In the midst of a Millarworld thread about retail reactions to Civil War (Short version: It’s been a success, but to varying degrees in different stores), Mark Millar reveals his optimism about the post-Civil War Marvel Comics:
I wrote MCW so that the sales on the other books would run on for months. It was designed especially this way and the sales boost AFTER the series will be huge, probably more than when the series was running. It’s going to be a monster right through 07 so good news for retailers… Books like Iron Man and Captain America have had a glass ceiling of 45K for 5 or 6 years. I guarantee both books will break 100 after where I leave things in the last issue of Civil War. These will become big books again because people will be so invested in where things go after our conclusion. I’d put money on it… even though that would make it tank, I’m sure. Also, I revamp a lot of core Marvel titles in this series and create some new ones for other writers. The ramifications are huge and post MCW sales will obliterate what came before. Wait and see.
Retailer (and Marvel cynic) Ryan Higgins rains on Mark’s parade, slightly:
Most of my customers expect things to go back to the status quo after Civil War is done, this is probably the main topic of conversation when Civil War comes us. Mark, I don’t think there’s a single possible way that numbers on Captain America and Iron Man could hit those numbers your talking about, unless there’s a major creative team change. Civil War fallout alone couldn’t bump Cap 55-thousand copies. Hell, those books are barely involved with Civil War! …If everything actually does change, retailers won’t know, because the solicitations wouldn’t be able to spoil anything. I can picture 2 months of completly blank solicitations, or something like “CIVIL WAR FALLOUT! What is Team X doing after Civil War? Read this issue to find out!” …Much like OYL, if things change, I could see overall sales increase in the in-continunity MU books, but honestly, without knowing what to expect, I couldn’t see bumping my orders that much.
Millar responds:
No, the creative teams won’t matter. MCW wraps up satisfyingly, but where the characters go from here will be very interesting. Our total sales on the first three books are over 350K an issue and I refuse to believe that at least 1 in 4 of them won’t pick up Cap and Iron Man to see what happens next. Whether the teams can sustain it for long remains to be seen, but I think there’ll be a huge boost for at least six months.
Also, I devised a marketing initiative for the company post MCW that comes out of a creator-owned book I was going to do. I’ve just given this to them and it’s a great way of selling this stuff post MCW. You’ll all see what I mean in a few months.
Mark Millar: Revising the Marvel Universe, more than doubling sales on books he’s not involved in, and creating marketing plans for his employer. In his spare time, he’s working on curing cancer and, of course, planning his Superman run for the end of the decade.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:45 pm
The creative teams won’t matter? They should just put blank pages inside. It will still sell, right?
As a rational comic book reader I know that crossovers don’t mean squat. I wasn’t buying Captain America before Civil War, and I can’t imagine I’ll be buying it afterwards (I am at least willing to give Mr Millar the benefit of the doubt). As an irrational fanboy, I will never think of Iron Man as one of the “good guys” ever again. I can say with certainty that I will not be buying Iron Man comics this fall.
August 2nd, 2006 at 12:50 pm
This should be interesting.
And, Graeme? The cure dig? SO not right, but I digress…
I think I agree with you about Iron Man, Mike. Millar hasn’t really established why he’s taking the side that he’s on. Millar’s replaced a lot of explanation with action so far.
August 2nd, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Indeed, my disappointment with this series so far is that the motivations of the major players aren’t very well-developed. Except perhaps for Reed Richards. Even Captain America’s choice comes off as more knee-jerk than considered.
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:46 pm
I think the Knaufs will provide a decent enough explanation of that in the Iron Man series proper…
Of course, by the time they tie in, the series will be almost over.
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:54 pm
I will not buy Iron Man again! I am a huge Iron Man fan. I looked at Iron Man as aan example of how resoucefulness can conquer any problem. They have totally messed up this character (as well as all the missed deadlines). During this series I had no idea why any of these characters are doing what they are doing. The logical conclusion will be the death of Aunt May