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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2020 22:37:44 GMT -5
Yeah, it's quite sad that there's not a single artist that could boost sales in the comic book industry. It's almost like Marvel and DC have forgotten that in order to sell books the art needs to leap off the shelf and grab you by the throat, I'm not just talking about the cover - the interior art also has to seduce you into purchasing the comic. Alas, those days are long gone. I would say the following artists could do it: Jim Lee Greg Capullo Joe Madiuera (sp?) Todd McFarlane Stephen Platt But they aren't regularly drawing comics. Pretty good list, it'd be great to see the likes of Jim Lee, Joe Mad or McFarlane at Marvel or better still Conan. But, as you say they've not been drawing comics in recent years . The creative team of Snyder/Capullo continue to sell well and could make a difference in sales for Marvel if they signed for them. Marvel don't seem interested in this kinda stuff, they just don't wanna spend the money on talent. But, realistically even the superstar creators can't save the Direct Market - where are the new customers gonna come from? Will DC become the first out of the big 2 to go digital and only release physical collections in the book market? I can't see DC or Marvel changing their pay structure from page rates to something along the lines of an advance with royalties found in the book market. The Direct Market sales kinda cover all that, and they win again when the graphic novel comes out. If the comic don't sell, they just cancel the book. Not much of a risk for the publisher - only the retailers take the risk if they order too many copies they can't sell.
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Post by darklordbob on Jun 9, 2020 5:45:40 GMT -5
We mentioned something over on the Illustrated board that also relates to the overall situation: is there a big talent on the art side these days that would you really excited they would be doing a Conan book? Not sure if we came up with one. There are a lot of people out there who have talent but I can’t name one offhand. There’s always the possibility someone like a Giorello could come out of nowhere but that was over a decade ago already. Buscema clone Benito Gallego would no doubt be thrilled to work on REH related titles. Why Marvel hasn't hit him up yet baffles me. He'd definitely be good for it.
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Post by lordyam on Jun 9, 2020 16:32:54 GMT -5
It'd sure be interesting. I'd love to see Mirko Colak get another shot. Thing is there's not either a single creator (ala Miller, Byrne, Simonson) or team (Thomas-Buscema, Claremont-Byrne, Stern-Byrne, Wolfman-Perez, Busiek-Perez, Moore-Davis) that'd get people really drawn to the book. Tim Truman was the last guy of this calber to be near the character, though on the writing side, Van Lente, Bunn, Aaron and Zub were good gets. Yeah, it's quite sad that there's not a single artist that could boost sales in the comic book industry. It's almost like Marvel and DC have forgotten that in order to sell books the art needs to leap off the shelf and grab you by the throat, I'm not just talking about the cover - the interior art also has to seduce you into purchasing the comic. Alas, those days are long gone. Preachy by today's standards but the claim that comics have only just become political is absurd. They've always been shamelessly liberal, and they've always portrayed conservative views as the heartless views they are. Most of the people saying they want "good stories" ironically support comics gate, which is cranking out shit.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 22:45:18 GMT -5
Yeah, it's quite sad that there's not a single artist that could boost sales in the comic book industry. It's almost like Marvel and DC have forgotten that in order to sell books the art needs to leap off the shelf and grab you by the throat, I'm not just talking about the cover - the interior art also has to seduce you into purchasing the comic. Alas, those days are long gone. Preachy by today's standards but the claim that comics have only just become political is absurd. They've always been shamelessly liberal, and they've always portrayed conservative views as the heartless views they are. Most of the people saying they want "good stories" ironically support comics gate, which is cranking out shit. Read the above post carefully, I'm lamenting the loss of superstar artists/creative teams in modern comics. There is nothing political in the above post.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Jun 9, 2020 22:53:14 GMT -5
Here's one thing that has me concerned with Diamond. I've heard about this now twice from two radically different sources, Bleeding Cool and Comics Matter. Bleeding Cool Article: bleedingcool.com/comics/diane-nelson-gary-groth-dc-comics-diamond-changes/ (Former DC President Diane Nelson throws a little shade at Diamond, too) Comics Matter Video: Both seem to think that Diamond Comics has also been propping up the Direct Market by allowing comic book stores to operate on credit. Evidently Mile High Comics was about 1 million dollars in debt to Diamond until recently... but they had, and from what I understand still do, a large operation. I'm sure there aren't many stores with that much credit, but these stores are operating on razor thin margins as it is, I can imagine what would happen if Diamond called in their debts and stores wouldn't be able to pay, lots of stores closing up. Then again, would it be in Diamond's best interest for stores to close? Since if the stores aren't selling comics, they won't be able to pay Diamond. It sounds like a vicious circle this industry is trapped in.
