Comments on: Image Reverses Course on SAGA Reprints http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/ The Blog@ Team and prominent comics personalities share what’s on their minds. Sat, 25 May 2013 03:49:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: John Sloane’s Country Seasons 2013 Deluxe Wall Calendar: Twenty-seventh Annual Collection For a Low Price! http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/comment-page-1/#comment-806076 John Sloane’s Country Seasons 2013 Deluxe Wall Calendar: Twenty-seventh Annual Collection For a Low Price! Sat, 13 Apr 2013 02:16:29 +0000 http://blog.newsarama.com/?p=34628#comment-806076 This is the right weblog for anybody who desires to find out about this topic. You realize so much its nearly hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice! This is the right weblog for anybody who desires to find out about this topic. You realize so much its nearly hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!

]]> By: Gevian Dargan http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/comment-page-1/#comment-778740 Gevian Dargan Sat, 15 Dec 2012 06:02:48 +0000 http://blog.newsarama.com/?p=34628#comment-778740 Eric Stephenson apologized for how the matter was handled and that is great but his case was anything but solid precisely because estimating demand in the comic book industry is a crapshoot. Why is it a crapshoot? There are no sell-through numbers. Period. Even the sell-in numbers are estimates. When you are operating with not less than perfect information but imperfect information, I find it amazing that so many people believe the retailers should somehow better equipped to estimate demand in this industry than the publishers who sell the product and have access to more perfect information. If the direct market ever goes under, you all are going to miss these guys when they're gone. Based on that press release, Image ought to have the balls to do more than second printings, they need to do larger intial print runs. Show the same faith in your own product that you demand of others. Eric Stephenson apologized for how the matter was handled and that is great but his case was anything but solid precisely because estimating demand in the comic book industry is a crapshoot. Why is it a crapshoot? There are no sell-through numbers. Period. Even the sell-in numbers are estimates. When you are operating with not less than perfect information but imperfect information, I find it amazing that so many people believe the retailers should somehow better equipped to estimate demand in this industry than the publishers who sell the product and have access to more perfect information. If the direct market ever goes under, you all are going to miss these guys when they’re gone. Based on that press release, Image ought to have the balls to do more than second printings, they need to do larger intial print runs. Show the same faith in your own product that you demand of others.

]]> By: Gevian Dargan http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/comment-page-1/#comment-778735 Gevian Dargan Sat, 15 Dec 2012 05:56:41 +0000 http://blog.newsarama.com/?p=34628#comment-778735 Any publisher who can't come up a print to meet predictable demand deserves to miss out on sales opportunities. They shouldn't blame retailers for their own lack of faith in their product. This was issue 7, Image had just as much information to accurately estimate demand for Saga #7. And they had just as much historical data to estimate a print run that would meet demand for Saga #1. If Image doesn't want to cough up the dough to do print runs to meet the overwhelming demand that they claim exist for their books, don't expect anyone to do the same, especially not retailers. The retailers' risk and reward is not the same as Image's risk and reward. And to say otherwise betrays your lack of understanding of how this industry works and the true dynamics of forecasting in this industry. Any publisher who can’t come up a print to meet predictable demand deserves to miss out on sales opportunities. They shouldn’t blame retailers for their own lack of faith in their product. This was issue 7, Image had just as much information to accurately estimate demand for Saga #7. And they had just as much historical data to estimate a print run that would meet demand for Saga #1. If Image doesn’t want to cough up the dough to do print runs to meet the overwhelming demand that they claim exist for their books, don’t expect anyone to do the same, especially not retailers. The retailers’ risk and reward is not the same as Image’s risk and reward. And to say otherwise betrays your lack of understanding of how this industry works and the true dynamics of forecasting in this industry.

