc ends their titles and restarts them just the same as Marvel does

 

There is not an argument that DC ends and relaunches a title, but it's different when a new GL is introduced than when a new writer on the same character (Wolverine) gets a new launch. Or Captain America getting another relaunch. Or .....

 

Flash relaunched with a new character, but DC didn't relaunch every time a new writer took over.

 

Wonder Woman has been going steady since the Crisis.

 

Probably the three characters DC does not know what to do with is GA, Hawkman, and Aquaman. Those guys do approach Marvel's level of relaunches. I really think these guys should be relegated to team books or they should combine them into one book and call the JLA Family. Give them each a solo story in the book. I just don't think these guys can carry a book long term. They are great within a niche and there can be fabulous stories told with these characters, but they can saturate really quick. GA probably should have ended after his "resurrection" or after Meltzers run, or at least gone bi monthly.

[Kevin Boyd]

GA probably should have ended after his "resurrection" or after Meltzers run, or at least gone bi monthly.

 

GA doesn't seem to get mentioned anywhere. I would have to disagree as I have found Green Arrow to be one of the consistant DCU titles for the three+ years it has been published. We've had the same artistic team (Hester/Parks) since #1, while other books like Flash and Hawkman have experienced sudden dramatic changes artistically. IMO, Green Arrow delivers what a solid second tier monthly title should deliver.

[Kevin Boyd]

I believe its the direct market thats dead in the water.

New means of getting books into and out to the public must be found or the days of the monthly comic-book are doomed.

Just as we have had several "ages" with the content of books,there have been two "ages" of distribution methods. First we had an age of newstands. When that was failing

Mr Seuling had the idea of Direct marketing,and that lasted for about forty years,same as the first "age".

Now is the time for someone to bring forth a new idea for distrubution.

They can play it safe and die slowly,or they can take a risk and see how it plays out.

 

I agree that the root of all of the problems facing the comics industry today is the direct market itself. All other problems are secondary, and in a sense, cosmetic. Creative teams can be changed, as can personnel, paper stock, pricing and format. The direct market is really a network of some ~4500 comic book stores in North America and those stores are directly responsible for ordering and selling what is produced.

 

The timing of the creation of the direct market was fortuitous because the regular market didn't want comics... at least at the same levels that Marvel and DC were publishing. If that mainstream market is to embrace the comic book format it can't be in the form of the pamphlet - they decided they didn't want that twenty years ago, why change their mind now. Graphic novels, etc. have done well enough in mainstream bookstores, but seem to have peaked and the new kid on the block, manga seems to have filled that void.

 

So here's the damned if you do, damned if you don't situation:

 

Direct Market is what supports the industry as it is. You start to mess around with things without protecting your core then you risk losing it all in order to curry the favor with buyers that don't know they want your product to begin with. Plus, those ~4500 loyal supporters can't be mucked around with as Marvel products are their main source of income. They have to be nurtured and protected and not allowed to dwindle further.

 

But in order to get them to stop declining, you have to get new people into comics, which means appealing to the mainstream. Having Spider-Man on a Burger King cup doesn't equate into more comic book sales if no one can find a place that sells comic books. But unfortunately it's not up to Marvel to advertise comic book stores (although they could have the locater service number on more promotional materials).

[Silver Surfer]

Why doesn't Marvel run a home shopping network type of show that promotes and sells their new comics? Even if they ran it for an hour a week (or bi-weekly) and on midnight on a Sunday, I'm willing to bet it would have beneficial impact on their product lines. They could combine the odd sets of new issues with a copy that is signed in person by one of their artists or other guests (Stan?, Toby?) from time to time. Add in a few annimated cartoons that explain the origins and powers of their characters and get the younger generation thinking about comics. I think it would be worth the effort even on a trial basis. Wouldn't be too hard to imagine a 15% increase in monthly unit sales given the amount of households they could reach.

 

If I guy can make millions selling canned hair on TV, surely Marvel can be more creative and reach new audiences if they put their minds to it. Heck, throw in a few steak knives to the first 100 buyers just to get a laugh.

