By Bon Alimagno
New interns always ask me whether they should develop their own projects as monthlies or another format (graphic novels, digital, etc). It’s taken some trial and error but I now feel confident of the answer: Format is Destiny. If you publish as a monthly, you’re wedding yourself to a host of expectations and complications that may taint your project, regardless of the quality of your work.
Maybe nothing inhibits the growth of new comic publishers more than the expectation they publish monthly full color comic books. While the average comic book store goer expects new publishers to follow this routine, they do so usually without realizing why. Where is it written that a comic book should be serialized every four weeks without break? It’s not written anywhere but has become the accepted way of doing things.
Yet it’s a way of doing things that vastly favors Marvel and DC Comics and immediately handicaps new publishers. Marvel and DC have rich, intellectual properties with worldwide recognition. Their characters possess archetypical qualities that can sustain a monthly grind, year in and year out. Even better for them, some of the best talent in the industry, having grown up on these characters, are now eager to work on them, refreshing these characters with every new generation. New publishers, when pondering whether or not to go monthly, have to consider whether their own characters and stories have the same sustainable qualities.
If not here’s what they face:
A monthly comic series loses a small fraction of their audience from one issue to the next due to the natural attrition of serialized storytelling. No serialized story will keep 100% of its readers with each succeeding installment. On average the typical comic probably loses 10% of its readership per issue. That may not sound bad but stretch those losses over the course of twelve or twenty-four issues and suddenly a comic that sold 25,000 copies its first issue is no longer breaking even within a few years of its debut. At that point a publisher has to decide whether to keep going or cancel. Now imagine if instead of one monthly a publisher had decided to launch many simultaneously, believing that a larger set of offerings would make their company look more impressive. Maybe a company could offset the losses making up for it with related trade paperback sales and other merchandise. But say they have a half dozen or a dozen titles bleeding that much. The losses start piling up exponentially. That scenario has played out many times over the last few years and why you’ve seen new publishers fall as quickly as they have risen.
Now, say a new publisher stems the bleeding quickly and cancels a monthly. Such a cancellation won’t be viewed as a business decision done for the sake of the continued health of the company. It’ll be viewed against the other monthlies from Marvel and DC that carry on. It’ll be viewed as a failure. Thus when the publisher re-launches the title, they’ll be in the unenviable position to explain why. The publisher then has to present something new, something fresh, and for better or worse something potentially at odds with their original vision that ended in cancellation.
Setting aside the business considerations, let’s consider the creative problems monthlies have. A typical monthly comic story is twenty-two pages. Can the story of every comic book character be told in such neat twenty-two pages increments? Of course not, yet far too many stories, possibly better served as longer graphic novels, have been sliced and diced to serve this serialized format, diluting their narrative power. Or, as many have complained, stories that once would have satisfactorily ended in a single issue are now stretched to fill a three- or six-issue arc.
This all isn’t to say that no new publishers should ever consider the monthly. But they’ve been warned: this is what they are facing. Non-Marvel and DC publishers, like us, that still manage to publish serialized comics in some form (whether as miniseries or quarterlies or the like) usually have other means of generating income apart from the actual comic books themselves. This is vital to the survival of the so-called independents. Look through Previews and you’ll see that publishers who have not only survived but grown over the past few years have done so by carefully monitoring their monthly output and publishing serialized comics with established or licensed characters and popular creators. They’re built for the long haul.
New publishers may not want to play the same tune that frankly many have already mastered, but instead march to the beat of their own drum.
Till next time…
Bon Alimagno is Director – Publishing & Editorial for Harris Comics, publishers of Vampirella.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I have not bought a floppy in at least 5 years, I only buy TPB and HC, it also helps that I mostly do not read superheroes comics, wich are not always collected…
Trades are the way to go for sure, just re-read any series in floppy and anyone can see how ackward it is, same with lending them to someone, tpb is the future of the medium if it wants to survive.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:58 am
trades maybe the future but it will not be its savior.
I think companies should do away with the monthly mini and just release them as trades with the exception of those crossover events that everyone loves
Keep the major and successful selling books like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, etc monthly. Make the C-D character books quarterly with more pages
January 5th, 2009 at 11:06 am
The last guy who really wanted to kill the monthly wound up writing the all-new, all-different Star Brand.
Careful what you wish for.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I completely agree.
Monthlies are dead.
The future is the web and graphic novels.
I figure 1-2 more years max and Marvel and DC will stop monthlies as well.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:55 am
I think it’ll be longer than one or two years until DC and Marvel (and many of their core fans) let go of the monthly, but webcomics and graphic novels are indisputably the future of the industry.
It’s been eight years since I followed a series in serial form. (I hate to say monthly, because it’s such a misnomer; even the series that are supposed to be monthly often aren’t.)
January 5th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
It may seem sad but yes, by all means kill it. The 20th century ended.
It would be one thing if the stories were actually written for the format and you got 23 pages worth of bang for your buck out of them but their days as an affordable format were over a very, very long time ago and with the way stories are written you’re getting 10 minutes of a movie you gotta wait a month to see the next 10 minutes of.
