Market Share: Marvel vs. DC

[Brad Barton]

Marvel might not be making any money on all their books. They could be taking a hit (or just breaking even) on their MANY miniseries in a concerted effort to control market share and hurt the competition.

I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. How many series have they axed that fans absolutely loved because they weren't selling? Many. I'm sure being the leader in the industry (usually) is a nice feather in their cap, but they're first and foremost a business.

[Chiasm]

How exactly are you calculating "average market share per book"? Up until September, Marvel pretty much was leading...

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

Marvel wins dollar share because they put out a lot more books, many of which cost $1.00 more than DC. Marvel wins market share because they put out a lot more books and frequently double ship (I'm seriously starting to think the only Marvel book I still get, X-men Legacy, has gone bi-weekly). But if you take the total number of books sold that month and divide it by the number of books shipped I'm not so sure that Marvel would win. That eliminates pricing variables and eliminates the effects of double shipping. If you haven't been paying attention to the charts the last few years you might not realize that the top franchise in all of comics is Green and has a Lantern and its not even close.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

Marvel might not be making any money on all their books. They could be taking a hit (or just breaking even) on their MANY miniseries in a concerted effort to control market share and hurt the competition.

I imagine that the reason Marvel has been ramping up on minis is that there's less a chance of them losing money in the long run. Otherwise, why bother? And Marvel's minis have been pretty damn good as of late.

[djsweet]

They miiiiight.... but why do you think they would do that?
The print out looks good on the office wall?
They don't like money?
Or they like it on top?

Think about it. If Marvel can make money on 75 titles (most of them monthlies) and they can also put out another 30 titles that pretty much break even, why wouldn't they? A, they sell more books/ control the market. B, they take money away from the competition.

[turtlefood]

Think about it. If Marvel can make money on 75 titles (most of them monthlies) and they can also put out another 30 titles that pretty much break even, why wouldn't they? A, they sell more books/ control the market. B, they take money away from the competition.

They also make sure their large amount of writers have projects to work on, along with keeping the shelves full of Marvel books thing. I'm not really opposed to it, bring on the minis. If Marvel doesn't mind mini rotations of books that sell 10-19k, i sure don't. I don't ask DC to do the same thing though, especially since a lot of their writers are artists/execs/editors/etc. I don't think Finch is asking for more projects

The only thing that is irksome is the thought that the large amount of books on the shelves insures lower sales for smaller ongoing titles and thus a revolving door of cancelations instead of minis. Also think Marvel fans can't wipe away context to justify the sales charts. The response to Marvel putting out a ton of books and winning marketshare isn't asking DC to put out 20 extra low selling books a month to close the gap.

[djsweet]

I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. How many series have they axed that fans absolutely loved because they weren't selling? Many. I'm sure being the leader in the industry (usually) is a nice feather in their cap, but they're first and foremost a business.

Series is the key word here. Axe one series and green light 3 mini's of a popular character that sells just as minimally or less.

[Alex Keller]

True quality can only be measured in sales.

Nope.

Strong sales = strong marketing.

It has nothing to do with quality.

[Rasputin9977]

I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. How many series have they axed that fans absolutely loved because they weren't selling? Many. I'm sure being the leader in the industry (usually) is a nice feather in their cap, but they're first and foremost a business.

I never understood why people say this. Yes Marvel is a business but businesses tend to cater to their clients. Marvel flooding the market with so many redundant issues isn't catering to clients its pushing the competition away.

[mikekerrIII]

Please explain what you mean by "average sale per book."

Marvel does marginal better than DC on total sales while producing half as many titles, So DCs average title sells more than marvels

[mikekerrIII]

Marvel might not be making any money on all their books. They could be taking a hit (or just breaking even) on their MANY miniseries in a concerted effort to control market share and hurt the competition.

The last year the records were availble publicly, Marvel publishing had a net profit of over 30%, I doubt they were dumping books at a loss to gain market share

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

The last year the records were availble publicly, Marvel publishing had a net profit of over 30%, I doubt they were dumping books at a loss to gain market share

Well I wouldn't mind them reducing that about 5% if it meant cheaper books. :|

[djsweet]

The last year the records were availble publicly, Marvel publishing had a net profit of over 30%, I doubt they were dumping books at a loss to gain market share

But what if they are dumping them with no expectation of making a profit? Do you know the net profit of DC last year? Anyone?

[Hulk_Is]

>>>>Just for fun and IMO:

Overall Quality - DC. I just feel like DC has the overall quality.

Characters - Marvel. All of their characters feel like equals more or less. Whereas, DC's characters seem to have a severe dropoff point after naming their biggest ten names.

Artists - DC. Marvel has too many questionable artists.

Writers - Both. I enjoy both companies' writing.

Likes and dislikes of each

Marvel likes: I still feel like they have the 'coolest' characters and some books still retain that unmistakable Marvel charm or feel (Heroes For Hire). I also like how they set their books up for events and the double-shipping.

Marvel dislikes: Recap pages, alot of their artists, and Matt Fraction (j/k, sorta).

DC likes: Classier designs, greater artists, great suprises, and thier villains are top-notch even outside of the Batman rogues.

DC dislikes: Where to begin... ()

Winner: Marvel.

The places that I mostly think that DC can't hang with Marvel is in the characters department and in delivering a strong and cohesive vision as to what they want to do with their superhero efforts.

[Captain Planet]

Marvel flooding the market is a lame argument.

The argument that Marvel sells more because they flood the market doesn't make sense. If all you had to do was make lots of books to make money then every publisher would do it. You have to produce lots of books and they have to be books that people want to read.

Marvel may produce more books and if their sales are higher then its because people want those books, therefore they are more successful.

I love both but its apparent that Marvel generally makes better books when your method for evaluation is purely sales.

[Alan Smithee]

So, what if Marvel retakes Market share but needs 45 more titles to get there? Is DC a better company because they have a better market share per title?
Anyway, this is stupid. The only people that care about money are greedy A$$holes and shallow jerk@ffs

You mean the suits who run both places? Anyway, it's a valid thread. Simply put, the MU universe seems more relevant and relatable. That's the house that Marvel built. I only read DC comics when I was a kid, then switched to Marvel when I actually learned to read.

Annoying when someone ventures to post a perfectly fine thread, only to see it flamed by folks who only drop in to denounce something that obviously grabbed them enough of their attention to read it.