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Post by johnnypt on Jun 10, 2020 5:43:47 GMT -5
Yeah Chuck at Mile High laid out their Diamond debt issues in an email last week. They paid it off yet he was firmly on Diamond’s side in this. Like I said I don’t think this ends well for anyone.
Edit-Buddy from Lone Star Comics/mycomicshop.com comes down basically on the same page in his weekly email, sticking up for Steve Geppi and blaming AT&T.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 9:04:42 GMT -5
An optimistic view from Rod Lamberti of Rodman Comics of Ankeny, Iowa: I am stunned about the recent announcement that DC is leaving Diamond. The Diamond monopoly is over. I am also saddened by this though most likely not for the reason or reasons you may think.
We were kicking butt by being the only seller of DC Comics on Tuesdays in central Iowa. Collector mentality is often have-to-have it and as soon as possible. Now other stores will be "forced" to supply their customers with DC Comics on Tuesdays. Sounds simple enough, right? It is. We gained new customers and are having great sales. I was surprised other stores were letting us run away with the money. Why do publishers have hard to get variant covers? Because it feeds into the collector mentality. I collect comics and have for years. I understand the collector mentality. Before opening my own store, I went almost every Wednesday to the local comic store because that is when new comics came out. If I could have bought them on Tuesdays, I would have. Our store exists to support the collector mentality and readership.
As a store owner, I went from oh man is this virus going to be the end to of Rodman Comics to wow, selling DC comics on Tuesdays is really catching on and bringing in new business.
Change is tough, and change is tougher for some than others. This whole year has been about change for many, myself included. A virus, protests, killer hornets, what next? There is still plenty of 2020 left. I admit I am stressed. Working more and hoping the virus does not have a second wave.
Diamond, for 25 years, was the sole provider of comics to comic stores. For years comic sales have been stagnated. Harry Potter movies helped grow book sales for the character. Movies based on comic characters hardly moved the sales needle for comics. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, which is what the comic market has done for years.
Marvel vs. DC! Marvel outsells DC! Big deal. Marvel puts out more product than DC. It felt like Marvel's only goal was to beat DC. One of my goals is not to beat other comic stores. My goals include being as profitable as possible; Increasing readership, providing excellent customer service, but not beating anyone. By moving away from Diamond, DC gets to leave the noise of being second to Marvel. Marvel hopefully will focus on more of my goals. The being more profitable, expanding readership, providing better customer service. Marvel will hopefully try new things along with new goals.
We use multiple vendors for games and Magic the Gathering ordering. We used to even use Diamond. We use multiple vendors to help ensure we get the product into our customers' hands. Why is doing the same for comics so tough for some?
DC has already left Diamond. Wizards of the Coast used to sell products to game stores directly and quit. I was disappointed though I moved on.
I notice the argument, "remember how badly things ended when Marvel got their own distributor and left Diamond!" is not being used anymore. It was 25 years ago. DC is doing far better than Marvel was without Diamond.
With DC moving to Lunar and their other vendor, DC has a new way to promote comic sales–people can buy DC on Tuesdays. We are doing this and making money from it. Stores are already saving money because Diamond dropped the secret shopper program, which means no longer being charged to stores as part of the weekly day early charge. The secret shopper was a time drain on many stores. In the strip mall where my store is located, do you think the other businesses have their vendors sending secret shoppers in on them? For years the secret shopper did the same thing; asked for two titles on the day before they could be sold, and when asked anything about comics, they became like a deer in headlights. I lost track of how many times we had real customers to help, and instead, we're wasting time on Diamond's secret shopper program.
I sent an email to Diamond last week and have not heard anything back. I do not even know if my old Diamond sales rep is with Diamond anymore. My replacement variant issue of Star Wars Clone Wars to replace the previous damaged issue showed up damage this week. Number of damages from DC's vendor currently shipping roughly the same amount I am getting through Diamond? Zero. Damages and shortages cost stores, time, and money.
