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Post by hondobrode on Mar 4, 2019 0:17:59 GMT -5
Agreed it sounds incredibly stupid
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Post by brutalis on Mar 6, 2019 8:27:26 GMT -5
Seen a couple of articles appearing on internet sites quoting DC's Dan Didio, who talks of a revamping of their current TPB and Hardcover collecting process of monthly ongoings and min-series. Currently DC will first release a 6 page TPB from current series and then later a 2nd TPB with the remaining 6 issues of the year which is followed by a hardcover collecting the entire year/12 issues. DC will reverse this process to follow the standards of classic reprinting: meaning a longer wait for TPB as DC will 1st collect the year/12 issues in hardback for sale and then later release in TPB (nothing stated if will be in current 6 issue format or larger 12 issue format) in hopes of increased sales of the more expensive hardback collections.
Is this going to work or not for buyers? Will they be willing to spend on higher end hardbacks 1st or prefer for waiting on the cheaper TPB? For myself: I much more prefer TPB's over hardbacks. Smaller, lighter and easier to sit and read. I have bought some Omnibus the last few years if only because of pre-order pricing discounts or because the TPB is out of print or there is no TPB. My case in point has been Master of Kung Fu/Deadly Hands of Kung Fu as at the time there existed the possibility that the Omni may be the only option to get these series. Kamandi too as there has been NO TPB print runs at all, just hardback collections. Same for original Doom Patrol and Adam Strange.
What do you all think? Another cash grab or forcing buyers to purchase the way DC wants you to versus how you want to?
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 6, 2019 11:10:15 GMT -5
I thought of that idea in the 80's where you would collect 1987 in one volume, 1988 in a following volume etc. What will the reader end up getting, two 6 issue decompressed stories? You can argue they get that now. Mrp pointed out in another thread that the big 2 are married to the monthly format, but this announcement means that they are being forced into another way of selling their comic stories. So be it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2019 11:14:10 GMT -5
Would it be revolutionary to return to the idea of standalone stories, with 2-3 arcs a rare treat?
I know, I know, not gonna happen.
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Post by Icctrombone on Mar 6, 2019 11:33:34 GMT -5
The last time I pulled out my Bronze Age Superman's , I was pleasantly surprised with how each issue was a done in one. These days, it won't happen.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2019 11:42:40 GMT -5
I used to enjoy occasional 3-issue arcs. They felt like a rare treat. They were a rare treat. They were the "Christmas" of my comic collection.
If a story needs three issues to tell, FINE! But if two issues would suffice, why not two? Or one? Writing for the trade does seem like the tail wagging the dog.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2019 14:17:40 GMT -5
Seen a couple of articles appearing on internet sites quoting DC's Dan Didio, who talks of a revamping of their current TPB and Hardcover collecting process of monthly ongoings and min-series. Currently DC will first release a 6 page TPB from current series and then later a 2nd TPB with the remaining 6 issues of the year which is followed by a hardcover collecting the entire year/12 issues. DC will reverse this process to follow the standards of classic reprinting: meaning a longer wait for TPB as DC will 1st collect the year/12 issues in hardback for sale and then later release in TPB (nothing stated if will be in current 6 issue format or larger 12 issue format) in hopes of increased sales of the more expensive hardback collections. Is this going to work or not for buyers? Will they be willing to spend on higher end hardbacks 1st or prefer for waiting on the cheaper TPB? For myself: I much more prefer TPB's over hardbacks. Smaller, lighter and easier to sit and read. I have bought some Omnibus the last few years if only because of pre-order pricing discounts or because the TPB is out of print or there is no TPB. My case in point has been Master of Kung Fu/Deadly Hands of Kung Fu as at the time there existed the possibility that the Omni may be the only option to get these series. Kamandi too as there has been NO TPB print runs at all, just hardback collections. Same for original Doom Patrol and Adam Strange. What do you all think? Another cash grab or forcing buyers to purchase the way DC wants you to versus how you want to? From what I read,nothing has been said definitively of releasing them in tpb from later, just that the collected editions will now be hardcovers collecting around 12 issues of material. Bleeding Cool speculated that they would be released in trade later, but nothing was said at all by DC, Didio or anyone else at the company. It's a move to reduce the number of SKUs on the marketplace and attempt to increase sales of each release rather than spreading sales over 2 smaller releases. A higher price point means it is going to net a retailer more revenue for the space it takes up too (a frequent complaint why mass market retailers stopped carrying comic periodicals at all). Will it work-I don't see the move creating any issues for those who buy collected editions in the mass market, i.e. customers who don't frequent comic shops. Those who do frequent comic shops of course will bitch and moan and claim they won't support the move not buying stuff they weren't buying anyways and that they are being forsaken by the publishers to much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but at this point publishers have to look at what the market will look like in 5, 10, 20 years when a lot of this disgruntled Wednesday Warriors will be dead and in the ground and the publishers will need to have found new customers to remain viable. The book publishing industry has had no problem over the years releasing stuff in hardcover first and then only later releasing paperback versions. What is not taken into consideration here is that this is coming at a time when DC is also putting out paperback OGN aimed at young readers at the $9.99-$19.99, a move that also echoes what the traditional book market is doing to great success. This looks to me, like Warner/AT&T is looking at their publishing division, which is not doing well, and asking why aren't they operating more like traditional publishers who are doing well in the current marketplace instead of clinging to practices that only work in the small niche market they are languishing in that is shrinking and has been for decades? If you want to be more successful and your current practices aren't working or getting you where you need to be, look to those who are successful in the field and see what of their practices you can emulate. -M |
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