Comics are Awesome III

A general discussion forum, plus hauls and silly games.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Aquaman #44
Two issues of this new writer and new storyline are done, and I'm thinking this book feels very decompressed. The ground covered could have been covered in half an issue. Aquaman still doesn't have his memory back (or his orange shirt), though we've learned a few things. He's stuck on an island of "sea gods" in human form, so this "Namma" that they're afraid of must be strong to overcome all of them. And Mera, back in Atlantis, is apparently being pressured to choose a consort, while of course she wants Aquaman back. Good art, sloooooooow burn of a story. I preferred Abnett's early issues.

Hawkman #8
Carter Hall heads for the remains of Krypton, hoping that contact with them will send him into the past to make contact with another of his past lives and give him the weapon needed to defeat the Deathbringers. And we spend a very pleasant issue where he walks and talks with Catar-ol of Krypton as the planet is about to explode. Unlike Prince Khufu and Katar Hol, Catar-ol is an intelligent and civilized man, who has remembered more than Carter but has not yet completed the weapon, much to Carter's dismay. However, at the end, Carter is still somehow in contact with him, even in the present day. Meanwhile, the Deathbringers have reached Earth, who must pay for harboring "the traitor".

Justice League #16
Two things get resolved this issue: Shayera Hol and Kendra Saunders, both aspects of Hawkgirl, get separated into two distinct individuals, who exist at the same time. And the Martian Manhunter finds out that he was experimented on at some point when he was a child, which marked him out as different and led to his being teleported from Mars by Dr. Erdel. Major changes to major characters, and more secrets hidden by the Maltusians/Guardians that are now coming to light. It's more big concept storytelling of the type that a Justice League series really ought to tell, and I like the results.

The Green Lantern #3
The Dhorians attempt to auction Earth off to the highest bidder, and the Green Lantern Corps move into stop them. The buyer, "God", the highest bidder, is an alien who intends to consume the Earth eventually. This is another dense issue with a lot going on (probably more than we know, given how Grant Morrison works). And Hal appears to kill the Dhorian auctioneer at the end of the issue. There has to be something going on here, so we'll see where the story goes from here.
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Dominic
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Looking to get your thoughts on this.


The local comic store (a chain) has recently changed how it orders comics, aiming much closer to "sell-through".

While selling through makes sense for some comics, they are ordering with razor thin margins on major titles ("Superman", "the Punisher" and such). For the last month or so, it has not been unheard of for major titles to sell through within an hour of the store opening. In other words, if people do not come in as part of the lunch-rush, they are not likely to get their comics.

This does not impact me much, as I have a pull-file. But, it does strike me as a losing strategy.

While nobody wants more than a few months worth of back-issues, selling through too quickly limits the number of potential new readers. Even I, who relies heavily on a pull-file still looks at the shelves. But, that requires comics to be on the shelves reliably. And, when comics have a high profile or media push (such as "Superman" or "the Punisher"), there is a good chance that a casual reader might be looking for it.

In theory, the store could push compilations. But, the higher price point that makes those more appealing may well make them harder to sell.

Thoughts?
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Dominic wrote:Looking to get your thoughts on this.


The local comic store (a chain) has recently changed how it orders comics, aiming much closer to "sell-through".

While selling through makes sense for some comics, they are ordering with razor thin margins on major titles ("Superman", "the Punisher" and such). For the last month or so, it has not been unheard of for major titles to sell through within an hour of the store opening. In other words, if people do not come in as part of the lunch-rush, they are not likely to get their comics.

This does not impact me much, as I have a pull-file. But, it does strike me as a losing strategy.

While nobody wants more than a few months worth of back-issues, selling through too quickly limits the number of potential new readers. Even I, who relies heavily on a pull-file still looks at the shelves. But, that requires comics to be on the shelves reliably. And, when comics have a high profile or media push (such as "Superman" or "the Punisher"), there is a good chance that a casual reader might be looking for it.

In theory, the store could push compilations. But, the higher price point that makes those more appealing may well make them harder to sell.