I think the Big Two should kill monthlies as well. For that matter it may be high time to kill the shared universe concept because lets face it, it causes more problems than it solves for both creators and fans (even though the fans will object the most to doing away with it.) Or least scale these universes back to something weildy enough for an editorial staff to keep cohesive.
..and while we’re at it could make superhero comics more general audience again? If we keep alienating kids where is the next generation of fans going to come from anyways?
Here’s one idea. What about doing individual chapters of a storyline as webcomics and then collected them as trades at the end of that storyline?
January 5th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Single issue comics are far superior to any other format for the one reason people still read comics: CLIFFHANGERS. Anyone who thinks waiting for the trade is more fun than waiting for the next issue is cheating themselves out of the fun of comics which is waiting to see what happens next. It’s not nearly as interesting to see what happens next on the next page of the trade. You’re all cheating yourselves out of WOW moments. That said, I do love OGN’s and buy as many as I can, esp HC’s, but the day they take away my cliffhangers is the day I stop reading comics. (PS: web comics are for lazy people)
January 5th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
The biggest problem with this is most stores aren’t willing to stock a $20 about an unknown character from an unknown company by an unknown author. I’ll gladly pick up a few copies of a single issue for $3-4, though. The cost is a lot less, and worth the risk. Monthlies are never going away. 95% of comic shops would go out of business without them, and book stores are stocking fewer and fewer graphic novels, since like most things, 90% of everything is crap. I’ve yet to see a well-organized graphic novel section in a mass-market bookstore.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Woops, posted to soon…
Also, look at companies like Boom! and IDW. These are newer, solid companies that publish a good number of comics. They have a solid game plan (focus on underdeveloped genres, like sci-fi and horror), have good talent, good quality control, and keep people interested in their titles. This is what it takes to survive as an indie comic company.
If it was all about straight-to-graphic-novels, why are RASL and Echo being released as single issues? If anyone knows anything about the indie market, it’s Jeff Smith and Terry Moore.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I’m not even really sure how the original article constitutes a death call for the monthly like it’s titled, and I’m not sure monthly comics even really figure into this. Do people really judge a new publisher based on their slate of ongoing monthly titles in full-color? Ryan, the examples you bring up (Echo and RASL) are both B/W and RASL could hardly be called a monthly; additionally, they aren’t wedded to the 22-page format. Which leads me to ask, who the hell actually *is* anymore, other than Marvel and DC? New publishers, Image, Dark Horse, Boom!, everybody’s publishing serialized comics at standard comic book dimensions (not size as in length) at varying levels of production (B/W or color), paper quality, individual issue length, release schedule, etc.
I fully agree that new publishers should stop trying to come out with dynamite intellectual properties in ongoing serialized soap operas right out the bat, but I’m not sure how that in any way relates to the health (or lack thereof) in the market for ongoing monthly comics outside of Marvel/DC. I mean, I totally get and agree with what Aligmagno is saying, but I just don’t see the train of thought that leads to the manifesto-esque title and what people are seeing in the article, commenting about the death knell of Marvel and DC or some crap like that.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Mattcomix said “It may seem sad but yes, by all means kill it. The 20th century ended.”
I don’t agree that just because it’s a “new century”, that comic monthlies are outdated. I believe that the main reason that monthlies are no longer viable is because of the price.
The industry became greedy during the speculating years and, IMO, have never recovered.
Prior to 1990, comics were a “cheap” read. You could get 24+ pages of entertainment for under a $1. They were unique in that way. Even though video games for example, were around, a person could buy a good amount of comics for the price they’d pay for the latest game.
Because of the price, monthly (or bimonthly) comics could be bought in large numbers without breaking your wallet and you’d get a good return (leisure enjoyment) for your money. Many reads were one-and-done or though parts of a larger story, the reader was given enough info (usually through a synopsis) that they could easily follow what was going on.
But, once comic prices began exploding at a ridiculous pace, along with the turn to padded stories, it made NO SENSE at all to buy a monthly comic. The inbred stories give practically no info to allow new readers to join in, and many are quickly turned off from comics because of their insular nature and overvalued price.
Really, how stupid is it to pay nearly $4 for a 24 page CHAPTER of a story??? I don’t walk into Barnes & Nobles to buy a chapter of a novel, so why the hell should I do so with a comic book?
I believe that the reason why monthlies are hanging on (especially with Marvel & DC) are because of Comic Book Shops. Most are structured in such a way that if monthlies disappeared they probably wouldn’t survive. Many of the large companies that keep producing monthlies have exclusive deals with Diamond that at least, for the moment, continues this mode of feeding the LCS.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
David’s right in that the point I may have clumsily made is that Marvel and DC comics do monthlies so well that only new publishers should not consider it a viable option. The article was directed more toward new publishers as well as direct market consumers who may not understand why a new publisher may not initially publish their products as monthlies.
However the same problem do apply to Marvel and DC when they publish new or B-level intellectual properties.
