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Post by defiant1 on Jan 11, 2012 22:34:41 GMT -5
I know comic fans are eternal optimists, but reality is that DC's big marketing push failed to keep them in the top spot. The sales push didn't have enough behind it to sustain a market lead. I had to kill about 20 minutes yesterday and walked into a store that had obviously over-ordered on the #1's from the 52 push. Maybe they are returnable, but that adds up. www.comicsbeat.com/2012/01/10/december-2011-diamond-sales-estimates-notable-and-surprises/As someone else said... are they going to do this again? I really believe that 2012 is going to be a year of more layoffs for Marvel & DC. Another thing I've noticed is that Buffy... yes... fucking Buffy outsells the critically acclaimed Walking Dead. I know Walking Dead sells good in TPB format (if you call 21,000 good), but I'm amazed that a TV show that's been off the air for 8 years has more fans buying Buffy comics than a show that was on last year. df1 |
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Post by G on Jan 12, 2012 8:22:18 GMT -5
The show is on THIS year!
The problem with making everything #1's again is they can only be #1's again that month. It's short-sighted.
Readers say it infused a new fresh take on things and yet it tanks after it gets past #1's.
Changing things to #1's must seem like its appealing to collectors who value have a bunch of #1's, so they grab their #1s and start falling off beyond that.
If readers are clamoring for fresh air and new starts, just take what is existing and make it better. Maybe even dump 1/2 if not more of your product line and put all your best talent on existing books with potential. Especially since it seems likely that you'll be laying off anyway in the short term if things don't change. Why not just be proactive and make the necessary changes and become a kick ass company.
This is why I think the current comic market lacks leadership. You can't go around and hire the McFarlane's and the Quesada's and the Jim Lee's and the Larsen's of the comic world because they lack comic company vision. They lack real leadership. They're gimmick-meisters who run things on a house of cards hoping to attract with #1's, blockbuster crossovers and mega-talent teamups for a quick series. In the end, they get exposed (time and time again I might add) and we're left off in worse condition than where we are before.
Now we're back to DC's 52 relaunch being done and over. What's next? You done played that card. I think in the end, they just continue to alienate long terms readers who continue to leave in droves and yet we continue to put these guys at the top and follow what they say. If its a performance driven world, they all should be in the soup line begging for work. Not be at the top.
We need fans to stop sucking their dicks and telling them their great. We need backlash. We need total fallout. Its always the same circle jerks coming on and defending them and yet we see sales numbers fall month after month. They just aren't getting it. I believe an average schmo could run a company just as well as these guys. I think a real leader could blow these guys away. We just have the wrong people in charge who's forgotten the formula of what worked for 70 years. They have to stop seeing themselves in the picture and do what's right for comics and the company. They have to make tough decisions and lead with an iron fist. They aren't demanding quality and they aren't getting it either.
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Post by cyberstrike on Jan 12, 2012 13:35:43 GMT -5
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Post by G on Jan 12, 2012 21:53:11 GMT -5
He summed it up decently well but he didn't tell us anything we didn't already know either. DC did just slap #1's on everything. A few of their books probably are good. Most of them are probably not any better or worse than they were before. I'd say he did sum up how I felt picking up a lot of comics, I didn't know what the hell was happening or who the characters were. I was never dropped into the middle of anything I could just pick up on or follow along with. I was always getting bombarded with names of unseen characters and being told of events and times that were not present in my comic I was holding. You needed a Wikipedia to piece together what was being talked about. What's happening at DC is just more of the same as has been happening to almost all of them for almost the past 20 years. You can't pick up new readers because you never drop them into the middle of anything they want to care about.
You gotta be casual fan friendly. Not only appeal to the uber nerds who'll follow you no matter what shit you put out.
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