|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 12, 2014 23:30:07 GMT -5
If you rented a video it was for a pre-established set period of time. I guess it depends on your viewpoint of ownership, and the idea that only physical objects hold value. I can login to any computer, phone, or tablet and download any comic I've ever purchased for free, anytime, anywhere, for as long as Marvel and/or comixology exists. Just because there isn't an extractable file involved doesn't change my accessibility to the product. Which doesn't even take into effect the Complete Series DVDs I've got that have PDF copies of every single issue of Cap, Avengers, Spider-Man, etc I don't purchase anything with the expectation that it has a lifetime guarantee. I think because I'm a lifetime comic fan, and I've purchased my favorite comics over and over in so many different formats (comic book, essentials, hardcovers, digital, omnibus, TPBs, lost comics, damaged comics) that I don't really sweat the possibility something I paid for might not last forever I prefer to purchase them once, myself  |
|
|
|
Post by hondobrode on Jul 13, 2014 3:03:34 GMT -5
Diamond's day of print monopoly will slowly slip away as print fades and digital continues to grow.
99% of my Comixology purchases are sale priced. I just bought the Planet of the Apes BOOM bundle of 10 trades for $ 32 despite already owning the first volume. That's still a killer deal.
Data warehousing, and scanning, retouching, re coloring is all part of the equation, but, I think digital is more profitable to the publishers, and healthier for the industry for ROI.
I love not driving across town, wasting time, dealing with inept shop owners, long boxes in storage, rental space, digging through boxes with my bad back, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by comicscube on Jul 13, 2014 4:29:03 GMT -5
When I lived in the States, I bought comics online, myself. Just much easier, and the shipping cost would be offset by transportation costs to the shops anyway.
I do think Scholastic's model right now of straight to the book market is the wave of the future for the medium, but I personally don't know how Marvel and DC can migrate over and still keep the shared-universe/continuity thing that is ostensibly one of their biggest draws intact. When I read TPBs, each series in and of itself feels self-contained. When i'm following a series in single issues, I feel there may be effects from other titles that are being felt at around the same time.
It would end up being drastic for what currently works. I'm not personally sure how such a migration can be done.
|
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 13, 2014 7:53:28 GMT -5
I could deifnitely go with that... I mostly by trades for Image and other stuff. Marvel barely shares anymore (mostly just books under the same editor), so it probably wouldn't make that much a difference.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 7:59:15 GMT -5
I think Diamond and retailers may be what pidgeonholed comics as a medium and industry into a mostly garbage niche market with an ever shrinking population of readers comprising of 86% men in the first place. I wouldn't be sad to see that distribution avenue lose it's grip on the industry. It's a common perception but not necessarily accurate. Lots of fans think comics abandoned the newsstand, but it was actually the reverse. The direct market/Diamond is the only thing that kept comics from disappearing |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 15:05:27 GMT -5
I think Diamond and retailers may be what pidgeonholed comics as a medium and industry into a mostly garbage niche market with an ever shrinking population of readers comprising of 86% men in the first place. I wouldn't be sad to see that distribution avenue lose it's grip on the industry. It's a common perception but not necessarily accurate. Lots of fans think comics abandoned the newsstand, but it was actually the reverse. The direct market/Diamond is the only thing that kept comics from disappearing I'm not talking about the newsstand, I'm talking about Diamond pushing out smaller publishers through higher and higher minimums, by shoving creator owned work to the back of the catalog, to be found AFTER the retailer has ordered all their Marvel and DC, and through favorable deals cut with larger publishers. |
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 13, 2014 16:26:59 GMT -5
You can't blame Diamond for that. Its cheaper to print and distribute larger print runs... blame the consumers for not supporting indy stuff more.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 18:47:40 GMT -5
I don't see what that has to do with the distribution. Give them the option of increasing the cover price. There shouldn't be a unit minimum. A unit minimum about double the size of many self published comics from before the minimum was increased. A minimum barely a thousand units away from the print run of Walking Dead #1. That comic almost didn't make Diamond's minimum.
And it's not just that Diamond has minimums, but they have minimums and a distribution monopoly. Imagine if a small press distributor had access to the direct market. If just one in ten shops was willing to spend $100 a week from a catalog that wasn't Diamond.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 18:47:44 GMT -5
You can't blame Diamond for that. Its cheaper to print and distribute larger print runs... blame the consumers for not supporting indy stuff more. Blame the indy stuff for not being interesting enough, it's not like everyone is hardwired to exclusively buy from the Big 2, which, by the way, also has a lot of mediocre crap and a lot of titles which fail. Dynamite's Vampirella has not impressed...does anyone else here try it? |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 19:20:39 GMT -5
it's not like everyone is hardwired to exclusively buy from the Big 2 Which is why they try to make sure they're the only option on the stands, to make the decision easier for the consumer. Why do a lot of their titles fail? Because they are consistently publishing more titles than they can support. Why not cut back? Because it's worth the cost of publishing a failed title to tie up that spot on comic shop shelves rather than allow the retailer to be able to afford to fill that space with a title from a competitor. |
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 13, 2014 23:02:46 GMT -5
I think alot of it is what the consumer wants... look at the sales numbers. Any time Marvel and DC do something out of the box, it fails. Indies require MASSIVE internet love and/or a bit of controversy (i.e Saga) or a TV deal (i.e Walking Dead) to even get noticed. Even licensed stuff that's not Star Wars doesn't do very well... Planet of the Apes sold under 10K copies... Transformers and GI Joe don't do much better.
For whatever reason, the market is zeroed in on Batman/Superman/X-Men/Avengers right now... that being the case, no one, (diamond, publishers, store, etc) have a reason to give love to small press.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2014 23:56:32 GMT -5
Weird though, that Marvel and DC aren't topping the TPB market in bookstores.