What I was trying to do was get the direct market consumer to open their mindset more for other possibilities than a serialized monthly. I can’t tell you how many people approach me at cons and talk about the monthly as if it is the only option available to them.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Here’s a few thoughts why monthlies won’t die. 1. comic book stores. for the sheer amount of time it takes/would take for a 6 issue trade to come out, comic book stores would suffer. 2. not every book comes out in trade. i have lots of indy books that don’t come in trades. 3. money. writers, artist, inkers, ect have to get paid. if they had to wait months to get paid, they would move on to other things and delays in the trades would grow.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
I dunno if it’s because they’re UNAWARE of other formats (although I wasn’t talking to these fans so this could just be the case) as much as it’s true that the serialized monthly comic is almost unique in today’s comics marketplace. I guess I just react strongly to “killing” anything, since I think there’s room for all kinds of storytelling.
Now, that said, I do think that the PRINTED monthly comic in 2009 is just antiquated – especially in this day and age when all comics are produced digitally anyways, I don’t think the market of people like me who are willing to pay $2.99 a month for somewhat-nicely-printed copies of twenty-two JPEGs is going to last that much longer.
While maybe the monthly comic book pamphlet will die in the next few years (although the economic damage this would cause a number of retailers would be immensely unfortunate), I hope the serialized monthly (or whenever-y) comic sticks around in SOME form or another, since the creative/audience back-and-forth that occurs over a multi-year storytelling engagement is too much damn fun.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
You’re all missing a larger part of the picture here; Hollywood. Both DC and Marvel, and to a great degree even the smaller publishers, see their publication of monthly comics as a development process for movies. Show the studios that you have a certain number of people who follow your work on a regular basis, and you’re much more likely to land a lucrative development deal. Also, by keeping your characters out there month after month, you’re sweetening whatever licensing deals you can develop.
Publishing, like anything else, is a business. Neither Marvel nor DC, or their parent companies, would keep publishing monthlies if it wasn’t, in some way, profitable. Believe me, the last thing they’re concerned with are the people that actually read their books. That’s been made clear plenty of times, in one way or another.
So, until Hollywood inevitably loses interest in comic-based properties (and this will happen eventually, mark my words), monthlies are here to stay.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I have another point. In the article it mentioned the fact that no monthly keeps 100% of it’s readers. I totally agree and believe that, people might pick up something on a whim and decide it’s not for them. Very few people will pick up a new title on a whim for 10-19 dollars. and while i understand that some companies can’t do a monthly, there’s now shame in a 6 week gap or bi-monthly
January 5th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I guess I don’t fall into either side, for monthlies or trades. I like both, and read both. Sometimes it just depends on how I discover a book, either jumping on board with the first issue, and then following it monthly or through a trade then I continue with that format. Sometimes a comic is so good I want to buy the TPB as was the case with Y the Last Man or Sandman Mystery Theater. Sometimes a story doesn’t grab me, and I wished that I’d spent only a couple of bucks on a single issue rather than the trade (as was the case with Transmetropolitan years ago). That’s the nice thing about having both options. Years ago, before story lines were collected, if you missed jumping on board with a comic from the start you had to go digging for each individual issue to get caught up. Now you can grab the trade, get caught up, continue reading monthly or read each successive collection. Those who are calling for an end to monthlies in favor of one format or another are only going to be limiting themselves. Both formats have their strengths and their weaknesses, but we as fans are better off having that choice.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Oh how I hate this point of view! Others have said it as well, but the death of the monthly would be the death of anything remotely smacking of innovation in Comics. I find it very hard to believe that anyone would plop down $20 for an unknown writer or an unknown artist working on an unknown property, or “reinventing” a popular concept. With that much money at stake, people aren’t going to risk it on something out of the box. It works today because people pick up a “floppy” because they have an extra three or four dollars that week, enjoy it, tell a friend, let the friend borrow the floppy, and the friend picks up the $20 graphic novel. All of you Indy comic fans will have to get used to an awful lot of Superman, Spider-Man, and the like if the monthlies die.
Now, digital comics would be a viable alternative, but there are a number of hang-ups there as well. How do you drive people to come to your site. How do you make enough money to pay the creators? Will the people actually pay $3.99 if they don’t get something tangible for that price, and if they won’t, what is the price point where creators are paid? This is a particularly difficult issue in a digital age where illegal downloading is such a widespread problem and so many have an entitlement mentality where they will get it for free if they can. A digital comic is much more prone to piracy than a printed comic.
I will concede the point that today’s comics are not written for the monthly format, but the solution is not to do away with the format itself. It is to change the way people are writing. I find it interesting that the article complains about the phenomenon of “padding” for the trade, but if you only bought trades, wouldn’t you pay for that same padding. The solution is the opposite: The death of the Trade. If writers weren’t writing for the trade, then we wouldn’t have to deal with the padding.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Monthlies will change to daily online serials, thus ensuring massive ad revenue as readers come back every day to check their favorite ongoing, and the only thing we’ll see in print in ten years are bookshelf collections of the online material…
January 5th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
“Scott Christian Sava Says:
I completely agree.
Monthlies are dead.
The future is the web and graphic novels.
I figure 1-2 more years max and Marvel and DC will stop monthlies as well.”
