Why are so many titles late?

[stealthwise]

Don't tell me it's always because of quality. Not every book is an Alan Moore title (ie Watchmen) or an Ultimates. I dig Green Lantern, but there's no way that it should take as long as it does to come out.

I'm thinking that we're heading towards a bi-monthly model, and I'm not a fan of that. I'd rather have books come out on time, or hell, come out with fill-in stories that deal with the supporting characters and/or setting (ala Times Past on Starman), rather than wait and wait and wait.

I cancelled Civil War and am basically avoiding the majority of Marvel's output for this reason. The quality's just not there to justify it every time.

What's the solution though? Personally I'm either switching to trades, or sticking to books that will stay on track 90% of the time. What do you do though if you want to keep reading, but are getting frustrated by the delays? I'm thinking that more lead time is one solution, though getting either of the big two to enforce that seems impossible at this point.

[Cayman]

I only care that the book is good when it comes out. I hate crappy fill-ins.

[heystacy]

Some of them needed to be late. i remember when i dropped Teen Titans. The stories were bland. I head it got much better after IC, but I am not impressed. I paid good money for those books. i wanted to have a great reading experience.

Likewise I remember when New X-Men was late. I waited, and in hindsight, I should not have. Time is money, and I understand, after studying graphic design, for a couple of years that when you miss a deadline, you're fired.

Why support books I expect each month, when they are put into rotation too early, or peeps can't make the grade?

[Alex Dragon]

I only care that the book is good when it comes out. I hate crappy fill-ins.

Thank you. That needed to be said. I agree with you 100%. Of course when it comes to this subject you're going to get a lot of "Yeah, I want good books too, but..." comments.

[shrike]

According to Geoff Johns, books are late because right now QUALITY is important.

... like, uhm... the oooh so high quality of, uhm...


hm.

let me get back to that one.

[Kevinroc]

To annoy fanboys so they can whine on messageboards. :p

[TomStillwell]

Global warming.

I can tell you Honor Brigade #3 is late because my artist hurt his leg and can't sit for long periods of time. That's one book down with a decent reason.

[TCJohnson]

The reason why so many books are getting late is because editors are getting are shying away from fill in artists.

[Azrael52]

*Looks at title of thread*

Um . . . because . . . they didn't use protection?

[NickThompson]

Less fill-in artists, issues from the drawer or reprints, I guess.

[stealthwise]

Is it really unreasonable to expect them to be able to get a good fill-in artist with a solid story? It can't be that tough can it? I mean, I could understand if, like, a creator-owned book like Y or Fables shipped late and they didn't want to disrupt the flow of the story by using a fill-in but... those books actually ship on time (or pretty damned close) every time.

Is a three month lead time on most books going to kill the revenue flow? I mean, it's not a guarantee that the title will ship on time in the long run (Ultimates), but it's still going to give them some breathing room, or at least the ability to scramble enough to have a decent fill-in. And there's NO way that a mini-series like Civil War, which is tied into nearly every single Marvel universe title, should be allowed to ship as late as it did. And don't get me started on Kevin Smith's Black Ca....

Yeah, I know, I'm just repeating the complaints of the past few years, but those things BEAR repeating. Just because you've heard it before doesn't mean that it should be ignored, because it's still a problem. If you don't mind waiting then great, that's your solution, but what about everyone else, what's your take on this? Do you sit and take it and grumble, or do you change your buying habits, or complain to Marvel and DC, or both or neither or what?

[The Xenos]

Well the reason we get monthly comics is so that we have the last issue somewhat fresh in our heads. Being months to almost bi-yearly? That just kills the story.

At that rate, they might as well have released the book as a trade, pretty much an actual graphic novel. I definately see that as working out for many of these mini-series or even story arcs that get crammed into regular series. I know, many say graphic novels and such don't sell. Yet late books are terrible.

Plus people used to say manga didn't sell. Now the damn things are outselling top comics. I think the fear of leaving monthlies behind save for the books that really can ship monthly is really hurting the industry. It's trying to get blood from a stone instead of looking at the juicy animals around it. Mmm.. blood.

At the same time, if you're new talent, a publisher may not want to risk a whole graphic novel on your. Then individual issues to test out new talent makes sense. So, honestly, that is a problem with my idea.

[heystacy]

*Looks at title of thread*

Um . . . because . . . they didn't use protection?

Thank God I gave up lattes for the rest of the week. I could have choked reading this. ;)

[heystacy]

Is it really unreasonable to expect them to be able to get a good fill-in artist with a solid story? It can't be that tough can it? I mean, I could understand if, like, a creator-owned book like Y or Fables shipped late and they didn't want to disrupt the flow of the story by using a fill-in but... those books actually ship on time (or pretty damned close) every time.

Is a three month lead time on most books going to kill the revenue flow? I mean, it's not a guarantee that the title will ship on time in the long run (Ultimates), but it's still going to give them some breathing room, or at least the ability to scramble enough to have a decent fill-in. And there's NO way that a mini-series like Civil War, which is tied into nearly every single Marvel universe title, should be allowed to ship as late as it did. And don't get me started on Kevin Smith's Black Ca....

Yeah, I know, I'm just repeating the complaints of the past few years, but those things BEAR repeating. Just because you've heard it before doesn't mean that it should be ignored, because it's still a problem. If you don't mind waiting then great, that's your solution, but what about everyone else, what's your take on this? Do you sit and take it and grumble, or do you change your buying habits, or complain to Marvel and DC, or both or neither or what?

I haven't been reading Civil War, but I understand the delay is causing several other titles to be delayed as well (as to not spoil the CW story). Does anybody know for sure?

That being said, I love comics, enjoy reading them, the delays have been awful in the past.

The bottom line is for the editors to maintian the flow and timing of the comics being produced. I get the feeling that launching certain books takes priority over how quickly the hired creative team can produce said summer blockbuster.

[Kevinroc]

I haven't been reading Civil War, but I understand the delay is causing several other titles to be delayed as well (as to not spoil the CW story). Does anybody know for sure?

That being said, I love comics, enjoy reading them, the delays have been awful in the past.

The bottom line is for the editors to maintian the flow and timing of the comics being produced. I get the feeling that launching certain books takes priority over how quickly the hired creative team can produce said summer blockbuster.

Yes, it's known for sure that Marvel delayed several tie-in comics so as not to spoil Civil War. Books like Frontline, Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four (as well as several other books) were delayed so as not to spoil the main mini-series.

The delays do make one question how important we should view just one story. Frankly, Stealthwise always seemed to be looking for any reason to drop the crossover and seems grateful he can use the delay as an excuse. But maybe I'm reading things the wrong way.