[PovertyRow]

I brought this up in Comics General under the title New Old Stories - basically I asked "do you think there are some completed stories that never made it to press from the BA and earlier for publishers still around?"

 

I think, if they went back to regular cover stock and newsprint and started publishing these there may be an interest shown that may open up a few eyes.

 

Every so often I go into a LCS and peruse the new books and I swear the art of panels, coloring and proportion is lost in much of what I see.

 

If the publishers are suffering then I ask - why and when did they start to? I know that many say internet, video games, cable/satellite tv etc are contributing factors - and yeah - they ARE - but imagine yourself a child growing up today. What do the ultra glossy, insano musculature, many DOLLARS? a book have to offer you?

 

Now I KNOW there are some worthy modertns out there - but the mainstream? Jeeze it really can be awful - not all but much of it.

 

Show kids what comics WERE like, I say!

[duncan36]

Unfortunately theres no hope for Marvel, they cant nurture their classic characters like DC because Marvel is a slave to quarter by quarter profit reports while DC is a tiny arm of a massive conglomerate thats happy to allow DC to be creative and do whatever they want as long as they dont lose money.

 

Sad too Marvel was so good in the late 80's early 90's. I dont know if there was any pleasing the Image crew though, if Marvel had caved into their demands they'd have probably ruined all the Marvel characters.

[Kevin Boyd]

I brought this up in Comics General under the title New Old Stories - basically I asked "do you think there are some completed stories that never made it to press from the BA and earlier for publishers still around?"

 

I think, if they went back to regular cover stock and newsprint and started publishing these there may be an interest shown that may open up a few eyes.

 

Every so often I go into a LCS and peruse the new books and I swear the art of panels, coloring and proportion is lost in much of what I see.

 

If the publishers are suffering then I ask - why and when did they start to? I know that many say internet, video games, cable/satellite tv etc are contributing factors - and yeah - they ARE - but imagine yourself a child growing up today. What do the ultra glossy, insano musculature, many DOLLARS? a book have to offer you?

 

Now I KNOW there are some worthy modertns out there - but the mainstream? Jeeze it really can be awful - not all but much of it.

 

Show kids what comics WERE like, I say!

 

I'm sure that they do have inventory stories. Heck, DC could publish all of the issues individually that were photocopied in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade. But who would sell them?

 

Newsprint does not a cheap comic make anymore, but let's say they released them at 1970's prices - make it a quarter for ease. Retailers would pretty much be paying the full price to buy them and making little or no profit on them - somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-10 cents per copy, possibly less. Why would they want to carry them? If I order 20 copies of X-Force for my store, and my profit is $1.50 per copy, then I make $30 on X-Force if I sell out. I would have to sell 600 copies of that 25 cent comic to make the same money. It just isn't worth it for me as a seller to try to experiment.

 

But store owners might be willing to experiment - they did support Marvel's cheap comic initiative. How successful was that?

 

Nowhere out in the real world would they be willing to support such an experiment. Maybe if they polybagged it for free to a videogame magazine.

 

--------------

 

But if you want to show kids what comics were like all they have to do is look beside the new book rack and look in the back issue bins. Unless they have blinders on they probably will have seen a comic from the Silver or Bronze age.

 

And a lot of the better material is available to read in things like Essential volumes.

 

Which again, leads into my main problem - kids don't see comics unless they go to a comic shop (or have a dad or uncle with comics). Unless there's a comic shop in the neighborhood they don't even know about comic shops!

 

I agree, content on a lot of new books have nothing to offer kids. They weren't created for kids in mind, because they are no longer a buying force in the new comic book market.

 

Sure, they could and should make more comics that are of interest, content-wise to kids. But who would buy them? Who would sell them?

 

(Actually they do make kid-friendly books, mostly at DC, Gemstone and Bongo.)

 

----------------

 

Look at those numbers I produced earlier in the thread. Are publishers like Marvel and DC really suffering financially? I don't think they are. They are making as much or more money now than they were during the peak periods. Problem is that they are gouging a smaller group of buyers to do so. And those numbers really started to dwindle after the glut of the early 1990's. Publishers like Marvel rely on the short term infusion on titles to improve circulation for a few months.