There’s no way you believe something so factually incorrect.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
>>There’s no way you believe something so factually incorrect.<<
There’s no way you can tell me that you know what will happen in 1-2 years in this industry as a fact. It’s all speculation and guessing and opinion, which is what Scott was expressing.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
No one can guess about the future of industry at the moment. Monthlies are the source of most money gained for pays to comic book workers and also for the cots of trade publishes. Nearly all my comic books are from smaller companies. They do not publish trades or they publish to late , so i buy issues and love them…I am not buying much from DC or Marvel since some time. And if i buy, i am always buying trades. Esp. since Marvel is publishing trades sometimes even at the same moneth with the last issue, i see no point to buy issues from Marvel. Other than , you are a big fan of Marvel or DC ( which i no longer am )
I, too believe ( and really hate it but i guess it is true ) the future is digital comics and then those digital stuff is collected in trades. I do not guess this will be in a small period such as 1-2 or even 5 years tho.
One of the comments above is true. I read comics also for their collective nature. Even if i pay for something digital i will not see it as completely mine, as long as it is just an image on a boring PC screen, not on paper which i can hold or smell. I am not defending piracy here but i would never ever pay any money for something digital ( so when comics are digital, the piracy will increase )
January 5th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I don’t buy trades at all, nor will I ever.
If the big 2 stop producing the monthlies, then I will just discontinue this reading habit.
I make no claims to represent other people, nor do I have any idea how many others would operate the same as I plan to.
But no trades for me. I cannot afford to spend $15 before I know if I will like something.
Not ever…
January 5th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I have to ask: Several people here have made the argument that the end of monthlies will be a crippling blow to the industry, because who will plop down $15-20 for an untested creator/property/etc.?
Well, I will. The growing number of fans like me who buy everything in trades have been doing exactly that for YEARS. Nearly a decade now, in my case. I mean, do you think we’re lying when we say we haven’t read monthly comics in years?
Considering that people spend $12 on a movie, or $15 on a paperback novel, or $25 on a hardback book, or $18 on a CD — or, how about this one, $10-$15 on those popular manga volumes the kiddies love — the real question is, who wouldn’t pay that much for a storytelling form they love?
And innovation, seriously? FUN HOME wasn’t serialized. STUCK RUBBER BABY wasn’t serialized. ALICE IN SUNDERLAND wasn’t serialized. There have been plenty of truly innovative, creative, ground-breaking titles published in book form.
Besides, the loss of monthly comics hardly means the end of serialization. I think most of us here who think the monthly is in its death throes readily admit (and look forward to) online distribution. Likely serialized online distribution.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Phylemon, one more thought on your question about will readers pay $3.99 for online comics? Probably not, but without the cost of printing and shipping, online comics don’t need to be priced NEARLY as high as their paper versions.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
@Michael C. Lorah
“truly innovative, creative, ground-breaking titles published in book form” don’t pay the bills most of the time, sadly. I was unable to sell a single copy of any of those books you mentioned.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I agree with the fact that the big iconic A-List heroes should remained serialized in the monthly format as they have the years of loyal fanbases to sustain them. Non-A-Listers like Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Checkmate, most Vertigo books should’ve been released as graphic novels every 4-6 months.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
Also, I strongly agree with the prior commenter that today’s comics are over-priced. I tried to get some friends interested in various books that would likely appeal to them, but they don’t even want to try a single issue at today’s prices.
So, what does this tell you about the $4 comics coming out from Marvel & DC this year? (I’m not buying them, too. Though one commenter thought $15 was cheap, to me—that is a lot of money.)
Prices need to be lowered to rescue the industry. And who is going to pay for online subscriptions for digital comics? The cost expectation is already free (or very cheap). It is not going to happen…
January 5th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Ryan, if I’m in your shop, I’ll pick one up.
January 5th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
@Keith Plant
If no one is buying Blue Beetle at $2.99, why would they buy it at $14.99?
January 5th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
As long as advertisers are willing to pay for ad space, monthly print will remain in existence. I firmly believe that is what is keeping monthlies alive, not 20k copies sold a month.
January 5th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
>>As long as advertisers are willing to pay for ad space, monthly print will remain in existence. I firmly believe that is what is keeping monthlies alive, not 20k copies sold a month.<<
That probably has some to do with it, but advertisers start to disappear when your ad isn’t reaching a large enough audience. They’re not going to continue to pump money in to advertise in a product with a declining audience. The CW is rolling in the big, major-league ads for a reason – it’s because yours, mine, and a lot of other folks’ TVs aren’t tuned to it tonight.
Except Troy. He’ll die without Gossip Girl. Just die.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I don’t buy the argument that the strength of monthly floppies is that they’re a safer (read: cheaper) experiment. The reason this doesn’t ring true to me is that no one single issue contains a complete story anyway.
Think about it: the first issue is released and some people will like it, but only hesitantly. They’ll say “Yeah, the first issue is great, but we’ll see if they keep it up.” Conversely, you have people who will dislike the first issue, but only half-heartedly. Those people will say “Well, the first issue was terrible but I’ll give them until the end of this first storyarc to change my mind.” You wind up with online discussions between readers debating the merits of “staying on” for X number of issues versus Y number of issues.
