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Post by johnnypt on Feb 8, 2016 14:40:16 GMT -5
Picking up where we left off...
212 6.92 $3.50 DAR Conan the Avenger (2014) 22 6,984
Last month-#21 7,005 -21 -0.30%
A rounding error, but one that put it below the 7k floor.
216 6.61 $3.99 DAR King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border (2015) 2 6,674
Last month-1 7,640 -966 -12.64%
Considering I just picked this up, I'm part of the problem. But it doesn't seem people want to be reading this story.
Now it looks like these two were DH's #4 & #5 sellers for the month. Problem is Hellboy didn't show up until #137 in the 16k range followed by Buffy in the 13k area.
Trade
56 1.45 $19.99 DAR Savage Sword of Conan v21 1,461
A little light, but there's only one more volume to go
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Post by Jason Aiken on Feb 8, 2016 15:14:53 GMT -5
I'm not surprised by the low numbers for King Conan: Wolves Beyond the Border #2. My shop didn't order any copies of it, or Conan: The Avenger #22.
Dark Horse needs to do a serious overhaul of the Conan line. I love the Truman and Giorello minis, but they deserve a wider audience than this.
The monthly title needs a complete reset. I hate to say it because Van Lente is doing a good job, but maybe even a new writer. Perhaps try bringing Kurt Busiek back. It needs a new editor, too. You can't have the same person who is in charge of the monthly be in charge of the next monthly. They just don't know what they're doing from an art direction standpoint.
The monthly title needs to sell better than it has been.
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 8, 2016 20:18:54 GMT -5
It's selling a third as much as Red Sonja, even after multiple restarts, Dynamite still has it selling over 20k.
I'll restate here what I've said multiple times elsewhere: the entire Howard line has been adrift since the end of Conan the Cimmerian. Scott Allie, Philip Simon and Patrick Thorpe all generally served their titles well (though Scott's idea of starting Solomon Kane with fragments rather than Red Shadows was definitely a mistake). The other editors simply haven't known how to keep the titles adhering to DH's original plan.
And I have to say it: doing Wolves Beyond the Border probably was not a good idea at this point (not a comment on the quality at all, just on the marketability of this particular story).
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Post by lordyam on Feb 8, 2016 21:08:31 GMT -5
so apparently Scott is still editor of the King Conan. I think they wanted to do the king series and moved the good editors to THAT.
At this point I think Truman and giorello should do the main series again
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 9, 2016 8:48:20 GMT -5
Philip has done all four of the King Conan series, and I'm enjoying the story being told. I'm just not sure this is the story they should have been telling. I have a feeling they have their reasons that we're not privy to at the moment, but may become apparent soon.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Feb 9, 2016 21:49:14 GMT -5
Do you guys think they should do a new #0 issue for when the title relaunches? Make it a cheap one to drive up interest in the title again?
Maybe that paired with proper art direction would help. My main fear is that the sales would spike at the beginning, then bottom out. I know that sales will decrease over time no matter what (unless you're talking about The Walking Dead or Invincible it seems), but the new title has to retain as many new readers as possible. With the book selling under 7,000 right now, there are plenty of potential readers out there to bring in I think. Maybe a new #0 will do the trick. That's what got me into Conan and REH was Conan: The Legend #0 by Busiek and Nord.
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 10, 2016 8:57:19 GMT -5
Once the May solicits come out, we will be able to do a lot more solid deducting. I guess a cheap #0 wouldn't hurt, but the title needs so much more help than that. An art direction change is an absolute must, they have to realize going away from the Nord/Yeates/Giorello path simply did not work and hasn't worked for the past five years already. It's actively driven readers away, as did the Wood experiment, and they've shown no intention of coming back. I think they're also going to need a big name writer , bigger than Fred (again, no offense, I've really liked what he's done). I don't know who Dark Horse can pull in at this point, their once solid top 5 publisher position has fallen to a lower top 10. Frankly Dynamite has been able to get bigger names and it's paid off in solid sales.
If DH doesn't put out their solicits this week, I'm going to be on vacation for the early part of next week, so I'll be waiting to find out if there's going to be a Conan title at all in May!