Thoughts?
My thoughts are the same as they are for toys: Supply should meet the demand. What would make sense is for them to look at how many copies of a given title sells each month and order the average of that so that they have around enough to both sell through and meet their pull lists with minimal if any left overs.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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In general I agree. Every comic shop owner/manager that I have ever spoken with has said that back-issues are not where the money is. (One of the reasons that some stores bump the prices is to make up for the space that back-issues use.)

But, there still needs to be a way for casual/new readers to find their way in to the hobby. "the Punisher" is getting a push because of the Netflix series. There might actually be somebody who wants to buy a current issue of "the Punisher". There is also the visual of bare shelves, which American retail traditionally seeks to avoid.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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I don't see how comic shop owners ever guess correctly on the number of books to order. Most books on the shelf at my LCS seem to stay there for months before vanishing, while others sell out and if you don't have a pull list, you're out of luck. Just based on that, I"d order a minimum amount beyond what the customers with a list want, and do my best to avoid overstock that will never move. I'm not sure I'd try to guess at what would be a hit or not, because many times I see a big stack of something that's supposed to be hot sitting on the shelf week after week.

Although, I do have to say that on a few occasions where I got into a series late and wanted to catch up, I appreciated several months worth of issues being on the shelf.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Back-issues are double-sided. I can understand why most stores do not want them. (I only want them....when I want them.)

But, consistently selling out on Wednesday strikes me as a step too far. I have a pull-file. But, in any given year, at least a third of what I read ends. And, I generally lose interest when a creative team changes. Even when a solicitation gets my attention, I rarely subscribe before reading an issue or two off the shelf. (And, I am a regular reader.)

Selling out of new comics on a Wednesday shuts out casual readers, and eliminates the prospect of them becoming consistent readers.

I dunno. I hope this works for the comic store. (The last thing I want is for them to go out of business.) But, I am skeptical.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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I can see why they would be wary of ordering too much on some titles. Superman, Batman and spiderman all have the same problem: 90% of their fan base doesn't read comics. I mean, how man Superman fans are there? Now, how many of them are reading Superman comics (or even step foot in a comic shop for that matter)? Superman has always been my favorite Superhero. You know when I actually decided to read some Superman comics? Two years ago. And I haven't read anything else with him since. And I'm someone who's actually in the comic shop. There are probably millions more out there like me who regard Supes as their favorite but never read comics.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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On the other hand, what titles are people likely to just randomly buy?

And, selling through is one thing. But, consistently selling through on a Wednesday is another.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Depends on their interest. I've been known to randomly buy titles of properties I enjoy in other media like God of War and Firefly. I generally avoid new titles from the big two due to their annual convoluted reboot that won't matter a year from now because it's always constantly changing and getting retconned. This is especially true of DC, which I tend to avoid like the plague while I have had some interest in Marvel titles (Thor, Beta Rey Bill, etc...).
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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If you avoid the big 2, you are probably used to working around sell-through. But, most people who avoid the big 2 are already in the hobby, rather than being casual.

Marvel holds a plurality on my pull-file, and I have still relied heavily on pull-files.

the Punisher: sells through more quickly than it should. Might be restocked by the end of the week, but the lost opportunities of Wednesday are lost.
Captain America: Ditto
Superior Spider-Man: secondary title in a large editorial family. Easy to miss, even when people know it is there.

WWE: the longest running series on my pull-file (2 years and counting). And, the only thing on my pull-file that I have actually missed stuff from. (There has been at least one mini-series, and possibly a few oneshots, that the store may not have even ordered.) WWE is a comic tied to a major license. And, the single issues are ordered to match subscriptions, with maybe a copy or two for the shelves. Sells through. Compilations are ordered inconsistently. I should not need a pull-file for this one.

Mega Man Mastermix: Nominally ships every two months, but Udon Publishing is less than consistent about this. Nobody is reading this without a pull-file.

Peter Cannon Thunderbolt: I am amazed that I managed to find the first issue on shelves. Added to my pull-file.


"Transformers" usually sold through on Wednesdays, and the new series is likely to do the same.
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