CBR: Tilting at Windmills - Jun 9, 2011

[CBR News]

Is 52 the magic number? Brian Hibbs is back with an in-depth look at DC Comics' September relaunch and how it all fits in to the modern-day realities of the Direct Market.


Full article here.

[Skyrider]

Very well written, and it touches upon a number of concerns I've had for this relaunch (as well as mentioning a number I never considered.)

I simply don't see how this risk can possibly pay off to the extent it needs to in the current market, especially considering fan reaction to the changes.

[matthew_lane]

Very well written, and it touches upon a number of concerns I've had for this relaunch (as well as mentioning a number I never considered.)

I simply don't see how this risk can possibly pay off to the extent it needs to in the current market, especially considering fan reaction to the changes.

yep, fact is that for every positive comment from someone saying "wow, i want to read this book" there are ten people like me who have looked at this new solict list & said "Well its been fun DC, call me when you've stopped being crazy & bring back the real DC Universe."

Seriously, i've gone from being an 8 title a month DC guy, to a ZERO title a month guy & i'm going to guess that there are going to be a lot of people who will be joining me.

Thats a pretty big "known unknowable" to overcome. As far as lapsed readship goes, i doubt many people will be compelled to pick up these titles... Unless of course there is a huge contingent of vertigo fans & people who just couldn't get enough of the grimdark early 1990's out there that i'm unaware of.

I can't believe i am actually actively wishing that DC completely fails.

[the Dagman]

I am worried about the shops that decide to take a gamble and order big. If this whole thing flops, what happens to them? And the direct market as a whole without them? It could be a bloodbath. They are going to release an average of 13 #1s a week in September. Thirteen. It should be more like two a week as the relaunch ramps up. Channel those who are interested into just a couple of books each week, that makes better marketing sense to me. If DC wants this to succeed.

Perhaps they should take even more advantage of their digital experiment and allow the LCS to sell their customers a digital code that allows them to download the book the day it is released for like $2.25 or something. That is 26¢ more per copy than they will get for it when they sell it online at the 30-day-later rate. And let the stores have that. DC makes their money, the stores get a cut without having to really invest, and their customers get a deal over the $2.99 cover price of the print issue. That way they would have a reason to still come to the store to get their comics the day or week they are released, even the digital ones. And that way you never are really sold out of a book either.

[Skyrider]

I am worried about the shops that decide to take a gamble and order big. If this whole thing flops, what happens to them? And the direct market as a whole without them? It could be a bloodbath. They are going to release an average of 13 #1s a week in September. Thirteen. It should be more like two a week as the relaunch ramps up. Channel those who are interested into just a couple of books each week, that makes better marketing sense to me. If DC wants this to succeed.

Perhaps they should take even more advantage of their digital experiment and allow the LCS to sell their customers a digital code that allows them to download the book the day it is released for like $2.25 or something. That is 26¢ more per copy than they will get for it when they sell it online at the 30-day-later rate. And let the stores have that. DC makes their money, the stores get a cut without having to really invest, and their customers get a deal over the $2.99 cover price of the print issue. That way they would have a reason to still come to the store to get their comics the day or week they are released, even the digital ones. And that way you never are really sold out of a book either.

Well the comics will be returnable at least in the first month, so that alone will (hopefully) stop this initiative from singlehandedly putting the LCSs out of business, but even if they undersell that could be just as big a problem.

I mean, most successful comic shops these days are no longer just comics shops. Many have incorporated tabletop games like Magic the Gathering and Warhammer, as well as classic tabletop RPGs and board games.

I'm not sure comics, on their own, are a sustainable business anymore and as such I worry that the LCS is inevitably doomed anyway.

I mean, digital releasing of some kind is inevitably the future of the medium, but where does that leave the shops? And if you're trying to get new readers, how do the comic companies expect to do it if they aren't advertising outside of the comics shops to begin with.

I haven't seen this DC initiative really marketed aside from a USA Today article and one other article that people around the world are going to largely ignore.

