Top 100 comics for April & Sales Estimates....

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

It's why I use dcbservice.com

If I went to a brick and mortar comic shop I couldn't get all the stuff I want to read on a monthly basis. I've already told myself once comics increase past 3.99 I'm out of this hobby. Because, even with a 35-40% discount it would be too much for me to pay for such little content.

I've starting pre-ordering as well. It's allowed me to try more books than I used to in the past.

[USERNAME TAKEN]

The competition is very good for the industry and those who keep hoping for the demise of one company are self defeating.

It's unfortunate that Image isn't an equal part of a 3-way competition. They really are putting out some great work that I think is superior in quality and variety to the predictable superhero tripe. Yet despite the great comics, they're pretty much ignored by the majority. That's a shame.

Agreed.

Image's performance just shows the weakness of the direct market.

Saga issue 1 was over shipped but still had to go to a second and third printing because retailers didn't order enough.

Eric Stephenson pretty much said that Image's titles are being under-ordered simply because retailers "don't feel" they will sell. Its sad really, that's why I'm going all digital with my comics.

I have access to a wide library of titles at any time at my fingertips.

[Desaad]

Image is the real story, here. Look at that increase in market share and, more, just look at the quality of what they're putting out, and what they plan to put out. Yes, a number of their books are pretty stupid and pretty mediocre, I admit, just like any comic company, but they are putting out some of the most exciting titles on the market right now, between Saga and Manhattan Projects and Prophet.

Even if not all of them are my cup of tea, so many of them are objectively well written and well crafted, and whats more really, truly, originally DIFFERENT. Very exciting.

[Candid Rook]

Daredevil got a nice boost, although Punisher is still down in the 30K range strangely enough considering it was part 2 of a 3-part crossover.

Well Punisher did get a pretty big boost from 22,000 to 32,000. Hopefully that sticks, at the very least. Would have liked it to be a bit more as well though. Best case scenario is that Punishers sales may have been capped by stores underestimating orders as I found it very difficult to get a hold of online. The issues basically disappeared as soon as they were put on ebay. Having said that I haven't heard of a second printing in the works so I am probably wrong.

[SpideyCzar]

I've starting pre-ordering as well. It's allowed me to try more books than I used to in the past.

I've given titles like Winter Soldier, Avengers Academy, Scarlet Spider, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and the upcoming Captain Marvel a try when if I saw them in a shop I probably wouldn't even consider trying them out. It's quickly becoming a expensive hobby for me.

[Desaad]

And I say that as someone who thinks the best stuff from DC, Vertigo and Marvel does compete with the best stuff from Image -- this isn't "Image is saving the industry!", but I do think their creator owned model is going to be a bigger and bigger part of the pie, more popular as the years go on, and on the same level as Marvel and DC in 10 or 20 years.

I'll put Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Dial H, Action Comics, WOnder Woman, Batman Inc, Daredevil, Wolverine and the X Men, Fantastic Four/FF, Journey Into Mystery, Batman, Frankenstein, The Shade, etc up against anything Image is doing, but still...pretty great.

[USERNAME TAKEN]

And I say that as someone who thinks the best stuff from DC, Vertigo and Marvel does compete with the best stuff from Image -- this isn't "Image is saving the industry!", but I do think their creator owned model is going to be a bigger and bigger part of the pie, more popular as the years go on, and on the same level as Marvel and DC in 10 or 20 years.

I'll put Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Dial H, Action Comics, WOnder Woman, Batman Inc, Daredevil, Wolverine and the X Men, Fantastic Four/FF, Journey Into Mystery, Batman, Frankenstein, The Shade, etc up against anything Image is doing, but still...pretty great.

Agreed.

I haven't personally bought as many Image titles as i am now since the early 90s.

[PwrdOff]

Part of the reason creator owned books fail to make an impact is because most fans are attached to certain characters and franchises, and would rather just buy books featuring them rather than those with arguably better storytelling. Just look at most of the ideas people on these forums have for new ongoings. They usually pick their favorite character and then think of settings/antagonists/plots that would work with that character, instead of starting with the story elements and trying to think of which characters would fit. There's nothing wrong with this kind of attitude, but it does make it harder for a new IP to gain a foothold in the market, and is also why the market is flooded with Batman and Wolverine junk.