Face facts: with decompressed storytelling so in vogue, floppy pamphlets demand anywhere from three to six issues to get a full picture of the tone, pacing, and characterization. I call shenanigans on the whole “People are more willing to pay a few bucks out of their pocket for a single” argument. Imagine how many people would be waiting in line if movie tickets were 4 dollars for 1/4 of a feature instead of 10 bucks for the whole thing. I mean, do the math. Factor in the annoyance of having to run back to the theater monthly to watch it piecemeal (for people with a schedule, this isn’t fun or suspenseful, it’s obnoxious).
So let’s look at the numbers realistically: 4 issues at 4 bucks a piece equals 16 bucks (and that’s assuming you’re reading a 4-issue arc… many are 6 or more). This includes the nuisance of making multiple purchases over the course of several months. The other option is paying anywhere from 10 to 16 bucks (depending on page count) at one shot and getting a full story off the bat.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, so I should mention JONAH HEX. Also, CASANOVA and FELL were brilliant and noble attempts to really milk the monthly single for all it was worth. But these are the exceptions to the rule. The above article discussed why monthly singles aren’t economical for publishers but I tend to find them unfriendly towards buyers, as well.
January 5th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
“Except Troy. He’ll die without Gossip Girl. Just die.”
Matt thinks he’s funny.
It was Gilmore Girls that I watched religiously.
Rev. OJ Flow has the Gossip Girl house. Apartment. Whatever.
January 5th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Yes some people collect Trades ,I collect Trades and Digests(just try finding old ones,Archies don’t count) as well, but they are not for every one because of the cost. The real value to collecting is usually in #1′s , always will be, because they are the 1st issue. Then ,how can you collect web stories, they are on the net. It’s true that you are getting more for your money in a trade or by going on the web. How ever if I am into collecting, ultimately I want my collection to grow the most possible in value in case I want to sell it. I suppose if I read the story on the net, it was free, but then that’s not collecting and that’s not the same.Look at the original Silver Surfer, it bombed because it was 25 cents instead of the usual 12 cents.Even though you got more pages for your money,the majority of people people are thrifty simple as that.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
I give the individual issues another decade before even the Big Two have to decide whether or not to keep them. Meanwhile I think web comics will grow by leaps and bounds. GN are most likely the wave of the future as far as publishing goes. The question is, what concepts work in a GN format and what ones won’t? If you created a new super-hero today could you publish a GN and have it do well? The upside is that maybe now B&W comics have a better chance at succeeding now.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I understand the point the author is trying to make.
However, I must retort: Why not just write an article called “Stop making comics.”? Killing the monthly just kills the form. Like the people who keep insisting that the future of home video is downloads. Never gonna happen. I want it in my hand. Did pay-per-view kill the theater industry?
Anyway, just found it fascinating because my knee-jerk reaction to the story was, “Sure. Go ahead. Stop publishing monthly comics. It’ll save me a TON of money because I’ll just stop reading comics altogether.”
Just my 2 cents.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Adam,
You’re making an assumption that a 24 page serialized monthly equates to everything a comic book should be. Unfortunately you’re not alone in this mentality.
I know you don’t want to hear it, but that’s an extremely narrow view of what comics are. At most basic definition comics is sequential art, whether its one panel or a million panels to convey it’s message.
You can argue why stop publishing monthlies if my definition holds true. I think the point of the discussion is about economical feasibility of monthlies compared to the growing demand for original graphic novels (OGNs) and digital format. The latter show vast amount of potential, not just financially, but creatively too. There are tons and tons of ongoing monthlies that have been reprinted as trades, that could’ve been more receptive as original graphic novels.
Pick up an OGN and read the first 24 pages and put the book down for 35 days, the try picking up where you left Continue to read the next 24 pages and stop and wait ever 35 days, Do that until you’ve finished the book. To many people, It’s an awkward way of reading a whole story that could’ve been more enjoyable reading in one sitting.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:30 am
Also, buying trades off Amazon or whatever greatly reduces the cost from $4/issue for singles to something like $2.50-$3 in a collection, depending on your binding choice. The functionability of trades is better, too: no ads, look great on shelves and are much easier to lend than a stack of floppies.
And there’s no reason that, given AMAZING SPIDER-MAN’s current rotating cast of creators, Marvel couldn’t serialize it online and drop a trade in that series every one to two months … the same argument could be made for downsizing the X-books into a single monthly, as well. Or the WOLVERINE books. All twelve of them. Ha!
January 6th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Lot’s of varying opinions. Great.
To try and answer/rebut some….
1) Value. Monthly comic copies of the Dreamland Chronicles from IDW are selling for $3.99. That’s for 22 pages.
It’s a true monthly since I’ve already over 800 pages done.
The trades (there are 3 trades out with 300 pages in each book) sell for $19.99.
What’s the better deal?
2) Wanting to “try it first”?
That’s what having them up for FREE online is all about.