This is another reason why I'm not too concerned with the direct market. Fans love it. A little nerd hole where outsiders never venture and we can all be comfortable talking about our favorite comics.
Not many other people like it. The awkward hushed stares when a female enters the store. The rudeness when you need help. The total lack of diversity in the comics stocked on the shelves. Of course not all comic stores are like that, but we've all likely seen or dealt with those very things in a comic store at one point or another. I've seen people awkwardly walk out of a comic store because a girl walked in.
I'm not saying the direct market should die off, but maybe it shouldn't be the sole avenue of comics distribution? Maybe not even the largest avenue? There are alternatives. There were before, there will be again. I personally don't even shop in comic stores anymore, and am unlikely to ever again unless I need bags and boards. I've been completely turned off in one way or another from every store within a hundred mile radius of my house. Driving 160 miles round trip to be disappointed with a stores selection is not how I want to spend my Saturday. Especially when the Barnes & Noble probably has $200 worth of merchandise I'd like to buy, and my Amazon wishlist is about two years deep at this point. I don't have to be limited to what's on the shelf at the store ran by the guy who had never even heard of Fantagraphics, and nobody else should be either.
|
|
|
|
Post by comicscube on Jul 14, 2014 0:06:49 GMT -5
Weird though, that Marvel and DC aren't topping the TPB market in bookstores. This is another reason why I'm not too concerned with the direct market. Fans love it. A little nerd hole where outsiders never venture and we can all be comfortable talking about our favorite comics. Not many other people like it. The awkward hushed stares when a female enters the store. The rudeness when you need help. The total lack of diversity in the comics stocked on the shelves. Of course not all comic stores are like that, but we've all likely seen or dealt with those very things in a comic store at one point or another. I've seen people awkwardly walk out of a comic store because a girl walked in. I'm not saying the direct market should die off, but maybe it shouldn't be the sole avenue of comics distribution? Maybe not even the largest avenue? There are alternatives. There were before, there will be again. I personally don't even shop in comic stores anymore, and am unlikely to ever again unless I need bags and boards. I've been completely turned off in one way or another from every store within a hundred mile radius of my house. Driving 160 miles round trip to be disappointed with a stores selection is not how I want to spend my Saturday. Especially when the Barnes & Noble probably has $200 worth of merchandise I'd like to buy, and my Amazon wishlist is about two years deep at this point. I don't have to be limited to what's on the shelf at the store ran by the guy who had never even heard of Fantagraphics, and nobody else should be either. Over here, a local bookstore, Fully Booked, not only has a gigantic GN section, but put it beside an empty room which they eventually rented out to the nation's largest comic store. The deal being, the bookstore sells the GNs and TPBs but Comic Odyssey can sell singles and statues and toys. It's been pretty amazing. Sometimes I'm just in there and people walk in all curious about comics. And sometimes they even buy something. I was in there once and a bunch of high school girls, around five or six, just started talking about the Ultimate universe, and then a few months later, some kid asked a girl to the prom in the store. It's been pretty awesome seeing the transition. I love the increase in diversity and the friendliness of the staff here. If I can, I'd just say also that it's worlds away from the comic stores I walked into in the US. Not that they were all bad - there was one called Phantom of the Attic in Easton, PA, that was amazing. But most did give the atmosphere of being unwelcoming. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2014 0:15:31 GMT -5
One of the stores I dislike is actually a beautiful store with a very helpful staff. Their selection is what turns me off, but I can't say they fit the stereotype of "comic book guys."
My local store I had to quit shopping at because the owner absolutely refuses to add indy titles to my pull list. It's a pull list, how hard is it to order for me? When he doesn't completely ignore my list he will fill it with the wrong stuff. I ordered Love And Rockets, I got Love And Capes. The guy is nice enough, but he is not very helpful unless you're buying DC comics.
The worst store was ran by a goth kid who had all his friends over to play Magic on a giant table that dominated the center of the store. They covered the windows and kept light to an uncomfortably low level, and would literally roll their eyes at you when you asked for help with something. I went in there when I found out Brian Posehn had written a comic. I asked if they had it, they said no. I asked if they could get it and that's when I got the long sigh. He promised to order it for me the next month. I came back a month later and it still wasn't there. I never went back.
|
|
|
|
Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 14, 2014 7:38:25 GMT -5
Sounds like you just have a bad LCS, Dupont. Since I travel, I've been in ALOT of different comic book stores... they, in general, fall into 3 types:
1) - the kind you describe. Lots of bad issues. Usually a bit grimy. Always 2-3 stereotypical 'comic book nerds' chatting in the front, who look at you like you have 3 heads when you walk in and they don't know you. I find these type good to pop in while travelling, check their $1 bins, then leave.
2) - the chain store. Usually brighter and larger, but still 'feels' like a comic book shop. Still comic book guys in the front looking at you funny, but will generally pretend to be nice if they think you're going to be something. Usually LOTS of trades, a bit of manga, and a few back issue bins (but not always) $1 bins here most often are new books that didn't sell, unless they're having a 'sale', which they usually do regularly... often little homebrew packages of runs and such.
3) the Comic, Book Store - no back issues, very small, but clean and neat. 80% trades, with a 'new this week' rack. Usually staffed by high school or college kids who have seen the Marvel Movies and read some Manga. Not much fun.
IMO the chain stores are the ones who can thrive in this market. They appeal to the grumpy old fans (and are generally owned and operated by them), but also are nice enough to get walk-ins. The old school stores are indeed intimidating, while the new ones can't match B&N, Amazon, or DCBS, so they really don't have a chance.
|
|