[Desaad]

I think people are really starting to realize that creator owned comics are where you make your money AND where you make your name. So Image is getting the benefit of a lot of young, fresh voices, hungry for exposure and bursting with ideas - guys like Spencer, Wiebe, early Hickman, Graham, the guy doing Skullkickers (not reading the title myself), etc - and then on the flip side they're getting the biggest names from mainstream comics, guys like Brubaker, current Hickman, current Snyder, Morrison, etc.

Marvel and DC are where you go in the middle of your comics career.

[Desaad]

Part of the reason creator owned books fail to make an impact is because most fans are attached to certain characters and franchises, and would rather just buy books featuring them rather than those with arguably better storytelling. Just look at most of the ideas people on these forums have for new ongoings. They usually pick their favorite character and then think of settings/antagonists/plots that would work with that character, instead of starting with the story elements and trying to think of which characters would fit. There's nothing wrong with this kind of attitude, but it does make it harder for a new IP to gain a foothold in the market, and is also why the market is flooded with Batman and Wolverine junk.

That mentality is shifting, I think. It's not dying out, but it's existing side by side with a cult of personality for writers and, to a lesser extent, artists (an interesting inversion of the 90s).

And the independent books are the ones getting optioned for films and TV shows straight away. If that happens, you get a decent little check from that alone. If it actually gets made, you stand to make 6 figures doing absolutely nothing.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

The competition is very good for the industry and those who keep hoping for the demise of one company are self defeating.

It's unfortunate that Image isn't an equal part of a 3-way competition. They really are putting out some great work that I think is superior in quality and variety to the predictable superhero tripe. Yet despite the great comics, they're pretty much ignored by the majority. That's a shame.

Because with the exception of a few comics, it's more a superhero industry than a comics industry.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

That mentality is shifting, I think. It's not dying out, but it's existing side by side with a cult of personality for writers and, to a lesser extent, artists (an interesting inversion of the 90s).

And the independent books are the ones getting optioned for films and TV shows straight away. If that happens, you get a decent little check from that alone. If it actually gets made, you stand to make 6 figures doing absolutely nothing.

Good point on the option for films and TV shows. Walking Dead continues to clean house in trades.

[turtlefood]

Image is the real story, here. Look at that increase in market share and, more, just look at the quality of what they're putting out, and what they plan to put out. Yes, a number of their books are pretty stupid and pretty mediocre, I admit, just like any comic company, but they are putting out some of the most exciting titles on the market right now, between Saga and Manhattan Projects and Prophet.

Even if not all of them are my cup of tea, so many of them are objectively well written and well crafted, and whats more really, truly, originally DIFFERENT. Very exciting.

Whenever i make an order from DCBS, the Image section would always be Invincible and Walking Dead, nothing else. Now i'm also ordering Fatale, Hell Yeah, Mind the Gap, Manhattan Projects, Mudman, Morning Glories, Saga, Secret, and Danger Club. I blame Marvel/DC continuity driving me towards trying new books and Image for delivering.

[CyberHubbs]

I think people are really starting to realize that creator owned comics are where you make your money AND where you make your name. So Image is getting the benefit of a lot of young, fresh voices, hungry for exposure and bursting with ideas - guys like Spencer, Wiebe, early Hickman, Graham, the guy doing Skullkickers (not reading the title myself), etc - and then on the flip side they're getting the biggest names from mainstream comics, guys like Brubaker, current Hickman, current Snyder, Morrison, etc.

Marvel and DC are where you go in the middle of your comics career.

Jim Zub.

Who is also teaming up with Mia Goodwin and Co. to do a Skullkickers/Princeless crossover.

And Goodwin also recently had her new webcomic (Rocket: The Second Star) launch.

More people should check their stuff out.

[Desaad]

Good point on the option for films and TV shows. Walking Dead continues to clean house in trades.

There are all kinds of things going on with Image. For one, their series' tend to drop a lot less than the superhero titles. Where as Super-hero titles tend to steadily decline, almost inexorably so, the Image books tend to lose a lot less of their readership issue to issue, which I think has more to do with conservative over ordering by retailers, but nevertheless the fact remains that their low first issue orders tend to at least be on par with what the 5th issue will sell.

And if you look at the charts, Image dominates the collected charts straight away, yes in large part because of Walking Dead but their work in general gets more play that way -- same as Vertigo.