DC Relaunching Everything? - Part 5

[hippie_hunter]

That's incredible.

This relaunch has definitely been a success in the short term, at least. It'd be kinda cool if DC beat Marvel in the market share this month.

And the interesting thing is, that's not even counting all of the money coming in from Comixology.

With 10 comics with orders over 100,000 and so far almost everything selling out, it's pretty much a given that DC will beat Marvel in market share by a rather decent margin.

 

[kguillou]

Thats great to hear, no matter what you may think, big numbers for comics is nothing but good for the market. Now DC will be tasked of keeping the quality of these books good to maintain high numbers. And most importantly they need to keep people hooked. If Justice League or Action Comics are selling anywhere less than 100k by say, December, then DC has a major problem...

 

[jonathancrane]

I finished reading the Justice League # 1.
I enjoyed it, but have to say: the ending/beginning of the fight with Superman reminds me very much of the one in Hush. Did anyone else notice this?

 

[CConn]

...not really.

I mean, outside of Jim Lee drawing both, the fights are pretty different for a lot of reasons.

 

[CConn]

Thats great to hear, no matter what you may think, big numbers for comics is nothing but good for the market. Now DC will be tasked of keeping the quality of these books good to maintain high numbers. And most importantly they need to keep people hooked. If Justice League or Action Comics are selling anywhere less than 100k by say, December, then DC has a major problem...

For a lot of books, even if they're the best thing since Watchmen, those sales numbers simply won't last.

But you're right, the heavy hitters like Justice League and Action should keep consistently high numbers if there worth a damn.

 

[Phatman]

Thats great to hear, no matter what you may think, big numbers for comics is nothing but good for the market. Now DC will be tasked of keeping the quality of these books good to maintain high numbers. And most importantly they need to keep people hooked. If Justice League or Action Comics are selling anywhere less than 100k by say, December, then DC has a major problem...

Pretty sure the numbers are going to drop off by then. Most of the new buyers are probably speculators who think a brand new shiny #1 actually means something, and they're going to make a bunch of money.

Every new #1 over the past 10 years has resulted in...A new #1 issue three to five years later.

After a dozen of these books are cancelled by the third issue, and another dozen cancelled by the sixth, The surviving titles will meet a serious decline is gonna be when these books change creative teams. Happens all the time. Cycle of the comic business.

 

[Manic]

Pretty sure the numbers are going to drop off by then. Most of the new buyers are probably speculators who think a brand new shiny #1 actually means something, and they're going to make a bunch of money.

Did those people learn nothing back in the 90's? I think X-Men #1 is worth maybe $0.75 after 20 years.

 

[Lord]

Don«'t forget when Image comics began with a lot of people thinking that Spawn 1 would made them rich, in the end the most valuable image comic turned out to be walking dead 1, a non superhero comic that started recently

 

[Cain]

Animal Man, Demon Knights, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Grifter, Legion Lost, Men of War, O.M.A.C., Red Lanterns, Resurrection Man, Swamp Thing are sold out at Diamond. All of them will be getting second prints.

Wow this is very impressive I must say. I don't know how long this will keep up. I don't see it lasting beyond the first month with those fringe titles TBH but if they could keep at least a quarter of those numbers consistently for months on end it would be quite impressive. It's a good look for all of those books which I myself am very interested in but I figured most others would overlook. Good work DC.

 

[Cain]

The only hope that print comics have is being sold at book stores, supermarkets, Targets, etc.

I've been saying this **** for years and like you said I don't see it happening. This is the only solution cause the direct market will continue to cannibalize printed floppies until there is nothing left if something like this is not done.

 

[Mystirious]

I like comic shops too. But the comic publishers have our money already. One of their problems is that they need to be more accessible to everyone else.

Hopefully DC selling their titles online will make them much more accesible to people

 

[Saint]

Not really, brick and mortar stores have pretty much given up on the PC game market. Every GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc. I have gone to in recent years only devote an absurdly small shelf to legitimate PC games because asides from World of Warcraft, almost no one buys PC games off of stores anymore. The market has gone almost completely digital through Valve's Steam, EA's Origin, Microsoft's Games for Windows - LIVE, and the dreaded piracy.

Yes, I know that retail stores carry less retail product these days. This really doesn't change what I'm saying. I mean, you sort of just wrote that they're not competing because Steam (and digital distribution in general) is out-competing them.

Publishers don't let Steam undercut retailers because they still want their product on retail shelves, even if the market for it is getting smaller--and retailers aren't going to carry the product at all if Steam is allowed to undercut them.

If anything, your argument enhances mine, because if Steam were undercutting retailers, the retail market for PC games might be gone completely--which brings us back to the whole reason I brought Steam up in the first place: for what I imagine are the same reasons, DC can't be undercutting retailers with their digital pricing.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Yes, I know that retail stores carry less retail product these days. This really doesn't change what I'm saying. I mean, you sort of just wrote that they're not competing because Steam (and digital distribution in general) is out-competing them.

Publishers don't let Steam undercut retailers because they still want their product on retail shelves, even if the market for it is getting smaller--and retailers aren't going to carry the product at all if Steam is allowed to undercut them.

