DC Comics Down Over $2 Million On Projected Figures For 2015

[Ares]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/08/25/dc-comics-down-2-million-on-projected-figures-for-20142015/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

Word reaches Bleeding Cool from numerous well-connected sources that, according to the books, DC Comics are down over 2 million dollars for the financial year beginning in 2015 than they were originally budgeted for, so far.

 

And why?

 

I’m told that it’s a mixture of excess costs from the move from New York to Burbank, over and above what was planned, as well as a reduction in revenue due to a poorer performance that was expected from the Convergence event, and a lack of a bump for the June mini-relaunch.

 

And all those returnable comics have to be paid for somewhere. It was this kind of thing that saw DC Comics restrict the qualification for DC titles to be made returnable.

 

What is happening as a result? Well, I’m told that DC Comics beancounters have a plan.

[Thawk]

I’m told that DC Comics beancounters have a plan.

 

Making more of their $2.99 comics $4.99?

 

I'm a DC fan through and through, but every time they say they won't increase the issue prices, they do

[jaybuck43]

[revat]

convergence clearly did awful. THERE'S SSOOOOOO many left everywhere. And its so OBVIOUS because of the way those covers are designed.

 

 

 

 

[revat]

1. I'm sure JRJR costs a bunch, but equally sure he's not worth it. CUT HIM like a 31 year old running back.

 

2. Start a new fun book for teen/young women, not unlike Ms Marvel.

 

 

[BettrFastrStrongr]

Maybe if they did the New 25 they wouldn't be in this mess.

 

[sharkbait]

I think the golden key for DC is going to be Vertigo.

 

They should be like Image and print a ton titles with low overhead and allow independent creators another avenue for their books to be published.

 

 

[John Campbell]

No disrespect intended for fans of either DC or Marvel comics, but both of the Big 2 have become such convoluted messes most of what they produce is a chore to read. EVERYTHING these days is some "when worlds collide" "Crisis on Infinite Earths" nonsense. I don't even mind the occasional alternate reality or time travel story, but can anyone really make heads or tails of anything these companies produce anymore?

 

DC and Marvel want better sales? Be better storytellers. Show real consequences for character's actions. Don't insult your readers' intelligence. STOP WITH THE MAGIC RESET BUTTONS! Start treating your characters like living-breathing people with real-world motivations and not just an IP to be exploited or drive your stock price up whenever profit margins are calling for some huge crossover to maximize $$$.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I used to be a diehard Marvel fan for well over a decade ... and what I'm seeing today gives me ZERO interest in being more than a casual browser.

 

[Thawk]

1. I'm sure JRJR costs a bunch, but equally sure he's not worth it. CUT HIM like a 31 year old running back.

 

 

+1 ^ Haha - best thing I've read this month. Couldn't agree more - he's terrible on Supes.

[jcjames]

No disrespect intended for fans of either DC or Marvel comics, but both of the Big 2 have become such convoluted messes most of what they produce is a chore to read. EVERYTHING these days is some "when worlds collide" "Crisis on Infinite Earths" nonsense. I don't even mind the occasional alternate reality or time travel story, but can anyone really make heads or tails of anything these companies produce anymore?

 

DC and Marvel want better sales? Be better storytellers. Show real consequences for character's actions. Don't insult your readers' intelligence. STOP WITH THE MAGIC RESET BUTTONS! Start treating your characters like living-breathing people with real-world motivations and not just an IP to be exploited or drive your stock price up whenever profit margins are calling for some huge crossover to maximize $$$.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I used to be a diehard Marvel fan for well over a decade ... and what I'm seeing today gives me ZERO interest in being more than a casual browser.

 

^^^ ALL THIS x 1,000,000,000,000!!!!

 

 

[Brian48]

Actually, being down ONLY 2 mil is not too bad if you're taking into the consideration the relocation to the left coast. Uprooting a company, even if it's just the HQ, is very costly having gone through one myself (and that was a local relocation).

[FutureFlash]

1. I'm sure JRJR costs a bunch, but equally sure he's not worth it. CUT HIM like a 31 year old running back.

 

 

+1 ^ Haha - best thing I've read this month. Couldn't agree more - he's terrible on Supes.

 

Word!

 

 

[Davenport]

What is happening as a result? Well, I’m told that DC Comics beancounters have a plan.

Good news if their plan is to WAKE UP.

 

DC Comics spent 75 years building a brand. Then they trash it for what? Nehru collars and bat-mecha suits? Bunch of nonsense, all in the name of "being more relevant"?

 

Succeeding for 75 frikken' years might've been relevant after all. While crud and gimmick is irrelevant moments after hitting the street, always, always, always and forever.

[botolo]

I truly hope this is the beginning of the end of the current status of Marvel and DC Comics. I can't believe how many copies Marvel still sells, even after all these continuous reboots, renumbering, crazy .1 numberings and so on. I hope the market will respond and I hope we will go back to more rational comic book publishing.

[revat]

Actually, being down ONLY 2 mil is not too bad if you're taking into the consideration the relocation to the left coast. Uprooting a company, even if it's just the HQ, is very costly having gone through one myself (and that was a local relocation).

 

no disrespect, but I don't think you read the article closely enough.

 

they're not down 2M for the year in terms of Net Income/Loss, they're down 2M MORE THAN BUDGETED, which means they already budgeted for the move and sustained EXTRA LOSSES. That's pretty rough, as its still August. If most of the additional losses were 'move' related, then they might balance out a bit as the year goes on. If most of the extra losses were 'comic' related, then those losses will keep getting bigger for the next 4 months....

