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Who's buying all the comics

Started by Tarantino, 22 November, 2016, 06:04:05 PM

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Tarantino

I'm very frustrated at at how saturated the comic market is at the moment, who's buying all these titles? There's such disparate continuities in both Marvel and DC that it's impossible to follow what's happening and nothing makes that much sense. I've now stopped buying regular titles and have started to pick up more and more graphic novels, as they tend to bring a story together.

Although I would love to see the 2000AD's universe expanded and more titles brought out, I would hate for this to happen at the expense of continuity. One of the things that has kept me reading 2000AD is the fact that the continuity is kept intact.

And don't even get me started on all the variant front pages, that is such bullshit and designed to keep us spending money on the same thing multiple times. I would like to start a campaign, which I hope you will all support me in. If you are one of the victims of this corporate greed, please stop buying all the variant covers, it's started to make me hate Marvel and DC.

Tarantino

Fighting corporate greed

auxlen

If there is one thing I always hated was 'see prog/issue 596 for details). marvel was the worst for that and one of the reasons i stopped buying them. The wilderlands and judgement day also annoyed me...even though at the time i was subscribed to both. the latter i can understand as they were trying to boost sales but marvel just seems to reference for no reason.

ZenArcade

The last thing 2000AD needs is multiple titles.  I'd nearly suggest a merging of the Prog and Meg in order to distill the talent. Charge say £3.50 a week, there would be an added bonus of no endless Sin Dex reprints: yippee!  :-\
Keep it to the prog; Two or even 4 specials (winter,  spring,  summer and autumn) and of course the wonderful end of year prog.
The early 90's multiplicity of disparate issues and the running of one story-line in two separate titles, smacked of pish to me. I was apprehensive, even, of the partial crossover of Mike Carrolls Text City takeover earlier this year.  This is all of course a personal point of view. Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

Smith

Well,direct market is about selling to retailers.We have no idea how many actual READERS DC and Marvel have.
Considering 1 person reads multiple titles from both companies on average;estimates say 50-80K.And thats being generous.

ZenArcade

If I recall the readership is quite small. 40-50k. Z
Ed is dead, baby Ed is...Ed is dead

Dark Jimbo

Quote from: ZenArcade on 22 November, 2016, 06:47:08 PM
The last thing 2000AD needs is multiple titles.  I'd nearly suggest a merging of the Prog and Meg in order to distill the talent. Charge say £3.50 a week, there would be an added bonus of no endless Sin Dex reprints: yippee!  :-\
Keep it to the prog; Two or even 4 specials (winter,  spring,  summer and autumn) and of course the wonderful end of year prog

Aye, even with a mere two publications I sometimes get the impression there's a struggle to fill the Megazine (and once in a blue moon, the prog) with wholly top-tier stuff*. The last thing we need is even more dsitillation!


*You know, nothing's objectively bad, I just find an awful lot of the Megazine back-ups are just... there. Enjoyable reads but ultimately pretty forgettable.
@jamesfeistdraws

Colin YNWA

Current sales to trade estimates (Less UK and other markets that people always suggest are 10-15% and digital and God knows what that's at these days. As of September 2016 (source The Beat)

DC Universe 63,401
DC Comics (so inc Vertigo and other imprints) 51,379

Alas Marvel and Image didn't get toted up this time. God knows what that means in real terms there's so many caveats and we've no idea of sell through. I seem to recall the the market has a much longer tail. Which means that the lowest recorded sales figure (at 300 in the charts) is much higher than it was a few years ago (DCs Nu52 seemed to really turn things around) which suggests the market is healthy.

Then you read stories about how much is being earned by creators and the market doesn't seem so good.

For me the good news is that there seems to much more choice out there and a heck of a lot of good titles. Not all make it of course and its a crying shame that some really superb titles I read don't find an audience and no doubt a heck of a lot more that I don't read.

I'm not quite sure why someone would be frustrated by the number of titles, a good thing for me, more cool stuff to choose from and I buy what I love and ignore the rest.

Tjm86

I also wonder what effect the currency rate is going to have on UK readership.  I know I've started looking carefully at the already scant selection that I read and have culled a few recently.  Granted the end of Johnny Red and Dreaming Eagles helped here.  Much as I've enjoyed Star Wars and Vader, the few excursions into the wider selection have left me feeling 'meh'.  Paying the best part of £3 for that?  Nah!

On the plus side tooth / meg works out good value for money on the subscription.  Despite the reprints and that grunge nonsense the meg is on good form at present.  It is also possible to manage the Mills overload in the tooth at times, although the sooner Flesh finishes the better.  Certainly it is far more varied and interesting than a lot of American dross.

The Adventurer

Sometimes I feel pretty alone in not being daunted by things like past continuity or multiple titles, or even back issues. It seems like a real problem other people have, but has never really bothered me. And sometimes I even reveal in it (as only a Legion of Super-Heroes fan can). And editorial box is an invitation to do fun research. Possibly opening up a new comics avenue in the process.

THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

IndigoPrime

Weirdly, I've ended up subscribing to a lot more comics of late, although they're generally those terrible digests. Still the new Marvel one with Doctor Strange and Marvel Girl in it is rather good so far.

Eric Plumrose

Quote from: Tarantino on 22 November, 2016, 06:04:05 PM
I'm very frustrated at at how saturated the comic market is at the moment, who's buying all these titles? There's such disparate continuities in both Marvel and DC that it's impossible to follow what's happening and nothing makes that much sense. I've now stopped buying regular titles and have started to pick up more and more graphic novels, as they tend to bring a story together.

Although I would love to see the 2000AD's universe expanded and more titles brought out, I would hate for this to happen at the expense of continuity. One of the things that has kept me reading 2000AD is the fact that the continuity is kept intact.

And don't even get me started on all the variant front pages, that is such bullshit and designed to keep us spending money on the same thing multiple times. I would like to start a campaign, which I hope you will all support me in. If you are one of the victims of this corporate greed, please stop buying all the variant covers, it's started to make me hate Marvel and DC.

Tarantino

Fighting corporate greed

Déjà vu, that's all it is. 1993's still fourteen months away.
Not sure if pervert or cheesecake expert.