Bad news for The Spider :(

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

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

maybe so they don't have to cancel the book, seeing as the publisher is whining that no one pays attention to it. THEY aren't paying the book any attention, so why would readers?

[BugsySig]

If Person of Interest is a pulp noir crime series, then my life is the basis for Batman.

[Ed Love]

If Person of Interest is a pulp noir crime series, then my life is the basis for Batman.

Good thing that's not what was said then. Pulp is far more than noir crime which the Spider, Shadow et are not either. Person of Interest is very much a modern pulp style story. So's Castle, Hawaii 5-0, Eureka, Haven, Leverage, The Mentalist, Revenge. Even shows like Sherlock and Elementary probably owe more to pulps than the Victorian era fiction. If the authors were writing at the time you'd find Harry Dresden, Dirk Pitt, Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne.

[BugsySig]

Good thing that's not what was said then. Pulp is far more than noir crime which the Spider, Shadow et are not either. Person of Interest is very much a modern pulp style story. So's Castle, Hawaii 5-0, Eureka, Haven, Leverage, The Mentalist, Revenge. Even shows like Sherlock and Elementary probably owe more to pulps than the Victorian era fiction. If the authors were writing at the time you'd find Harry Dresden, Dirk Pitt, Jack Reacher, Jason Bourne.

He used it to say its an example of pulp done right. But like the other examples you offered, none would be recognized as the same genre as The Shadow or The Spider. Therefore it does nothing to promote such concepts across other mediums. No one who is a fan of Person of Interest would walk into a comic shop, look at The Spider, and say, "Oh, I gotta read that. It looks just like Person of Interest!"

If someone made a kick ass Shadow movie, like Tarantino, then I could see that happening for books like The Spider.

[SilverZeal]

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?

Holy frak...dats very terrible news 4 a really terrific buk.

Wat r d sales numbrs compared 2 d Shadow?

U do mk very gd points abt lesser selling titles.

[Michael24]

Manga - What are some of those sites you mentioned that show comics sales? I had been wondering it there were any BoxOfficeMojo-like sites to follow comics sales. I'd like to check them out.

[Manga4life]

Holy frak...dats very terrible news 4 a really terrific buk.

Wat r d sales numbrs compared 2 d Shadow?

U do mk very gd points abt lesser selling titles.

The sales are about half of The Shadow's.

Manga - What are some of those sites you mentioned that show comics sales? I had been wondering it there were any BoxOfficeMojo-like sites to follow comics sales. I'd like to check them out.

I use http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2012.html, most people I've talked to say it's the most accurate list on the web so I just roll with it.

[jsf]

Wow. Those are pretty horrorific sales for the Spider (for November). Even worse for Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, which I was really surprised by.

People have no taste. :P

[FriendRoss]

Issues 4, 5, 6, kinda dragged for me


7. Is exactly want I want from this book. Pure liss

[DonEMC]

These Pulp characters have lost a lot of fans to old age and dying. While there are SOME younger fans, the biggest portion of their fan base would have to be of an accelerated age. I know that these are existing properties with at least a tiny fan base, but Dynamite's expectations had to be low from the start, so licensing fees must be high for the company to cancel it.
I don't read anything from Dynamite these days because I simply don't enjoy the company's extreme written-for-the-trade style that takes a story which could be told in two issues and stretches it out over 12. I figure I'm not alone in this opinion and that, too, hurts Dynamite's sales on ALL of its books.

[MajorHoy]

Wow. Those are pretty horrorific sales for the Spider (for November). Even worse for Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, which I was really surprised by.

People have no taste. :P

These Pulp characters have lost a lot of fans to old age and dying. While there are SOME younger fans, the biggest portion of their fan base would have to be of an accelerated age. I know that these are existing properties with at least a tiny fan base, but Dynamite's expectations had to be low from the start, so licensing fees must be high for the company to cancel it.
I don't read anything from Dynamite these days because I simply don't enjoy the company's extreme written-for-the-trade style that takes a story which could be told in two issues and stretches it out over 12. I figure I'm not alone in this opinion and that, too, hurts Dynamite's sales on ALL of its books.

Also may be an issue of exposure . . . with all the DC and Marvel books taking up shelf space (because they will $ell, no matter how questionable they may be to some), how much room does a store have left for all the Dark Horse, Image, Valiant, Bongo, Boom, Archie, IDW, Viz, Dynamite, etc. titles? They each have to pick and choose what they may feel will do better sales-wise with their customers, and Dynamite may not be as high a priority with some dealers. (Where I go, they're sort of hidden on a spinner rack, separate from all the DC and Marvel titles.)

[DonEMC]

Also may be an issue of exposure . . . with all the DC and Marvel books taking up shelf space (because they will $ell, no matter how questionable they may be to some), how much room does a store have left for all the Dark Horse, Image, Valiant, Bongo, Boom, Archie, IDW, Viz, Dynamite, etc. titles? They each have to pick and choose what they may feel will do better sales-wise with their customers, and Dynamite may not be as high a priority with some dealers. (Where I go, they're sort of hidden on a spinner rack, separate from all the DC and Marvel titles.)