 

I think what's hurting DC now is that they're still too 'gritty' overall. When you think of the 'fun/funny' comics for marvel, you think Squirrel Girl, Ms Marvel, Deadpool, Starlord, Rocket, etc... even spidey to some extent. At least Ms Marvel and Deadpool do really well, while at least Starlord/Rocket do well with kids and help promote movies. And like it or not they've done a good job with their 'girl comics', being very successful with Squirrel Girl, Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, SpiderGwen, Silk, Thor. Plus obviously Star Wars helps, and Spidey always does well, and the cut FF, which no one was reading anyways. Plus there's still enough well known grit with Daredevil, Punisher, Moon Knight, etc should the need arise. I think part of the successful 'girl-revolution' of Marvel has been creating heroes that don't use their sexuality overtly as a superpower, the way that has been done in the past, and the way that DC still kinda does.

 

DC just hasn't been able to appeal in such a diverse way to so many different types of people. Its all pretty serious except for the occasional sadistic funny stuff from Suicide Squad and Harley. Although they for sure do the magic side/horror wayyyy better.

[kimik]

Marvel's non-Star Wars or Secret Wars (with a million variants) lines are not doing well at all. In July, ASM 19.1 was their top selling regular book with only 67, 521 copies, well below Batman #42, Justice League #42 and TWD #144. The same can be said for DC - outside of Batman, Justice League and Harley, their sales are flagging.

 

It looks like DC needs to do better summer events and issue a ton of decent #1s with multiple variant covers to drive sales. The fact that they did not realize this is a huge indictment of their management - Marvel realized this long ago. All that DC has to do is copy them. FWIW, a broader Darkseid War storyline would have been better than the brutal effort that was Convergence......

 

WRT the more light hearted books, it is interesting that Harley (~66,000 per month pre-convergence) sells nearly as many copies per month as Deadpool (~40,000 pre-Secret Wars) and Ms. Marvel (~32,000 pre-Secret Wars) combined. I don't think going lighthearted/more fun is the way to go. In the end, having solid storylines and artwork sells.

 

As far as the $2M more than budgeted for the move, that would mean that someone needs to be fired on the finance side. I also suspect it meant that they had more people leave the company than they were expecting to - severance packages add up fast.

[ComicConnoisseur]

No disrespect intended for fans of either DC or Marvel comics, but both of the Big 2 have become such convoluted messes most of what they produce is a chore to read. EVERYTHING these days is some "when worlds collide" "Crisis on Infinite Earths" nonsense. I don't even mind the occasional alternate reality or time travel story, but can anyone really make heads or tails of anything these companies produce anymore?

 

DC and Marvel want better sales? Be better storytellers. Show real consequences for character's actions. Don't insult your readers' intelligence. STOP WITH THE MAGIC RESET BUTTONS! Start treating your characters like living-breathing people with real-world motivations and not just an IP to be exploited or drive your stock price up whenever profit margins are calling for some huge crossover to maximize $$$.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I used to be a diehard Marvel fan for well over a decade ... and what I'm seeing today gives me ZERO interest in being more than a casual browser.

Good post.

Too many crossovers at $4.99.

People got turned off, not to mention all the variant covers.

 

[botolo]

Good post.

Too many crossovers at $4.99.

People got turned off, not to mention all the variant covers.

 

A month ago, because of the mess created by Secret Wars and the thousands of new titles, reboots, etc. I decided to cancel my subscriptions with Mile High Comics. I explained the reason and they told me that I was not the only one doing that!

 

Unfortunately, I am way too addicted to the Marvel Universe and I am back with my subscriptions, but what Mile High Comics told me should make us think. I feel we are in a bubble similar to the one we had at the time of die-cut covers, tons of titles for the same character, etc.

[Mr 9.8]

No disrespect intended for fans of either DC or Marvel comics, but both of the Big 2 have become such convoluted messes most of what they produce is a chore to read. EVERYTHING these days is some "when worlds collide" "Crisis on Infinite Earths" nonsense. I don't even mind the occasional alternate reality or time travel story, but can anyone really make heads or tails of anything these companies produce anymore?

 

DC and Marvel want better sales? Be better storytellers. Show real consequences for character's actions. Don't insult your readers' intelligence. STOP WITH THE MAGIC RESET BUTTONS! Start treating your characters like living-breathing people with real-world motivations and not just an IP to be exploited or drive your stock price up whenever profit margins are calling for some huge crossover to maximize $$$.

 

Sorry for the rant, but I used to be a diehard Marvel fan for well over a decade ... and what I'm seeing today gives me ZERO interest in being more than a casual browser.

Good post.

Too many crossovers at $4.99.

People got turned off, not to mention all the variant covers.

Your Back!? Already?

[revat]

Good post.

Too many crossovers at $4.99.

People got turned off, not to mention all the variant covers.

 

A month ago, because of the mess created by Secret Wars and the thousands of new titles, reboots, etc. I decided to cancel my subscriptions with Mile High Comics. I explained the reason and they told me that I was not the only one doing that!

 

Unfortunately, I am way too addicted to the Marvel Universe and I am back with my subscriptions, but what Mile High Comics told me should make us think. I feel we are in a bubble similar to the one we had at the time of die-cut covers, tons of titles for the same character, etc.

 

for something like these supercrossovers, I think it makes more sense to just buy/read the well reviewed TPB's after the fact (or online months later).