Again this feels like a huge risk for the industry without a clear vision of how to make sure it's successful. Most of these new titles seem to be dead men walking.

[the Dagman]

Double post from a single click on the post button. Go figure.

[Janissa]

Hibbs is correct. So why doesn't anyone at the top of DC Comics know this?? I'm looking at you Diane Nelson!

[JohnnyLiar]

personally, my pull from DC has gone up, and i've been seeing a lot of people say the same thing. It seems to me that for every person saying "I'm done with DC" There is someone who's pull is increasing.

[Gambit266]

yep, fact is that for every positive comment from someone saying "wow, i want to read this book" there are ten people like me who have looked at this new solict list & said "Well its been fun DC, call me when you've stopped being crazy & bring back the real DC Universe."

Seriously, i've gone from being an 8 title a month DC guy, to a ZERO title a month guy & i'm going to guess that there are going to be a lot of people who will be joining me.

Thats a pretty big "known unknowable" to overcome. As far as lapsed readship goes, i doubt many people will be compelled to pick up these titles... Unless of course there is a huge contingent of vertigo fans & people who just couldn't get enough of the grimdark early 1990's out there that i'm unaware of.

I can't believe i am actually actively wishing that DC completely fails.

The message boards are fuming, although this one seems to be trending positively for DC according the the few post it has. On the other hand for the first time in the recent memory, including the Death of Captain America and Obama Spidey, I've had friends who to my knowledge were not comic book fans ask me where to get some of the new DC stuff. A couple were the usual #1 collector mentality, but there were more than a few who seemed genuinely interested in starting up a couple of series.

Now the question comes down to what Brian said will DC advertise enough to hold interest and convert that into sales and second if people want a physical copy will the DM have enough on hand.

[TheZug]

This is a great article, and it seems evident that this relaunch poses problems for the direct market, but I ask you this:

Does DC care?

They've got comics on the shelves in Barnes & Noble now. These books will be available online. There's going to be a national ad campaign. I expect you'll be seeing more venues for these books that we haven't heard about yet.

So if the direct market can't stock all these books, how much will it matter--to DC--if they're selling like hotcakes on the iPad, B&N, and elsewhere?

I don't have the answer to that, but I'd be interested in hearing one.

I know this probably leaves the direct market feeling like they're being left out in the cold, but I think most everyone agrees that the answer wasn't in maintaining the current system. I imagine some stores will be able to capitalize on the ad campaign and the new awareness, but others, sadly, will probably go the way of all the indie bookstores many of us knew and loved.

[Brian Hibbs]

Does DC care?

They've got comics on the shelves in Barnes & Noble now. These books will be available online. There's going to be a national ad campaign. I expect you'll be seeing more venues for these books that we haven't heard about yet.

So if the direct market can't stock all these books, how much will it matter--to DC--if they're selling like hotcakes on the iPad, B&N, and elsewhere?

Oh, OF COURSE THEY CARE -- the Direct Market is a known and stable market that produces a regular and predicitible amount of money. DM stores sell more DC comics per square foot that and B&N could ever hope to, and the installed base of the iPad is too small to even begin to pay for the creative costs of comics production even if there was some sort of insane penetration and retention rate.

If the DM "shut down" tomorrow, DC would be unlikely to be able to claim more than, mm, a third? of the current readership moving to digital, or the newstand. And I think that's being radically optimistic. Comics production could not survive a 2/3 drop in revenue from comics sales.

-B

[SJNeal]

Hopefully someone has forwarded this article to DC...

[bluetyson]

They've got comics on the shelves in Barnes & Noble now. These books will be available online. There's going to be a national ad campaign. I expect you'll be seeing more venues for these books that we haven't heard about yet.

Like comic shops, there will be fewer Barnes & Noble shops next year.

Nation ad campaign - but do they have an international internet ad campaign is what is also interesting.

[johnnyrocket]

Ya know, if I were a publisher, I'd LISTEN to this guy....