Early on, Dynamite titles had great exposure at ALL of the local comic shops I frequent. Red Sonja was popular, The Lone Ranger sold well and all the Alex Ross-covered stuff was selling. But, then, I think people got tired of the extremely decompressed style these books all suffer from. I liked The Lone Ranger, but page after page of very little action and hardly any words -- just to stretch the light story out for several issues -- caused me to drop the book from my pull list. I know that more than a few readers were tired of following Dynamite's books issue after issue while the story hardly progressed. Red Sonja is a good read, month after month, but I don't even see it on the stands at any of the shops now.
You're right, comic shops have to spend their money wisely and I think Dynamite isn't a wise purchase when so many other books sell so much better.
The Spider just isn't a big enough name with today's fans to generate much in the way of sales to start with. He's also a pulp hero and many of today's readers don't have a clue what that means nor do they have a love for those old characters.
If they really want to make these books more than just mediocre, Dynamite needs to put TOP QUALITY writers and artists on the books and make sure they don't just phone in the work. I think that's another huge problem Dynamite faces. It's like they hire Garth Ennis and then he writes down a story on a cocktail napkin and passes it to the Dynamite bosses. I think they need greater editorial control and a mandate to its writers and artists to produce better work. So far, the best thing about Dynamite is the covers -- and the Alex Ross painted covers have grown old. Been there, done that.

[MajorHoy]

If Dynamite was serious about trying to expand their pulp-style universe, I think they might be better off launching some work that wasn't licensed so they could maybe sell it for a little less. I'm assuming the cost of licensing fees means those books have to sell even more copies to make them worth the expenditure for Dynamite.

[Manga4life]

Early on, Dynamite titles had great exposure at ALL of the local comic shops I frequent. Red Sonja was popular, The Lone Ranger sold well and all the Alex Ross-covered stuff was selling. But, then, I think people got tired of the extremely decompressed style these books all suffer from. I liked The Lone Ranger, but page after page of very little action and hardly any words -- just to stretch the light story out for several issues -- caused me to drop the book from my pull list. I know that more than a few readers were tired of following Dynamite's books issue after issue while the story hardly progressed. Red Sonja is a good read, month after month, but I don't even see it on the stands at any of the shops now.
You're right, comic shops have to spend their money wisely and I think Dynamite isn't a wise purchase when so many other books sell so much better.
The Spider just isn't a big enough name with today's fans to generate much in the way of sales to start with. He's also a pulp hero and many of today's readers don't have a clue what that means nor do they have a love for those old characters.
If they really want to make these books more than just mediocre, Dynamite needs to put TOP QUALITY writers and artists on the books and make sure they don't just phone in the work. I think that's another huge problem Dynamite faces. It's like they hire Garth Ennis and then he writes down a story on a cocktail napkin and passes it to the Dynamite bosses. I think they need greater editorial control and a mandate to its writers and artists to produce better work. So far, the best thing about Dynamite is the covers -- and the Alex Ross painted covers have grown old. Been there, done that.

That's a matter of opinion, myself and many others are enjoying these books and feel completely different on this subject. The opinion of one does not speak for the masses.

If Dynamite was serious about trying to expand their pulp-style universe, I think they might be better off launching some work that wasn't licensed so they could maybe sell it for a little less. I'm assuming the cost of licensing fees means those books have to sell even more copies to make them worth the expenditure for Dynamite.

I would love sine original stories from Dynamite!

[deathshead2020]

I think one problem Dynamite has, and this is just my opinion, but is that they're aren't a reliable company. I spend money on stories. Stories that I would like to see finished, ultimately. I remember hearing about how great The Lone Ranger was but noticed how late it was and all the word from people worried it wouldn't finish. Zorro kept getting delayed, Green Hornet delayed, etc. Course, I really dig the the Green Hornet and Matt Wagner so I took a chance and got a book I feel succeed. I bought Kato: Origins, but though it did end, it felt very rushed to a conclusion.

So, I really like the Phantom. So I hear they get the rights, sure, the story isn't that interesting to me, but I'll give it a try. At first I worry because it's the same writer as Buck Rogers. A series that ended at 12, but didn't really resolve anything. So I end up waiting to buy the Last Phantom when the first arc is done. I enjoy it and awaited to do the same by 12. Only to hear that again the series stalls out.

With that I already don't trust the name of that writer do give me a done story. Matt Wagner, yeah, of course he will. So, I'll get his Shadow book. Mark Waid's The Green Hornet. Very likely. But some of the Dynamite regulars I worry about. Now hearing about The Spider makes me think why should I even bother picking up what I missed. But Mr. Liss' work has been good at self contained stories and not building to an epic that never comes like so many other work at the company.

But back to the beginning. I worry about what I spend my money on. Dynamite has a track record of being delayed on their big books: Kirby Genesis, GH Year One, Lone Ranger, Zorro. And no endings with them dropping books that fail rather than trying again on others: Buck Rogers, Green Hornet Strikes, and the Last Phantom.