“Yeah, Kirkman and Hester’s awesome The Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 was at the sales rank of 122 and sold 23,200 copies in November. This doesn’t bode well for the series, so I’m asking you guys, give this a try if you haven’t. I will personally send anyone who is skeptical the first three issues to try. I really love this title and want to see it continue. C’mon. Do it for Kirkman. Do it for Hester. Do it for Ande Parks. Most importantly, do if for Todd Kearns.”
“It really pisses me off how the truly best titles at Marvel are the worst sellers. Someone needs to hire somebody to pump the hell out of the low selling critically acclaimed books.”
“I’m interested, but was planning on getting the (hopefully eventual) trade when it comes out. I’ve got a pile of issue #1s where I never got around to picking up #2, so at this point I’m waiting I’m just waiting until a book’s first arc is over before giving it a shot.”
“I think it’s a matter of how much marketing has to be done to increase sales. Could Marvel’s marketing department boost the sales on third-tier books like this? Probably. Could they invest that time and money into something else that’s more fruitful? Most definitely.”
“I’m sure it’s a fine book, but there are other things I’d rather spend my money on… alas. And, obviously, I’m not the only one.”
“While it is low on the Top 300 for a Marvel book, a boost of about 10% woudl send it from 122 to the Top 100. Any improvement in sales becomes incredibly noticeable. If it’s that good, it could end up becoming valuable in the back issue market (given its current rarity), which will increase the buzz for the series, which increases the interest in books amongst readers and the guys who decide what book to advertise.”
It’s the holiday season - Go and buy the Ant-Man book and see if the 10% boost really would make a difference.
December 19th, 2006 at 10:50 am
I read the first issue and I didn’t find it interesting. I love Kirkman but when I’m already reading 13 titles a month I don’t want to spent money on something I’m not really into.
Admittedly by that criteria I probably should have removed Wolverine: Origins a long time ago.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Despite not being a fan of Kirkman, I gave it a try… and I didn’t like it.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:34 am
It’s always hard to build a readership with unlikeable characters, even when the charcters are well-written, as they are by Kirkman. I read it and I actually liked it to a certain extent.
December 19th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Should have billed it as a mini.
They could always return or integrate him into the wider Marvel Universe later without the stigma of a canceled series.
December 19th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
I think the latest issue is really what sold me on the series. I liked the first couple of issues, but I wasn’t excited about it. The most recent issue, though, really kicked the lead character’s awful behavior into overdrive. There’s an evil dark part of me that looks forward to seeing how big a creep this guy can be and what he’ll do next.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
This new Ant-Man book is the second best book at Marvel right now (trailing only Nextwave, which is short for this world). Seriously, it’s great. If you don’t like it, you should stick to reading your Frank Tieri collection.
December 20th, 2006 at 2:42 am
OH MY! Jesse’s reading 13 titles a month. He’s out of control. That’s just too many.
Look I read about thirteen titles or more a week and there still isn’t a spot for Ant-man in there. Picked up the first two issues and said “Eh, he’s really not that despicable”. If you want truly unlikeable characters try out Wildstorm’s The Boys by Darick Robertson and Garth Ennis.
December 21st, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Is this what the Bendis Board has become—a place to shill Marvel comics? Bah!