I made a phone call to Lunar and was pleasantly surprised by how nice the person was and how quickly she answered my question. I can most likely count on both hands how many times I have talked to someone from Diamond after being open for nearly ten years. It isn't because I do not have questions at times. I just dislike calling Diamond. Diamond is old, tired, used to being a monopoly, thus not worrying about comic stores buying comics from another vendor and not caring about the comic stores they supply. Lunar is our new vendor and seems hungry for business and eager to please.
All said I wish DC wasn't leaving Diamond. We could have kept satisfying customers by being the only store around willing to sell new comics on Tuesdays.
Source: bleedingcool.com/comics/when-dc-left-diamond-comic-store-in-your-future/
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Post by johnnypt on Jun 11, 2020 9:19:57 GMT -5
If Cameron is running Lunar like he does DCBS, it doesn't surprise me they're that proactive and attentive. I've always had positive interactions with him, usually instigated from him checking on something. I haven't been to Midtown in around 5 years, not sure if I even know anyone there anymore. The last couple of guys I dealt with regularly had left or were leaving at that point.
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Post by boot on Jun 13, 2020 7:27:04 GMT -5
Will DC's move affect InstockTrades.com?
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Post by Jason Aiken on Jun 13, 2020 12:03:00 GMT -5
Will DC's move affect InstockTrades.com? Doesn't the same guy who owns DCBS and Lunar own instock trades? I thought he did, but it might just be that they both sponsored Comic Geek Speak for so many years. If it's the same guy I bet it won't. Even if it isn't I would assume whoever owns instock trades would just have to order from a second vendor for DC trades.
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Post by kemp on Jul 1, 2020 9:39:04 GMT -5
I read this four part series recently. Highly recommend it. Some really cool art by Mike Deodato Jr.
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Post by themirrorthief on Jul 2, 2020 0:12:40 GMT -5
sometimes they forget that people READ comics...to often its just a bunch of splashy art with a story sorta loosely holding the panels together...and hate is a common motivation for to many characters IMO
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Post by mindboggled on Jul 26, 2020 18:31:53 GMT -5
Yeah, it's quite sad that there's not a single artist that could boost sales in the comic book industry. It's almost like Marvel and DC have forgotten that in order to sell books the art needs to leap off the shelf and grab you by the throat, I'm not just talking about the cover - the interior art also has to seduce you into purchasing the comic. Alas, those days are long gone. Preachy by today's standards but the claim that comics have only just become political is absurd. They've always been shamelessly liberal, and they've always portrayed conservative views as the heartless views they are. Most of the people saying they want "good stories" ironically support comics gate, which is cranking out shit. Comics have had a wide assortment of political views throughout the years. Go to far in one direction, and you'll start alienating parts of an audience. There's a sweet spot for political messages, and it's not at the forefront where story and characters belong.
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Post by Jason Aiken on Jul 27, 2020 22:13:50 GMT -5
Here's something on a more positive note. The last few years it's been very rare for a new series to come out and catch my eye, but this looks to be hitting all the right pulpy buttons: imagecomics.com/comics/releases/adventureman-1I have issue #1 coming my way, but my LCS has to track down #2 for me as I slept on this and don't read solicits anymore. Anyone read this yet? I liked Fraction's work on Immortal Iron Fist back in the day.Him and Brubaker did a great job bringing in pulp elements via some of the flashbacks with the original Iron Fist, kind of making him a Shadow-like character.
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Post by boot on Jul 27, 2020 23:07:56 GMT -5
Here's something on a more positive note. The last few years it's been very rare for a new series to come out and catch my eye, but this looks to be hitting all the right pulpy buttons: imagecomics.com/comics/releases/adventureman-1I have issue #1 coming my way, but my LCS has to track down #2 for me as I slept on this and don't read solicits anymore. Anyone read this yet? I liked Fraction's work on Immortal Iron Fist back in the day.Him and Brubaker did a great job bringing in pulp elements via some of the flashbacks with the original Iron Fist, kind of making him a Shadow-like character. Jason, let us know what you think. I like that kind of stuff.
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