 

When you hear of a publisher going under these days it is usually from sheer stupidity. CrossGen expanded their line without having a market for their books. They were obviously not making enough money selling 3-15000 copies of each title at the same unit price as a Marvel or DC book and thought the model of line expansion was the way to go and over extended themselves. Sell more books, make more money... problem is with each new book added, the entire line suffered as the readers weren't there. One semi-success could not support the other 20 dogs. Same thing happened to Valiant Mark 2, to Chaos! and so on...

 

I have no fear that this will be the downfall of the current batch of new kids who seem intent to expand their lines and try to become the next Marvel or DC.

[awe4one]

This may sound severe but it's time to stop catering exclusively to the comic shop dealers. Package comics in such a fashion that kids or people who don't frequent comic shops would buy them.

 

If the path to gaining greater market penetration outside the Direct Market is formats or pricing at per-issue levels unattractive to comic dealers but possibly to the general public, I say it's worth it in the long run. Too much wasted time has been directed at solving this problem through the DM and not outside of it. Hasn't worked. It's time to investigate circumventing the current system and see what happens. The publishers can't be any less successful than what's been tried in the past.

 

Jim

[jordanscott]

There needs to be a serious culling of titles - especially in the X titles.

 

If they'd like to publish 200 titles a month, that's fine, but half of them shouldn't be dedicated to one group and their spinoff/solo titles.

 

They also need to bring in good writers. Image proved that you need writers, glossy babes and buff hunks alone don't cut it.

 

They made a cool move asking Joss Whedon to write for a while. Kevin Smith worked with DC on Green Arrow, maybe he'd be open to working with Marvel. They need to undertsand that the operative word in 'comic books' is books and that you read them to be engaged by the story.

 

As a few have said - they don't think about longevity, just short term profit from sales and licensing. That needs to change.

[Kevin Boyd]

This may sound severe but it's time to stop catering exclusively to the comic shop dealers. Package comics in such a fashion that kids or people who don't frequent comic shops would buy them.

 

Comic shop dealers will sell what they can. I think it's possible to reformat and still maintain the support of the comic book stores and dealers that order thru Diamond.

 

Turning your back on the only market that supports you is too risky IMO.

 

If the path to gaining greater market penetration outside the Direct Market is formats or pricing at per-issue levels unattractive to comic dealers but possibly to the general public, I say it's worth it in the long run. Too much wasted time has been directed at solving this problem through the DM and not outside of it. Hasn't worked. It's time to investigate circumventing the current system and see what happens. The publishers can't be any less successful than what's been tried in the past.

 

That's easy to say, when publishers like Marvel and DC have made some attempts to get comics out into the mainstream, away from the direct market, and usually end up coming back.

 

The only way to make the Comic material attractive to sellers outside the comic book market is to make the unit cost reasonable and the profit margin greater than the current pamphlet format. History has shown that they will not support a cheaper format so lowering prices is not a possibility, nor will changing paper stocks when the pricing difference between newsprint and better paper stocks are negligable. They do support trades in bookstores, so that's a start.

 

I still think the best way to make the shift is to go magazine style, make them returnable (which is risky), but get them on to the newstands. Forget their half-hearted Spider-Man magazine for kids... go 80% comics, 20% text and advertise like crazy. Make a deal with an existing publisher to edit the magazine and make the material fun. DC has access to an entire magazine publishing division...

 

This is a scary thought, but maybe Marvel could get Wizard to edit it for them.

[SpideySense-migration]

Please forgive the following rant from a Marvel fanboy who wants things to be the same way they were back in the early 80s when he started collecting.