I have over 8 million readers worldwide who read Dreamland.
This translates into a wider readership.
And people can know what they are getting before they buy the books.
3) Cliffhangers.
I learned early on reading comics that cliffhangers can be per page, per issue, per chapter.
Limiting cliffhangers to 22 pages is just silly.
4) Income.
I’ve made more money ONLINE than I have ever made with pamphlets (monthly comics).
From ad revenues we’re paying the house payments.
By end of year…we hope to pay all of our house hold bills from this income.
Bringing in $2-$6k/month from advertisement is more than most anyone will ever see from monthly comic sales.
5) Monthlies going away will be the end of comics?
I don’t think so.
Sure…comic retailers will most likely go away. But to be honest…they have become harder and harder to find anyhow.
I think the few good ones will still be around.
But the general public will be able to get comics online and from book stores and amazon.
This is about expanding the market. Bringing in a larger audience.
I miss spinner racks. That’s what I grew up on.
They’ve been gone from stores for what…20 years now?
If anything killed comics (or could have)…it was losing comics in EVERY SINGLE drug store and supermarket.
We’ll adapt. We’ll go online.
If Marvel and DC are smart…they’ll put their comics online for free. Let the ad revenue pay for the art.
Cut down to maybe a dozen books each…and see where things go.
Hope this helps…and as Matt mentioned above…
This is just my opinion. No one can predict the future.
Take it all with a grain of salt…
Thanks
Scott
January 6th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’m sad to say it, but I have to agree with the thrust of the article (and most of the comments). We began AWAKENING with Archaia Studios Press (Mouse Guard, et al) in August of ’07 as a bi-monthly release and experienced the slow decline in sales across the three issues which came out. That, plus our now year-long delay between issues due to the restructuring of the company, just recently completed, has resulted in us deciding to release the series as two hardcover volumes rather than 10-issues.
For indy books, unless you’ve already established a pedigree of some kind for yourself, it’s just impossible to compete with the big guns in this day and age. Retailers have to play a safe bet, and with banners across a combined total of more than 40 or 50 issues (plus 10 based on a particularly popular space opera, a couple of movie tie-ins…) per month from the big two proclaiming them to be part of either a line or company-wide crossover, shelf space just can’t be wasted on a new guy or a book that doesn’t have a tried and true sales history. While some larger comic stores (Midtown Comics and so on) have the space and the opportunity to showcase all sorts of books, the average shop wouldn’t be making a sound economic decision, especially in these financially unsure times, supporting a book with a guaranteed smaller audience over that of the definite 50 – 100 copy seller. And hey, I’m guilty of contributing to those sales too. I grew up a Marvel guy and even dabbled in DC for a time and I’ll always love picking up those books. I do it fully aware of the fact that I’m contributing to a machine which kept my book out of others hands. Why? Because I love the medium and most of those stories, those line and company wide behemoths, are fun and enjoyable and worthy of the space they’re given.
MOST of those stories.
On the other hand, asking a retailer to order one or two copies of a hardcover or trade isn’t taking away from those monthly sales. A spined book takes up less space than a faced-out floppy on the rack, and very likely a retailer worth his salt will know at least one customer who he can promote the book to and get a $15 – $20 sale out of the deal. Hell, maybe they even know TWO customers who prefer collected editions and like to read, say, Eagle Award nominated existential horror with critically acclaimed mixed media art.
What?! The first volume is coming out soon – I’ve gotta make a living here!
Then they just nabbed $40 gross in one swoop and they didn’t sacrifice anything of their guaranteed sales off the floppy rack. If nothing else, if a retailer doesn’t actively try to sell the trade but orders it in the hopes somebody will stumble across it on the trade shelves, it will offer an alternative to the average shopper if they’ve been Secretly Finally Invaded out. Or, better for the retailer, it represents an add-on sale to a customers purchase. It also opens up the lucrative avenues of book trade sales (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon, etc.) where indy books have a better shot of finding a niche for themselves.
Digital, on the other hand, is just not for me. Maybe my generation will be the last great hold out (what’s kid of the early 80’s now? Generation Y?) but I need to hold a book, get that freshly printed smell, or in the case of an older book, that musty-I’ve-Got-History waft from the pages, and have a tactile interaction with something. I support the movement, anything that promotes the comic medium to a larger audience, but I don’t think it’ll ever replace printed comics entirely, anymore than I think Kindle or any other e-book phenomenon will replace the heft of a book in your hands. Web and digital comics offer a great marketing opportunity and low cost for creators/publishers and can even be a great proving ground for creators who, for one reason or another, just don’t get picked up right away by a publisher. Hell, I’ve got friends who practically make their living off of web comics and more power to them for it. For me though, I’ve just got to have it on a shelf, or in a long box, or on the nightstand, or where all great reading gets done, the bathroom, to truly immerse myself in the work and get the most out of it.
Personally, I loved writing a floppy book – and I plan to try more in the future once it’s more fiscally viable for me, either through success with the trade/hardcover releases of my other books or some other means. For now though, I say let Marvel and DC have that ground and continue to draw people into comics as they have for generations.
