Bad news for The Spider :(

[Manga4life]

Over at the Official Dynamite forums the CEO/Publisher Nick Barucci made a post noting that if sales for The Spider aren't where they need to be by issue #12 than it could get cancelled. This comes as a major shock to me as it seems that The Spider is very popular and the book has gotten universal praise for the most part, I'm super into it and I would hate to see the title cancelled. Currently the book is not exactly lighting up the charts, according to a few different websites the title is sitting at just about 7k copies ordered a month, which is actually more than long running titles like Red Sonja, Jennifer Blood, and other notable books the company publishes but seem untouchable from cancellation. I'm baffled.

What do you guys think about this?

[TonyStark1012]

Now I'm worried. I love this book. Issue #7 was a beast. I really hope it doesn't get cancelled as I really like the character. If it's selling more than Red Sonja and other books then I don't see why Dynamite is going to cancel it. That makes no sense.

[Captain Craig]

I'd guess that due to what they are paying in licensing fees to use The Spider is the criteria that has created a higher threshold of success.
The licfees on him are more than Sonja and Jennifer Blood is creator owned so that's another difference in this compare/contrast.

I'm not reading The Spider due to budget but hope for it's fans that it does continue.

I had their Robocop essentially pulled off the racks mid story a few years back. If #12 is a possible end point at the worst you'll have 2-3 full arcs.

[Scott M Davis]

Its not selling enough to pay for the rights and make DE some cash. I haven't read the series yet, Issue 7 and trade are on order.

Those interested though, Comixology has the first arc for 12 bucks. http://www.comixology.com/The-Spider-Dynamite/comics-series/7971 and issue 7.

Maybe DE should put issue one up for free on Comixology. I try out so many series that way.

[TonyStark1012]

Its not selling enough to pay for the rights and make DE some cash. I haven't read the series yet, Issue 7 and trade are on order.

Those interested though, Comixology has the first arc for 12 bucks. http://www.comixology.com/The-Spider-Dynamite/comics-series/7971 and issue 7.

Maybe DE should put issue one up for free on Comixology. I try out so many series that way.

Yeah I can see how with the rights it might not be making enough. I really hope it doesn't get cancelled. Like I said. It's one of my favorite books being published today.

[Michael24]

That's a surprise. I also thought it was doing pretty well. It's been a helluva fun book.

[BugsySig]

I didn't follow it through the first arc. I got a little bored with it after issue 3 and dropped it. I thought a lot of the visual storytelling was confusing at times, and the characters didn't jump out at me.

I agree the license fee probably has a lot to do with it, but as I keep saying: There is only so large an audience for these pulp noir books. If DE keeps watering the genre down by putting out so many similar books, that audience will start making the decision to only go with the ones they can afford. Some may only stick with the 1 or 2 they like best, or drop a title they enjoy for a new, similar style book when it launches.

And don't say, "Well, Marvel puts out dozens of superhero books," because there is obviously a much larger audience for that genre. There's a reason there arent many (or any) pulp-noir comic book films, cartoons, live action TV shows, Halloween costumes and action figures. It's a niche market with limitations.

[regnak]

I am buying this but I won't be too sad if this goes. It's kind of tame compared to the pulps. I liked the Moonstone version better. Too bad they almost never came out.

[Bruce Kent]

And don't say, "Well, Marvel puts out dozens of superhero books," because there is obviously a much larger audience for that genre. There's a reason there arent many (or any) pulp-noir comic book films, cartoons, live action TV shows, Halloween costumes and action figures. It's a niche market with limitations.

I honestly think it's a matter of doing it right. This example will probably not be taken well for some people, but "The Mummy" had a lot of pulp influences and it was a tremendous sucess. It's a matter of someone making a sucessfull pulp movie. Hell, if it wasn't for fanboys, we would have Tarantino interested in doing a "The Shadow" movie. We just need someone with talent and understanding that manages to do a good movie that appeals to the masses and it may very well all that is needed to make pulp "cool" again.

[BugsySig]

I honestly think it's a matter of doing it right. This example will probably not be taken well for some people, but "The Mummy" had a lot of pulp influences and it was a tremendous sucess. It's a matter of someone making a sucessfull pulp movie. Hell, if it wasn't for fanboys, we would have Tarantino interested in doing a "The Shadow" movie. We just need someone with talent and understanding that manages to do a good movie that appeals to the masses and it may very well all that is needed to make pulp "cool" again.

Oh, no doubt if someone was to really do pulp right, then it could take off. But it's not there right now. And movies like Green Hornet, The Spirit and The Shadow definitely hurt more than helped.

The Shadow and some others, like The Phantom, Green Hornet and The Spirit, have enough name recognition to carry the books. But when it comes to books like the Spider, Black Bat, etc, unless it is done so well that it blows up into TWD or Saga levels, it's just not going to make it.

[Bruce Kent]

And movies like Green Hornet, The Spirit and The Shadow definitely hurt more than helped.

Yeah, but none of those movies were really trying to do pulp. The seemed to look at it more like doing a super-hero that Marvel/Disney and DC/Warner didn't own.

[Michael24]

I've always thought the 1994 Shadow film was pretty good. (There are certainly many other superhero movies that are far worse.) It took elements from both the books and the radio show and, I thought, mixed them together very nicely. As much as I'd like to see movie big screen adventures for the Shadow, I can't help but feel that further attempts nowadays just won't come close to being as good.

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

It's not really a shock. Dynamite seems happy to ignore the book and the character. They are even basing their pulp cross-over event on an actual series of Spider pulp novels from 1938 and not only does dynamite NOT publicise that fact, they barely show the Spider at all and the series is already 1/4 of the way done. I like the comic, but it's obvious that the publisher doesn't care enough to promote the book.

[Bruce Kent]

It's not really a shock. Dynamite seems happy to ignore the book and the character. They are even basing their pulp cross-over event on an actual series of Spider pulp novels from 1938 and not only does dynamite NOT publicise that fact, they barely show the Spider at all and the series is already 1/4 of the way done. I like the comic, but it's obvious that the publisher doesn't care enough to promote the book.

Why would they publicize it? And the Spider in the last issue the Spider had as much spotlight as the Shadown and Green Hornet.

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

Oh, no doubt if someone was to really do pulp right, then it could take off. But it's not there right now. And movies like Green Hornet, The Spirit and The Shadow definitely hurt more than helped.

Anyone that wants a modern pulp fiction series can watch Person of Interest. It's one of the highest rated shows on TV, so there is clearly interest in the genre if it's done well and people are made aware of it's existence.

Dynamite seems to think that plugging the Spider eight months ago as 'oh yeah we have this Shadow wannabe in a comic too....' is good enough to draw in readers. The Shadow is a f&^%ing p^%&y compared to the Spider. THAT is how you market the Spider.

The Spider may have started as a Shadow knock-off by Popular Publications back in the day, but Norvell Page actually gave the series a soft reboot when he started writing the books with #5. Instead of the friendly-for-grannies gentleman detective blech that audiences could expect from the Shadow (esp the bland radio show), the Spider was like a dozen Rambo movies filmed by Michael Bay after drinking a gallon of Red Bull with a mile-long line of coke for a chaser. The books were so over-the-top insane that Page actually went a little off his own nut while writing them. Compared to Page's Spider novels, the Shadow is the pulp hero for your wheelchair bound 'nana who thinks that Billy Graham is a bit smutty. He's a great big floppy t#@t that would shriek away in terror of the Easter bunny compared to the Spider.

Maybe Moonstone will get the rights back.