]]> By: Captain Temerity http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/comment-page-1/#comment-778541 Captain Temerity Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:59:22 +0000 http://blog.newsarama.com/?p=34628#comment-778541 Ordering is such a crapshoot with comics in retail... I get why (although I'd disagree from personal evaluation) some retailers might drop orders on something like Saga in theory. The book finished its first arc. It then took a couple months off. The book had rising numbers, which is great, and yes, some people might come in to try it based on reading it in the trade. But then a lot of those people might also just wait for the next trade (a popular concept). And some people may make it through arc one and decide, then, the books not for them (so unlikely with a book this good, but it can, and does, happen). And the time jump in-between issues six to seven can get a book to drop off readers, and even retailers, radars. I'm very grateful that none of this seems to be really affecting Saga's demand. Love the book. Buy the single issues for myself, and I'm buying the trades for a friend. But all those factors I mentioned, and a two-to-three month ordering window, it adds up to uncertainty for an uncertain business. In the end, my respect for Eric Stephenson as a publisher (already looked up to him in a big way as a creator) just grows and grows. Everything he talks about, everything he puts out and does, it comes across that he just wants to make (or help make) the best comics possible, and he truly values the retailers in their part of that. Where other companies seem to go against retailers at nearly every turn these days, treating them with limited respect, and breaking promises made, Image is one of the ones that still treats them with value. Eric could've stuck to his guns on this. He made a solid case as to why he was making the change. But he turned around based on reaction for the retailers, how much it would affect them. Maybe Eric's plan was the right way to go. It's possible. But he wants to work with his partners in the field, and that speaks volumes to me about him and Image as a company. If I was a retailer in charge of ordering, I'd be very encouraged to support them and their product in return. Ordering is such a crapshoot with comics in retail… I get why (although I’d disagree from personal evaluation) some retailers might drop orders on something like Saga in theory. The book finished its first arc. It then took a couple months off. The book had rising numbers, which is great, and yes, some people might come in to try it based on reading it in the trade. But then a lot of those people might also just wait for the next trade (a popular concept). And some people may make it through arc one and decide, then, the books not for them (so unlikely with a book this good, but it can, and does, happen). And the time jump in-between issues six to seven can get a book to drop off readers, and even retailers, radars.

I’m very grateful that none of this seems to be really affecting Saga’s demand. Love the book. Buy the single issues for myself, and I’m buying the trades for a friend. But all those factors I mentioned, and a two-to-three month ordering window, it adds up to uncertainty for an uncertain business.

In the end, my respect for Eric Stephenson as a publisher (already looked up to him in a big way as a creator) just grows and grows. Everything he talks about, everything he puts out and does, it comes across that he just wants to make (or help make) the best comics possible, and he truly values the retailers in their part of that. Where other companies seem to go against retailers at nearly every turn these days, treating them with limited respect, and breaking promises made, Image is one of the ones that still treats them with value. Eric could’ve stuck to his guns on this. He made a solid case as to why he was making the change. But he turned around based on reaction for the retailers, how much it would affect them. Maybe Eric’s plan was the right way to go. It’s possible. But he wants to work with his partners in the field, and that speaks volumes to me about him and Image as a company. If I was a retailer in charge of ordering, I’d be very encouraged to support them and their product in return.

]]> By: Justin Copp http://blog.newsarama.com/2012/12/14/image-reverses-course-on-saga-reprints/comment-page-1/#comment-778259 Justin Copp Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:52:43 +0000 http://blog.newsarama.com/?p=34628#comment-778259 Any retailer that is using second printings to meet the predictable demand for a book in their store is simply doing it wrong and deserves to sell out and miss sales. If you don't have enough copies of a book to sell, you are driving customers away, either to other stores, or, increasingly more likely, digital. That enough retailers apparently can't figure out how to order and then blame Image for that says a lot about the state of comic book retail. That Image would instantly cave in says a lot about them. Any retailer that is using second printings to meet the predictable demand for a book in their store is simply doing it wrong and deserves to sell out and miss sales. If you don’t have enough copies of a book to sell, you are driving customers away, either to other stores, or, increasingly more likely, digital.

That enough retailers apparently can’t figure out how to order and then blame Image for that says a lot about the state of comic book retail. That Image would instantly cave in says a lot about them.

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