The Mayo Report: Before Watchmen Launches Huge for DC

[FanboyStranger]

Here's the direct market sales for October 1996.

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomi...6/1996-10.html

I'm straining my eyes trying to find Vertigo titles.

Those are monthly issues. They don't list DC's periennial best sellers in collected editions like Sandman, Watchmen, Preacher, and DKR, all of which with the exception of DKR are considered Vertigo titles (even if Watchmen was well before Vertigo). The Sandman library was completed in 1996, and it sold very, very well in this format, which is why it went through several printings and format changes in the fifteen years since.

These days, I think it's pretty well accepted that in the long run a book in the Fables series has earned a lot more for the company than your average Batman storyline, despite selling relatively poorly as a monthly series. You could insert any number of Vertigo series here.

[cactusmaac]

Yeah, Watchmen shouldn't be counted as being a Vertigo title since it's not like Karen Berger had any involvement with it.

I'm also sceptical about how much Vertigo contributes to DC's profits now since the trade sales lists from icv2 don't feature much Vertigo for either current titles or old champs like Sandman and Preacher. You'd think those sales would also track well with what bookstores and e-tailers shift.

It's impossible to say Fables does better than Batman without having access to solid data on sales and costs. You would think the average Batman comic storyline makes more since the line constantly expands while Vertigo's pretty much an after-thought now.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Vertigo does somewhat well for DC in the book market.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=36900

#10 is the first Vertigo book, being v15 of "Fables" and placing a bit over 12k copies. (v14 is at #16 with not quite 9k) Interestingly, to me, v1 only has about half of that (6797) -- I'm used to seeing much more of a bell-curve pattern on active and ongoing series (witness "The Walking Dead" or "Naruto")

Vertigo also scores with "Sandman" v1 at #11 (and almost 12k copies), and somewhat surprisingly, but completely awesomely, "Daytripper" at #13 (just under 10k) Vertigo represents almost a third of DC's placement in the Top 750 (32 books place) for about 173k, and $3m.

More generally, 11 of the 16 "Fables" books place in the Top 750, as does the hardcover of v1, the "Peter & Max" prose book, and the first volume of the "Cinderella" spin-off. Only eight of the ten "Sandman" books place, but that's because they're smack in the middle of a reformat right now. Also placing: the first two volumes of "American Vampire," the first three of "Unwritten," v1 of "Preacher," and two hardcovers and three softcovers of "Y, The Last Man"

[Spike-X]

This was the mid to late 90's and they did expand the line to the point that DC staff had the piss ripped out of them at a UKCAC party in 96 or 97 for having a production line manned by goths churning out Vertigo titles.

And Sandman sold X Men numbers in most British shops and a lot of American ones too. Preacher was a regular top 20 book and Hellblazer flitted in and out of the top fifty.

As I recall, Sandman brought a hell of a lot of new readers to comics, as well. Particularly women-type readers.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

As I recall, Sandman brought a hell of a lot of new readers to comics, as well. Particularly women-type readers.

Hell it impressed Scott Levy enough to wear a shirt of the character a lot to the ring as his character Raven...




I think Levy was inspired by the series to make the "Raven" character quote lines of dialogue and act as an outcast essentially.

[Charles RB]

If he waits it out, he and Dillon could have the full media rights returned to him at some point.

Could they?

[king mob]

Here's the direct market sales for October 1996.

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomi...6/1996-10.html

I'm straining my eyes trying to find Vertigo titles.

Try a run of figures from 93 to around 99/2000. One month means very little in the scheme of things.

Britain's a tiny market compared to the States. It was pretty much Batman and Superman keeping DC afloat in the late 90s.

No, British sales on certain titles kept them not only afloat but sailing high in sales figures. Hellblazer for example survived cancellation several times because UK figures alone kept it profitable.

And that came from Bob Wayne at a retailers meeting at UKCAC in 97 or 98.

They're likely to be telling DC, "More, please." That is probably why we're seeing a new Sandman series. They might wave some cash at Garth Ennis and get him to do more Preacher.

Garth Ennis can do what he wants and this Sandman series is a story Gaiman is on record saying he was going to tell as far back as Sandman #5 or 6.

[king mob]

As I recall, Sandman brought a hell of a lot of new readers to comics, as well. Particularly women-type readers.

It did. I remember running a shop here in Bristol and glorying in the fact we had more women coming in that any of the shops I'd worked in prior in the decade before that.

[cactusmaac]

Try a run of figures from 93 to around 99/2000. One month means very little in the scheme of things.

I looked at a bunch from 96 to 97, the period you identified as being Vertigo's peak and this was a typical month. When the line that was supposedly keeping DC afloat had supposedly expanded to the point of parody.

No, British sales on certain titles kept them not only afloat but sailing high in sales figures. Hellblazer for example survived cancellation several times because UK figures alone kept it profitable.

And that came from Bob Wayne at a retailers meeting at UKCAC in 97 or 98.

How does keeping a couple of marginal titles from cancellation and contributing highly to the sales of Sandman and Preacher keep DC afloat in the 90s?

[Darrell D.]

Could they?

Now that I think about it, probably not.

[Charles RB]

I guess Ennis will just have to create something new again and make lots of money that way.

[Iangould]

I'm 99% certain the comicrhon figures only cover north American sales.

Here's Miller on the situation in 1995 before the start of the Exclusivity Wars:

Now, only five of the ten or so distributors at the time were regularly releasing Top Sellers lists — Diamond, Heroes World, Capital City Distribution, Friendly Frank's, and Canadian-based Styx Publications. And only Diamond and Capital went out to 300 items.

You'll notice that Neptune/Trident/whatever, the principal UK DM supplier - which subsequently became diamond UK - isn't included.

[Darrell D.]

I guess Ennis will just have to create something new again and make lots of money that way.

And now that he has written and directed a short film, I am going to guess whatever he creates, and whereever, he is going to want to keep the media rights for himself.

[transvestitegod]

And now that he has written and directed a short film, I am going to guess whatever he creates, and whereever, he is going to want to keep the media rights for himself.

Comics have got to be the only place where getting to own what you create is considered a privilege.

[Darrell D.]

Comics have got to be the only place where getting to own what you create is considered a privilege.

It's been catching up for while. Not at the Big two, of course, but other publishers realized it was the next step logically decades ago.