This may sound like trolling, but it’s meant as a genuine question: What is wrong with Marvel’s collected editions program?
To be more specific, why don’t Marvel’s collected editions seem to reflect the publisher’s leading position in the single issue Direct Market? Look at July’s top 10 graphic novels and collected editions, released from Diamond today: There’s not one Marvel book in the bunch (There are, however, five DC, two Image, two IDW and one Dark Horse). The same was true in June and April, with the only Marvel book to make an appearance in May’s list being the creator-owned Kick-Ass 2. You need to go back to February to see Marvel take more than one spot on the graphic novel/collected edition top 10 with Fantastic Four Season One and Uncanny X-Force Vol. 2 making appearances (March had the OGN X-Men Season One as Marvel’s sole top 10 book).
It’s not as if Marvel doesn’t put out a lot of collected editions (and the occasional OGN) – I count 47 in the solicitations for July alone – so what’s going on here? Is there some order incentive on everyone else’s books that isn’t present for Marvel’s? Is it that there’s less demand, because people have bought the singles or just aren’t interested? I know that the book audience isn’t the same as the single issue audience, but the discrepancy is so big when it comes to Marvel’s lack of presence in the top 10 that it makes me wonder if there’s something else going on that I’m not seeing.
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Could it have something to do with too much product and an incomplete backlist?
August 3rd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
A year or two ago I stopped buying the HC collections of Marvel series (I had long ago stopped buying singles, because every single thing they publish is collected). Why? Because they were collecting fewer and fewer issues, and the per issue cost was exceeding the price of the single issues. I like hardcovers, but I like thick hardcovers, especially for ongoing series, and I don’t need a lot of thin, four issue hardcover collections.
Plus, everything eventually gets a paperback edition, and then for most things that sell well, they’ll come out with a bigger hardcover version later (maybe even an omnibus). If you’re a monthly collector who loves a story so much that they want it to be on their bookshelf, why not just wait?
August 3rd, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Well I stopped buying when they started releasing editions with only 4/5 issues and no corresponding price drop.
The lack of numbering and sheer number of titles made it a problem as well especially when it came to X-men.
August 3rd, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Yeah, I have seen many new Marvel hardcovers collecting issues at upwards of $5 per single issue (and paperbacks at $4 an issue or more), which is pure insanity. I saw a hardcover yesterday collecting 8 issues or so for $35 or $40. Also, Marvel doesn’t seem to care very much about that format, seeings as they can’t seem to keep books that came out 6-12 months ago in stores (like Uncanny X-Force Dark Angel Part 2). Though it bothers me because I’m still waiting for the Flash HC, I think DC waiting and trickling out Hardcovers and paperbacks is a smart move, and the numbers seem to support that.
August 4th, 2012 at 9:50 pm
“This may sound like trolling”
May?
August 4th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
I still buy floppies, because I like the stories and don’t want to wait for the collection, so I don’t buy hardcovers unless they’re of special significance to me; and even then, only if it’s a complete story (unlike the Dark Angel Saga, which I would totally buy if it was one collection).
The hardcovers I enjoyed recently: DD Born Again Artist’s Edition (I know it’s IDW, but anyway…), Jesse Aaron Ghost Rider, Ennis Punisher Omnibus, Brubaker Cap Omnibus.
August 5th, 2012 at 2:58 am
Price. Quality (?). Everything has tie-ins, so even a book is just an incomplete unit. It’s just a bigger single issue, with cut-outs for parts of the story in other titles and cliffhangers.
August 6th, 2012 at 6:05 am
Cost. Cost. Cost.
Plus, the season one books just don’t have the creative pedigree that would make it worth…the cost.
August 7th, 2012 at 6:19 am
I recently did the math (sampled 6 DC and 6 Marvel books) and found that Marvel paperbacks were typically more expensive per issue than DC paperbacks. Not by much–small amounts like 50 cents.
Among both Marvel and DC, I did find that the paperbacks are less expensive per issue than actually buying the issues. Even more if you use a discount website like InStockTrades. With the discount, cost per issue frequently fell below $2.
August 8th, 2012 at 8:05 am
I remembered what hardcover it was: Incredible Hulk by Jason Aaron Vol 1. 7 issues for $35.
May 6th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Its like you learn my mind! You seem to understand so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I believe that you simply could do with some percent to pressure the message home a bit, but other than that, that is great blog. An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.