Then let retailers show them to the REALLY cool stuff on the trade shelves.
- Nick
January 6th, 2009 at 10:52 am
“There’s no way you can tell me that you know what will happen in 1-2 years in this industry as a fact. It’s all speculation and guessing and opinion, which is what Scott was expressing.”
Actually, there is a way. I know it’s cute and polite to say “oh, it’s just specualtion”, but what he said is wrong. Common logic dictates it’s impossible for them to kill monthlies in a YEAR. 5-7 years, maybe. But the simple fact is that Marvel and DC’s business is doing well.
It makes no sense to say what he said. It’s wrong.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:01 am
>>It makes no sense to say what he said. It’s wrong.<<
if there’s anything I’ve learned on the internet, it’s not to argue with those who feel their opinions are fact, and they have an unalterable, singular grasp on the truth. Be well.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Good reading here, as someone who only buys TPB and HC, I strongly disagree against the notion that consumers dont want to spend 15-20$ on a book instead of 3-4$ for a floppy;
I use sites such as this one and the Previews magazine to make a list of what interests me and wait to see a previews or a download of the work before deciding to buy the work or not, nothing complicated here, comics are overpriced and I just cant deal with the ads anymore.
Since I know the genres and creators that appeal to me, its pretty easy to make a buying list.
Many publishers put up 10 pages or more as a free preview for tpb and HC and thats the way to go to sell them.
Since a lot of comics are bought out of habit, in the superhero genre, by an aging demographic, floppys wont go away too soon, but they lost me and many people a long time ago.
The real problem is, there many comics published without any merit, just because DC and Marvel (among others) know that people will buy it, even collected, you cant make any sense of their earth shattering crossovers.
January 6th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
After a six month hiatus, this past weekend I made the trek to the nearest comic store (some 30 miles away) and picked up some new comics. When I purchased my last book I’d been feeling disinterested in the monthlies and had been picking things up in trades. I figured I would take some time off and re-evaluate my collecting habits. It was hard at first but after 3 months I really didn’t miss the monthlies. I think the price of gas this past summer helped because I didn’t have as much disposable income. 6 months later I picked up some books and I haven’t even looked at them 2 days removed from purchase. I sort of felt guilty I had “fallen off the wagon” so to speak.
I agree with a lot that has been said here. Books such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman should remain as monthly titles. Other lower tier characters should be served up in doses. Peter David once proposed comics be published similar to television shows. A book gets 6-12 issues. If sales are still good after the first “season” they get a second “season” starting with a new #1 and Vol.2. Once the book is no longer viable it wraps up the last story line and then canceled.
January 6th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Jim8ball,
I disagree that established characters like BATMAN, SUPERMAN, and SPIDER-MAN should remain as serialized floppies. I think established characters can thrive in OGN market, especially if it were ongoing. Take all the BATMAN books (Detective, Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman) and compile them into one trade and you got a monthly BATMAN OGN. You can sell for $17-$20 a month as opposed to someone just buying one or two of the Batman family books at $4 each.
X-MEN would sell a million copies a month if there were only one book (OGN) to pick up and it shared the same continuity as the films. Less confusion and easier for general public identify with.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I don’t know about everyone else but i love going to the comic store and looking at what’s new on the stands. It won’t be the same feeling if they got rid of the monthlies. Also, i do find monthlies cheaper to buy than the trade. I feel better to flop down $3 for a comic than $15. Also, why would i buy a trade when i could just go to the library or borders/barnes and noble and read it for free. Also, i would never spend money for a digital comic. One, i can’t stare at my computer monitor trying to read a comic and, secondly, i’m just that type of person who needs to hold a comic in my hands. Furthermore, i’m a collector and i like collecting monthlies and checking to see how much they are worth months later. However,I do love the idea of a season 1, season 2 of a comic. Marvel did a great job with it when they did the ultimates 1 and 2. I don’t want to count ultimates 3 cause that sucked…lol. I think it’s just better to keep the monthlies and the trade. With the trade have more extras in it.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Cray
I didn’t mean to imply that characters such as Batman should be limited to monthlies. In my opinion some of the best Batman stories have been OGNs and your idea of collecting the Batman titles brings back found memories of the BATMAN family comics. 144 pages for 60¢!
I just meant high profile characters such as Batman and Superman should remain as monthly titles to generate interest in the hobby amongst younger readers. Start them on a steady diet of Superman and eventually they will start to seek out other characters and other forms of comics. By all means continue featuring Batman in OGNs and TPBs!
January 7th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Jim8ball,
First, lets get this out the way. Kids don’t read comics especially established characters like Batman. I’m not saying they don’t like the character, I’m simply saying the current writing style is way above young readers heads. It just doesn’t appeal to them. They love the action-figures, the cartoons, but youngsters don’t pick up BATMAN or DETECTIVE COMICS and enjoy Morrison’s RIP storyline.
If the Comic book industry was serious about appealing to young readers, 2 things would need to happen.