 

I hate to say it, but I am starting to get the same feeling I had back around 1993 when I stopped collecting comics for about 5 years. I love Marvel comics and I think the quality on most core titles is good or above average. However... I am sick of the numerous poor quality limited series, unnecessary multiple title cross-overs (like the current Avengers Disassemble) and absolutely hate them going back to original numbering and now re-launching several titles again. I am giving serious thought to stop buying weekly at my LCS and just buy the TPBs or Hardcover versions once they come out. I honestly can't think of any limited series or 2nd tier character series that Marvel has put out that was worth a damn in the past few years (not counting She-Hulk which I love). I am enjoying DC's Identity Crisis though. Someone please put a positive spin on what is happening at Marvel for me. I am probably just too pissed about the whole situation and only thinking of the negatives. There has to be some positives us fanboys can hang on to, right? Can someone paint a bright future for me? I really could use it.

[UnrulyAppendage]

The Direct Market is not the problem. Grocery stores, drug stores, all the places we got comics as kids, do not want comic books in their stores because their profit margins are small. If comics were to get into those markets, the prices would have to be higher. Marvel is doing that with their comic book line that is in Target. They will reprint about six issues of US and UXM and charge $6 in an oversized edition. I would love to see Marvel and DC collect similarly themed comics and do something like this. Collect all Batman comics into one issue for each month and put on the newstands. Have a JLA family and reprint JLA plus Flash, WW, GL.

 

You can develop a new line of reprints while still protecting the TPB's as you would not be collecting arcs but reprinting the previous months comics for a particular themed book.

[Foolkiller]

This thread has been terrific and I've enjoyed reading it immensely. I don't think that I have a lot of new input regarding what is wrong with the industry, but I think a great deal of it is that comic books have lost a great deal of the core audience -- kids. Now, to get those children back into reading comics is difficult in part for a number of reasons: 1) competition from other entertainment sources 2) cost is too high relative to product and 3) comics are written for a heavily adult audience.

 

In order to fix these problems, I'm not sure there's an actual solution. You can't alienate your hard core fans. Right now, they're the primary thing supporting the industry. And, to be honest, the direct market and other facets have made those fans the life blood of Marvel and DC. Unfortunately, Marvel has gone away from being a company about generating new ideas to a company about money principally. Not sustained health either, money in the short term. Sadly, Marvel's editorial direction and stewardship has recently been misguided with Joe Quesada at the helm. For whatever reason, Quesada has decided that relaunching a book several times and integrating multiple cross overs is good in the long term.

 

I'm sure if you were to ask Quesada, he would say that the sales figures themselves demonstrate that this sort of thing works -- Marvel definitely makes money off of it. Perhaps his concern, deep down inside, isn't Marvel's long term health but lining his own pockets by making the quick buck and then leaving Marvel. Nobody stays editor in chief forever, and perhaps his plan is to do what he can to make money and then leave (a la say, Rob Liefeld, whose company and product universally are regarded as terrible now, but somehow the guy made millions. what does he care what the critics think.) Marvel with their own problems. I hope that isn't the mindset, but I tend to believe that it is.

 

There are a number of things that I would change:

 

1) First and foremost I would raise the quality of the product. Not by raising paper quality or better coloring process or production improvements, but rather by giving creators more freedom. Every writer or artist I've ever spoken to does not want carte blanch to write anything and everything their hearts desire. What they want to be given is control and respect and not jerked around. That's the way to keep and attract talent. I think the first thing would be to broaden the talent pool. There are few Jim Lees in the world, but one thing he shows is that an artist (and sometimes a writer) can single handedly generate a lot of buzz on a character and translate it into better sales. Most creators love Marvel characters but hate Marvel. The company Marvel is made up of people, and it's a business. When Quesada took over, he was supposed to understand what other artists needed and wanted. His leadership though has turned him into a guy who's less about doing what's best for Marvel and more about what's best for himself. How Starlin was treated on Thanos was rediculous (and now the title's gone) and that could have been a great book (basically, Quesada pulled Starlin's use of Warlock without even discussing it). It's these little things that are such glaring, glaring miscalculations about something as simple as respecting the creators who are out there. Bendis can't write every book.