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Post by arcadian on Feb 10, 2016 20:03:47 GMT -5
Do you guys think they should do a new #0 issue for when the title relaunches? Make it a cheap one to drive up interest in the title again? Maybe that paired with proper art direction would help. My main fear is that the sales would spike at the beginning, then bottom out. I know that sales will decrease over time no matter what (unless you're talking about The Walking Dead or Invincible it seems), but the new title has to retain as many new readers as possible. With the book selling under 7,000 right now, there are plenty of potential readers out there to bring in I think. Maybe a new #0 will do the trick. That's what got me into Conan and REH was Conan: The Legend #0 by Busiek and Nord. I am pessimistic about the options going forward and think the series should convert to limited series for the x-number of Howard stories that are left. I posted my thinking on the former site, but after reading the last couple of issues, I think the pacing on the ongoing is simply poor. In number 21, Conan is crucified for essentially the entire series, he is just hanging around. In number 22, there is some action, but mostly its a frame for narration explaining what has been happening somewhere else. I think its flabby, and not attractive to readers not already invested in Conan. And I think at least some of this has to do with attempting to present Conan as a continual story. One of the reasons the King Conan stories read better is that they have a much more narrow goal to get the story across. Anyway, if the series continues, I don't think it makes sense to go with a #0 issue, unless there is a popular artist/writer team that attracts comic book readers that might be persuaded to give it a try.
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Post by Carolina Conan Fan on Feb 10, 2016 21:47:43 GMT -5
The art for this issue was poor. While others have said it, I will say it again: Chiang's art is terrible and a distraction to the book. I am looking forward to a new launch. I am rereading the Conan, Conan the Cimmerian, and the minis that preceded Conan by Wood and Van Lente and they are so much better. Here's to better days when Truman and Giorello can take over again.
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Post by televiper on Feb 12, 2016 14:15:11 GMT -5
The King Conan numbers are perfectly fine, in line with DH expectations for a KC mini. I bet Truman/Giorello get another mini after this one, maybe even two. As long as they can keep sales btwn 5-7K, they are doing fine there.
The main title is the problem. It needs a long rest, complete editorial overall, and a higher profile creative team. As mentioned, Red Sonja sells an easy 20K a month but to accomplish that, they had to scrap their old creative team and editorial direction, bring in an A-List writer, and market it to mainstream fans. Well, Conan tried this with Wood and it bombed. They need to try it again but with a proper mandate ala the Busiek era to do Conan true justice. We'll see. I still think DH is just playing out the string on their license agreement and that Conan will be finding a new home soon.
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Post by johnnypt on Feb 12, 2016 14:31:55 GMT -5
I don't know if I'd say perfectly fine, but considering DH has a lot of their books selling in that range, it may be good enough.
It's not just Conan. You look all over the net, there are stories and threads about how poorly the relaunches DC & Marvel have done recently are doing. The digital component is always a big unknown, but considering how much has been made about how poor sales in general are, it's certainly not picking up the slack.
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Post by lordyam on Feb 12, 2016 15:31:51 GMT -5
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Post by terryallenuk on Feb 12, 2016 15:32:26 GMT -5
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Post by lordyam on Feb 12, 2016 15:34:12 GMT -5
I'm guessing they may be giving a short break. If by September we get no need than I'll assume it's finished. I doubt they're QUITE there though. EVE is doing far worse and most of the other brands dh liscenses are worse off
Also there was a two month gap between qotbc and avenger (q ended feb 14 avenger started april)
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Post by televiper on Feb 12, 2016 15:45:52 GMT -5
The days of Conan selling Busiek era numbers is over and never coming back. Even if DH relaunched with Busiek/Nord now, at best, it would sell less than 20K after the initial excitement wore off -- the market has shrunk considerably in the past decade. People in the industry are excited about sales numbers that even a decade ago would've put a title in cancellation range. Could DH do better by Conan? Absolutely. But no one here should hold their breathe for big sales or a major marketing push. It's not gonna happen unless Conan moves to a smaller publisher.
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