Hopefully, you’ve been reading Vaneta’s interviews with DC co-publishers Dan Didio & Jim Lee, and SVP of sales Bob Wayne, over on the main site over the last couple of days. If not, you should, because there’s a lot of good stuff there – but I can’t help but be fascinated by this quote from Wayne, over DC’s market share:
Our goal is to be the best publisher of comics that we can be. I have not been given a goal to make DC No. 1 at all costs. So no, this is not about DC being No. 1. I certainly look at the market share. And I know there’s a lot of internet chatter about the market share in the direct market, but that does not represent the complete business.We do our own analysis of the bookstore market, and we go through all the Bookscan data and build our own internal report. We also have an internal report where we combine the bookstore sales of graphic novels with the comic store sales of graphic novels and the sales of periodicals. There are multiple platforms and opportunities that we internally measure our success by.
We certainly are aware of market share, but that is not our primary goal. But market share is not the only way we look at our success internally.
That’s… comforting, yes, but also surprising, given that, when Lee and Didio became co-publishers, the latter clearly said “Our goal without a doubt is to be the #1 publishing company in comics.” Wayne’s response feels like a shift away from that goal, which could be either lowering expectations for the September relaunch or, more likely, the result of realizing that Marvel’s apparently holding onto that #1 publisher title no matter what DC does (Lowering prices didn’t work, launching fan-favorite titles with fan-favorite creators didn’t work… It’s not unreasonable to suspect that even relaunching the entire line isn’t going to work, at this point). Of course, it’s also possible that Wayne just has a different take on things than Didio, but I can’t stop myself wondering whether he’s signaling a change in goal for the publisher, and that this – mixed with the digital publishing push – means that DC is playing a different game altogether, these days.
July 20th, 2011 at 11:48 am
Well, it is honest. But it’s as if the Tampa Bay Rays said the same thing. Realistic, but not what you really want to hear if you are a fan. Or a stockholder. (I don’t really care myself that DC isn’t the best selling company. I just care that it’s the best in terms of product.)
July 20th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
RE: Simon D.
Why? We’re not rooting for DC against Marvel. This isn’t sports. For stockholders, I guess I can understand, but fans? That’s silly.
July 20th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
wayne is clearly clueless. By Image-ifying the DC Universe and “refreshing” everything they get that short term but very high sales spike. Multiply that by 52 and then you’re in the game toe-to-toe with Marvel. Last month they started making in-roads with sizable growth in sales so the marketing campaign is at least working in the early going. Now whether the new books will tell good stories or not is a question unto itself.
July 20th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Idiotic.
July 20th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Marvel is putting out 100+ books in September alone. DC including Vertigo & Johnny DC is putting out around 70. With the number disadvantage they have to outsell Marvel by a lot to claim #1. And then have to stay at #1 for the following months. There’s no shame in being #2 if you’re bringing in more money than before.
July 20th, 2011 at 4:53 pm
key point thats missing is profitability per comic
Marvel may sell a comic at around 100k, but we don’t know the cost that went into that (they may pay an exclusive writer/artist/colorist/editor more than DC pays their staff, and they may have spent a lot on marketing)…a DC comic that sells 80k may be more financially successful (hence DC claiming their mid range comics are good for the company)
we don’t know each companies return on their investment and dollar–ranking is only a guide
July 20th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
I get the feeling Marvel and DC run two completely different business models and have different priorities and internet fanboys (myself included) are only seeing part of a much larger picture, a picture where the petty rivalries and squabbling about any one strategy don’t matter so much.
Anyway, I dig this attitude. Play your own game and succeed using your own formula, on your own terms. It was always heart-breaking to see DC try to beat Marvel at Marvel’s game and I was always hoping that they’d realize one day that Marvel’s game (ie. being the king of the abysmal direct market, selling overpriced pamphlets to the last sad remaining stragglers) isn’t worth struggling over. I like Warren Ellis and his “girlfriend” analogy. DC always does the best when they make up their own rules.
July 20th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
“I can’t stop myself wondering whether he’s signaling a change in goal for the publisher, and that this – mixed with the digital publishing push – means that DC is playing a different game altogether, these days.”
I’m thinking that’s it exactly. As much love as Marvel gets from the die-hards and as completely as they dominate the comics specialty shops, I think DC should be given more credit as a gamechanger. They rule the book store market and that’s a completely different demographic altogether (ask the booky Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore fans who buy graphic novels only how much the Diamond charts matter) and they’re going to give it their best to open up an iPad demographic, as well. Although you have to service them, it would be myopic to ONLY care about the spandex-obsessed Wednesday warriors and DC seems to have known this for years.
July 22nd, 2011 at 9:59 am
Actually what Wayne is saying is something that I’ve known about how DC works for a very long time. It’s a little surprising that someone has actually said it out loud.
July 24th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
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