 

2) I would find a way to lower prices without lowering paper quality. This is a hard thing to do. My first inclination is to ask creators to take slightly less pay. Of course, I doubt that'd go over well or truly lower the prices enough. On books like X-Men and other core titles, I'd try to lower the price back to $2 a book. Amazing Spidey, Spec Spidey, X-Men etc. which would be mainstream titles because their sales numbers are greater could probably sustain a lowered price. Additionally, these are the titles that could be marketed to a greater audience. The bottom line is, old school fanboys (like myself) say we'd buy the lowered paper quality, lessor coloring etc., etc. But we're a dying breed. You know how many kids think the Spawn book looks cool because of how its colored drawn with slick paper? A lot. That appeals to them. Sure some kids wouldn't care, but most do and most are impressed with it. When DC, Dark Horse and other companies all have their same quality and Marvel lowers theirs, it won't make the comics more appealable to kids.

 

3) I'd change Marvel's entire editorial philosophy. Right now it's: write a 6 part story arc so we can reprint it in trade. I don't disagree that there are many stories that could be told in 6 parts, but I would encourage a lessened use of it. I would suggest using sub plots to be woven throughout self contained stories. This way, one could still reprint the stories in trade eventually, but readers wouldn't walk away from a book thinking, I can wait for the trade and it'll be the same thing. Additionally, multi-part stories can be cool, as can multi book cross overs, but i'd use it very sparingly. I'd also emphasize and keep to books coming out on time. The excuse used on Kevin Smith books has always been, well, he's Kevin Smith so if the book comes out 10 months late, so what? My response would be, then don't write it at all. That would be fine -- work for someone else, but unless you can finish a project, don't start it. I don't care who you are.

 

4) Marvel's current attitude towards retailers is basically f--- you. I would certainly change that and make an effort to actually listen and implement things certain retailers have ideas on. Not everything, not all the time, but I can't imagine that they never have a good idea.

 

5) If made EIC, I'd probably blow the Marvel Universe up (a la Crisis) and truly, truly clean house. The only thing unaffected would be the Ultimate Universe and I'd allow that to continue in a careful way, supervising it so that it didn't become just a repeat, but more innovative ideas and takes on modernizing characters. I'd also restore some sense of continuity and flow. Not that every book or everything has to fit together, but I'd streamline the history down to make it easier for writers to come on board and tranisition without being bogged down, but also respecting continuity as well.

 

6) Forget relaunches. Pick a numbering system and stick with it.

 

7) I'd make an effort to have Marvel itself start "thinking outside the box" and coming up with new ideas. I can't think of them all by myself, but I guarantee there are great ideas and risks that Marvel can take. In the 70s, it seems like Marvel was trend setting because it pushed the boundaries. It doesn't do that anymore and I think Marvel has lost its luster.

[Silver Surfer]

I just looked at the July numbers for Marvel on Diamond's site and in the attached discussion thread someone posted sales figures going back to 1997. In 1997 Iron, Avengers, Wolverine, FF, Aptain America all hit over 110K units. Now most of these are lucky to 50K. I was shocked by the following numbers (FF-48K, Cap 40K, Wolverine 66k, Avengers 57k (yearly average). The numbers started to slip in 1999 so in 5 years they have lost almost half their regular audience? They don't need to reinvent the wheel they just need to go back to basics and get some talent in the system. Didn't Stan sign off in the mid-90's?

 

This is the first time I have really looked at specific sales totals year-over-year and I must say that they are very depressing.

[BradleyX2]

Kevin Smith worked with DC on Green Arrow, maybe he'd be open to working with Marvel.

 

 

He's already in the middle of two limited-series for Marvel right now. Come to think of it, that's been the status quo for two years now. And I mean, the SAME TWO limited series.

[BradleyX2]

6) Forget relaunches. Pick a numbering system and stick with it.

 

 

How's this for an idea- suppose Marvel is going to start a new series called HERO-GUY. The first issue, as expected, will be Volume 1 # 1. But the next issue released can be HERO-GUY Volume 2 # 1. Follow that with HERO-GUY Volume 3 # 1, etc.

 

Think about it, *every* issue can have that guaranteed sales-hook on the cover: "Collector's Item FIRST Issue!"