EXCLUSIVE: DC Execs On Sales In Digital, Print & New 52 Wave Two

[CBR News]

DC Comics Bob Wayne and John Cunningham stop by to unpack the digital and print sales ranking from March with an eye towards the future, revealing which titles are on the rise, how collections will fare come May and more.


Full article here.

[Lemurion]

Lots of stuff to think about. I really wish we could get comparative numbers on the digital market because with all the different strategies it would be really interesting to see what works and what doesn't.

[SpideyCzar]

Anyone else notice that 7 of the 10 digital comics featured Batman? I guess it's easy to see who DC's true flagship character is.

[hondobrode]

I think the 2nd wave is going to do very well. Getting all 6.

[Cavemold]

Anyone else notice that 7 of the 10 digital comics featured Batman? I guess it's easy to see who DC's true flagship character is.

Is it batman???

[FHIZ]

Anyone else notice that 7 of the 10 digital comics featured Batman? I guess it's easy to see who DC's true flagship character is.

I don't even think that was a question. There are soon to be 12 books in the Bat line, compared to 4 in the Superman line. Batman is the charecter who keeps getting tv shows and movies. Batman is also the charecter you'll see the most on random merch. I flat out think no one can actually debate it.

[Nayrman]

Certainly something to think about. I've never really been fond of digital anything (why should I pay money on something I technically aren't owning?) but if it's good news for DC that they're doing pretty well, that's fine by me.

With all the Earth 2 stuff coming out soon, that should be the big focus, but I'm also interested in what'll happen to a) the character's whose books have been dropped, and b) other characters that haven't shown up yet, but are either pretty good for their own book or in the middle ground. Gotta set up the whole universe again but we see more and more Batman stuff, which financially makes sense, as he's the biggest seller, but even at the start I felt there were too many Bat-books (and hell, I love Batman, so normally I'm all for more Bat-stuff).

[2 Up 2 Down]

Glad to hear that I, Vampire is growing on the digital side.

[hondobrode]

Yeah, me too. It's a very, very good title.

Characters have their times. I know it's hard to believe, but I remember years ago when Wolverine wasn't Marvel's biggest character either.

[Brian from Canada]

I totally agree on the overload of Bat, especially when Batman & Robin seems to overlap with Batman Inc. — and there are too many characters that don't have books yet.

But on the plus side, I think this article continues to reaffirm that DC is going its own way. Marvel may be riding high on an event featuring its two biggest franchises, but what happens when the event is over? At least with DC, they know the upcoming events will be bumps but they're worried about the line overall and keeping it healthy, which I think is smart for them to do.

Especially when the New 52 hits trades and we can start to see some fallouts or boosts based on who's waiting for them over the monthlies.

[Badger1701]

I totally agree on the overload of Bat, especially when Batman & Robin seems to overlap with Batman Inc. — and there are too many characters that don't have books yet.

But on the plus side, I think this article continues to reaffirm that DC is going its own way. Marvel may be riding high on an event featuring its two biggest franchises, but what happens when the event is over? At least with DC, they know the upcoming events will be bumps but they're worried about the line overall and keeping it healthy, which I think is smart for them to do.

Especially when the New 52 hits trades and we can start to see some fallouts or boosts based on who's waiting for them over the monthlies.

Overall, I think DC is in better shape, but I worry that they may be starting down the same slippery slope as Marvel when they begin replacing the lower selling titles with more books for their best-selling characters. How many Batman books will there be before they dilute the property so much that they start seeing diminishing returns?

[Desaad]

Overall, I think DC is in better shape, but I worry that they may be starting down the same slippery slope as Marvel when they begin replacing the lower selling titles with more books for their best-selling characters. How many Batman books will there be before they dilute the property so much that they start seeing diminishing returns?

But to be fair, the only Batman book that they are putting out is Batman Inc, which is the continuation/conclusion of a long running/standing Batman run that was hugely popular. I think it would be far more egregious if they didn't publish it. Yes, they'll probably keep it going once Morrison is finished, no I have no idea who they could get to write it (Jason Aaron, please?!), but still it's only one more book and it's one that has a very specific reason to exist, IMHO.

They're still making efforts to diversify their genre base with more War comics, the new Dial H book, the Ravagers book, and launching an entirely new franchise with Earth 2 and World's Finest.

[turtlefood]

But to be fair, the only Batman book that they are putting out is Batman Inc, which is the continuation/conclusion of a long running/standing Batman run that was hugely popular. I think it would be far more egregious if they didn't publish it. Yes, they'll probably keep it going once Morrison is finished, no I have no idea who they could get to write it (Jason Aaron, please?!), but still it's only one more book and it's one that has a very specific reason to exist, IMHO.

They're still making efforts to diversify their genre base with more War comics, the new Dial H book, the Ravagers book, and launching an entirely new franchise with Earth 2 and World's Finest.

I regret trade waiting I Vampire so i'm making an effort to order Dial H monthly.

[Desaad]

I love you, turtlefood. :)

My most anticipated book of the second wave is Batman Inc because that has already proven itself to be brilliant, but just after that is Dial H, which is much more in my...wheelhouse... (groan) in terms of content and has such a superlative author and artist attached.

And it's therefore the book I'm most worried about.