If anything, your argument enhances mine, because if Steam were undercutting retailers, the retail market for PC games might be gone completely--which brings us back to the whole reason I brought Steam up in the first place: for what I imagine are the same reasons, DC can't be undercutting retailers with their digital pricing.

The big difference here is that retailers have flat out given up on PC sales. Those small shelves are just there to make some money off of a fringe market for them. DC on the other hand, still relies on comic book retailers. They are trying to change the industry to go beyond the typical comic book retailer, but right now they are still dependent on them.

Most publishers asides from MMO makers aren't going to give a damn if the PC market goes away. They've already adapted to a post-PC world where its dominated by consoles and smartphones. And retailers aren't going to give a damn if the PC market goes away because 99% of their shelves are devoted to console and handheld titles.

 

[Saint]

The big difference here is that retailers have flat out given up on PC sales. Those small shelves are just there to make some money off of a fringe market for them.

The retailers haven't given up on the product if they stock it; they just have different expectations for it.

Giving up is certainly the next step, though.

DC on the other hand, still relies on comic book retailers. They are trying to change the industry to go beyond the typical comic book retailer, but right now they are still dependent on them.

Which only makes my argument all the more relevant?

I don't know man, it seems like you're sitting here telling me "I disagree with your perfectly apt comparison on the grounds that the shrinking PC retail market completely supports your argument about why DC would want to avoid strategies that shrink the retail comics market."

I'm going to skip the rest of your post, since I don't actually need to be educated on the state of PC gaming.

 

[hippie_hunter]

But it's a rather poor comparison. The PC market has already moved beyond while the comic book industry has not. The PC industry can afford to say "**** you" to traditional retail outlets while comics cannot do that at all.

 

[Saint]

But it's a rather poor comparison. The PC market has already moved beyond while the comic book industry has not. The PC industry can afford to say "**** you" to traditional retail outlets while comics cannot do that at all.

Again... that's what makes the comparison relevant. The shrinking PC retail market is an example of digital distribution edging out retailers, something DC cannot afford to do, which explains why they would avoid undercutting retailers with their digital pricing structure.

I really don't understand how you keep saying things that agree with my argument, while phrasing them as if they are counterarguments.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Again... that's what makes the comparison relevant. The shrinking PC retail market is an example of digital distribution edging out retailers, something DC cannot afford to do, which explains why they would avoid undercutting retailers with their digital pricing structure.

I really don't understand how you keep saying things that agree with my argument, while phrasing them as if they are counterarguments.

Then maybe I have misunderstood you because I'm pretty sure that you said that Steam is a competitor to traditional retail outlets when it pretty clearly is not.

 

[Motown Marvel]

the high sales arent really all that surprising. it'll be even less surprising when they decline rapidly over the next few months. i'd give it a year before DC's sales are back to where they were before this gimmick relaunch.

 

[WalkingDeadMike]

Don«'t forget when Image comics began with a lot of people thinking that Spawn 1 would made them rich, in the end the most valuable image comic turned out to be walking dead 1, a non superhero comic that started recently

<-------- has a copy that he traded two beaten up ****** skateboards for. THinking about getting it CGC'd and selling it.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

the high sales arent really all that surprising. it'll be even less surprising when they decline rapidly over the next few months. i'd give it a year before DC's sales are back to where they were before this gimmick relaunch.

Yep. At most, I see this relaunch shuffling around which of DC's titles sell marginally better than the rest. Green Lantern and JLA'll still be up there, but I think Action Comics, Batgirl, and possibly a few others might join them.

 

[Saint]

Then maybe I have misunderstood you because I'm pretty sure that you said that Steam is a competitor to traditional retail outlets when it pretty clearly is not.

I did say that, and you confirmed it by explaining that digital distribution has caused retail outlets to carry less product (though, again, you phrased it as if it were a counterargument). When you're losing sales (and carrying less product as a result) because people are buying the product somewhere else, that means you're losing the market to the competition. It's a market retail stores can afford to lose (thanks to the console market), but it remains lost business all the same. That's competition, man.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I did say that, and you confirmed it by explaining that digital distribution has caused retail outlets to carry less product (though, again, you phrased it as if it were a counterargument). When you're losing sales (and carrying less product as a result) because people are buying the product somewhere else, that means you're losing the market to the competition. It's a market retail stores can afford to lose (thanks to the console market), but it remains lost business all the same. That's competition, man.

I see what you're saying now. My bad

 

[Saint]

I see what you're saying now. My bad

Not a problem.

 

[CConn]

the high sales arent really all that surprising. it'll be even less surprising when they decline rapidly over the next few months. i'd give it a year before DC's sales are back to where they were before this gimmick relaunch.

Printed issue wise, you're probably right.

The thing people ignore though is, the real point of this relaunch is bringing all of their comics digital. And that's probably where they'll see their long term sales increases.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Yep. At most, I see this relaunch shuffling around which of DC's titles sell marginally better than the rest. Green Lantern and JLA'll still be up there, but I think Action Comics, Batgirl, and possibly a few others might join them.

I think that the titles that have reached over 100,000 are safe along with a few others like Animal Man, Aquaman, and Swamp Thing.

The ones to really watch are going to be books like O.M.A.C., I, Vampire, Resurrection Man, Demon Knights, and the former WildStorm books because there really was no previous demand for those books and books like Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Green Arrow that were struggling creatively or in sales.