1. BATMAN and all the family titles would have to be written like the animated series, because that’s what they are familiar with seeing the cartoon and the toys. Of course this would screw up the current continuity and alienate hardcore comic book readers. DC has tried various Batman books that follow the cartoons but kids don’t want it because it’s not the ‘real’ comic, but when they try reading BATMAN they don’t understand it or enjoy it like the cartoon. So they don’t bother with the comics at all and just enjoy the cartoon and toys.
Oh and The Dark Knight film wasn’t for kids, and it hardly convinced adults to pick up the ongoing monthlies.
2. The price per page would have to be more realistic for a kid with a much smaller disposable income. Unfortunately it’s far too late to change this because monthlies are fading and trades, OGNs and hardcovers are growing. So to market to kids, DC would have to offer their BATMAN comics online at an affordable price for parents.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:58 am
Cray_ws
I just wanted to point out, for me, that when i was a kid i was reading SANDMAN by neil gaimen and other mature comics. So i don’t buy that kids don’t read comics that are way above young readers heads. I’m sure there are a lot of kids that don’t understand the current batman storyline but i’m sure there are kids who understand the storyline that is going on.
And, sure, the dark knight wasn’t for kids but i know a lot of kids who saw it and loved the movie.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Alif….
I don’t know what sort of “kid” you were reading Sandman…
But I think Cray and Jimball are talking about 5-10 year olds.
The kind that watch Batman Brave and the Bold or Power Rangers (like my 5 year olds).
Anyone who handed a 5 year old Sandman or any current comic of Batman should honestly be taken away from their kids…
Comics are not for kids. They haven’t been for almost 20 years now.
Another reason why comics are failing…but probably best left for another discussion.
Needless to say…while collectors like yourself still love the monthlies…you’re a dying breed.
I say that with the utmost respect (as a former collector as well). It’s sad…but true.
As I mentioned earlier…I miss spinner racks. That’s what I grew up on. Talk about accessability.
My mom would drop me off at the spinner rack and do her shopping for groceries. I’d read everything there. Completely enthralled.
When she’d be ready to check out…I’d get to pick my favorite and take it home.
That’s comic shopping.
But that’s when comics were still accessable for kids. We’re talking early 70′s.
Yes…I’m an old fart.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Alif_p,
Scott Christian Sava is right that I’m talking about youngsters that are in grade school, not junior high or high schoolers.
Even if your right that youngsters do indeed read comics, why don’t the numbers show that? Why is the majority of the demographics considered 18-35 year old males with an affinity for geek culture?
As Scott pointed out, we’ve moved away from kids 23 years ago. WATCHMAN was the start of it, but it really happened in 1986 with Frank Miller’s BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.
It was one thing for Alan Moore to take obscure Charlton Comics characters and remix it with very mature themes, it was entirely revolutionary moment when an established American icon such as Batman went from every kid’s innocent-minded superhero to a complex anguish old man having a mental breakdown wearing the Batman cowl.
Miller basically let it be okay to turn children’s developed characters into hardcore complex grown-ups. As great as the book was, it should’ve never been published. Miller should created a brand new character or at very least made a riff of Batman much like what many consider Midnighter of Wildstorm to be.
Making Batman complex and grown up was never the intention of the 70 year old character which had many years of continuity aimed at youngsters.
The biggest problem publishers created was maturing their characters which were firmly entrenched as kids reading material. They should’ve created brand new superheros with seperate continuity for adults. DC’s Vertigo came way too late and pigeon-holed them into horror genre. IMAGE came 10 years late, because by then the entire superhero genre grew up and kids bailed because collectors because adults and cover prices were no longer targeted to kids.
For comics to attract kids they need to revert the entire DC line into animated shows and convince mature readers to actually pick up mature titles like HELBLAZER or THE AUTHORITY. Both of those titles could easily appeal to a mature Batman or JLA fan.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Cray_ws
Ok, i’m glad that was cleared up cause in my mind, i was thinking between the ages of 12-15. I agree that kids between 5-10 wouldn’t understand the complex storylines that are taking place.
Scott Christian Sava
I really don’t follow the numbers of comics sold each month so i really can’t say if it’s dying or not. I’m just speaking for myself that i really can’t go and spend $15 on a trade. Also, how would the trades be presented? If companies got rid of the floppies, would i have to spend $15 each to get thor, batman, or whatever titles i want. Doing that would break my bank. I spend around $25 a month on titles. I don’t want to spend over $100 for the original trades. However, personally, i think monthlies will be around for a long time cause if i’m complaining about it, i’m sure there are more fans who are just like me.
January 17th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Hello there there, I found your weblog through Google whilst searching for first support for any coronary heart assault as well as your story appears to be like extremely interesting for me.
March 6th, 2011 at 2:52 am
I believe your own report here could possibly be damaged. Pretty much all whatever might read could be the copy. In any case it was a wonderful submit which means this does not certainly generate a big difference, so ?? Added, and additionally I will arrive back again, someday..
May 30th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
His topic is good, long time I discover this matter and I think it is here, many thanks guys ..
June 23rd, 2012 at 4:08 pm
Great write-up, I am regular visitor of one’s blog, maintain up the excellent operate, and It’s going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.