An idea for increasing comic book sales

[DeadXMan]

1. Fire the X-Editors
2. Keep Fraction, Millar, Morrison, and JMS off main titles.
3. Lower Prices
4. get comic books back into Gas stations and Grocery stores
5. Lower prices
6. have balls
7 no events for five years
8. Stop trade waiting, Make it six months to a year after the story concludes to print trades and more expensive the collecting floppies
9. require writers to have the plot out line done and turned in before the story goes to print that way they can hire someone to write script if they drag there asses (looking at you The Twelve)

[SUPERECWFAN1]

1. Fire the X-Editors
2. Keep Fraction, Millar, Morrison, and JMS off main titles.
3. Lower Prices
4. get comic books back into Gas stations and Grocery stores
5. Lower prices
6. have balls
7 no events for five years
8. Stop trade waiting, Make it six months to a year after the story concludes to print trades and more expensive the collecting floppies
9. require writers to have the plot out line done and turned in before the story goes to print that way they can hire someone to write script if they drag there asses (looking at you The Twelve)

Ya had me sold til the part about kicking off the good X-Men writers.

[DeadXMan]

Ya had me sold til the part about kicking off the good X-Men writers.

No, I'm Keeping PAD, Yost, Kyle, and Aarron.

[Muireann]

Fire the X-Editors and DC editors
Cut down on the violence and adult content
Make heroes heroes again we live in bleak times shouldn't there be hope
Stop ignoring girls
Stop ignoring women
which means cut it out with the rape and the fridge
Publish a verity of material from fantasy , Robin hood, everyday slice of life to superheros
Romance comics
humor etc....
Go digital
give respect and you will get it.
Make all ages books as well as kids so parents can buy them.
at least that's what I think.

[ryuluddy]

Fire the X-Editors and DC editors
Cut down on the violence and adult content
Make heroes heroes again we live in bleak times shouldn't there be hope
Stop ignoring girls
Stop ignoring women
which means cut it out with the rape and the fridge
Publish a verity of material from fantasy , Robin hood, everyday slice of life to superheros
Romance comics
humor etc....
Go digital
give respect and you will get it.
Make all ages books as well as kids so parents can buy them.
at least that's what I think.

Right on! These are great ideas.

I couldn't agree more that comics need to go after a more all ages approach. I agree that women need to be objectified less in comics, it certainly isn't making them want to read comics.

[Muireann]

Right on! These are great ideas.

I couldn't agree more that comics need to go after a more all ages approach. I agree that women need to be objectified less in comics, it certainly isn't making them want to read comics.

Thanks I didn't think I had good ideas and what I meant by respect is you are holding 70 years worth of creation don't trash it just for cheap shock value.
And put the kids books in I don't know a Toy Store or in the Children's section at the bookstore.

Heck older tamer books are very popular at libraries with kids.

like others have said women will read comics (we like Manga) when you offer us something we like
hell we find a guy who's a single dad and a hero sexy and we'll tell all our friends and they'll tell theirs and so on..

Also people liked to be uplifted rather than depressed when reading fiction.

[diablo7]

1. Fire the X-Editors
2. Keep Fraction, Millar, Morrison, and JMS off main titles.
3. Lower Prices
4. get comic books back into Gas stations and Grocery stores
5. Lower prices
6. have balls
7 no events for five years
8. Stop trade waiting, Make it six months to a year after the story concludes to print trades and more expensive the collecting floppies
9. require writers to have the plot out line done and turned in before the story goes to print that way they can hire someone to write script if they drag there asses (looking at you The Twelve)

I like all your ideas but the morrison one. :) I really agree with number 8 and I'd add that not everything needs to be collected in a trade. To keep books in book stores they could put out some original graphic novels. That way people in book stores could pick up a self contained story that doesn't need a lot of knowledge of marvel or dc history to enjoy.

I'd also add for things to happen in ever issue which means the hero does something super. Also don't let the format dictate the story, in other words don't pad out a 2 or 3 issue story into a 4-6 issue story.

And get writers that can write the genre. Stop getting guys that write crime stories or normal people that do normal things to write stories of supermen, mutants, gods and worlds greatest heroes. I'm sure there are writers out there that have the imagination to write super heroes the way they should be.

[diablo7]

Thanks I didn't think I had good ideas and what I meant by respect is you are holding 70 years worth of creation don't trash it just for cheap shock value.
And put the kids books in I don't know a Toy Store or in the Children's section at the bookstore.

Heck older tamer books are very popular at libraries with kids.

like others have said women will read comics (we like Manga) when you offer us something we like
hell we find a guy who's a single dad and a hero sexy and we'll tell all our friends and they'll tell theirs and so on..

Also people liked to be uplifted rather than depressed when reading fiction.

I like your ideas too. I'd subscribe to your newsletter. :)

[TheDragonclaw]

Toys R Us does carry kids books...and it's about as trashed as every other section is Toys R Us...not inviting at all :p

I do think the publishers could do a lot more to send all those potential customers into shops for comics...

Partner with the stores for the upcoming movies. Have bumpers before and after with "follow more adventures of Green Lantern at...." and pop up with the closest few stores to the theater.

Insert a coupon into the video games and DVDs for a free comic. (Let stores redeem them with diamond for credit on their account.) get them used to thinking that they WANT to go to the comic book store and maybe it will become the habit we'd like to see it as.

Not everything needs to be a big crossover. Sometimes short "villain of the month" stories are just FINE...especially for the newer readers who may just want a floppy here and there. I can tell you from experience that the biggest complaint my 7 year old (at the time) son had was that every story he tried to pick up was somewhere in the middle and nowhere near the end so he felt unfufilled by it.

[Hanzo the Razor]

BTW, I understand newsprint's actually more costly to print comics on because most modern printers can't handle it without tearing it apart.

Mike Allred mentioned that he switched to glossy paper from newsprint on his Atomics series for that very reason.

[Doug_Brunell]

I was always a fan of good stories to increase readership myself. I don't think the movies add much to sales, either (at least not when I worked in a comic book store). What needs to happen is no readers have to be drawn in, and they have to stay. Many of the ideas put forth are good ones, but the absolute best one is pure word of mouth. Talk about them with family, friends and co-workers who don't read comics. Eventually some of them might get interested.