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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 9, 2024 8:20:34 GMT -5
As far as unrelated variants go... They seem to do them as a group theme, so you might want to collect all of said theme. Like they did all Deadpool ones for the money one month, or whatever. I think of it as horizonal instead of vertical.
I agree with Driver that it can be a little confusing if you're walking into the shop and just looking at the choices, but that's a pretty rare activity. Most people that walk into a shop know what's up and generally have their pile waiting for them behind the counter.
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 8:30:04 GMT -5
In the EU and UK, pricing of single issues is so silly compared to buying trades that monthly comics make zero sense for me anyway, so while I think variants are a very very bad idea, I acknowledge that adult collectors are what prop up the remnants of the industry. I'd rather the big two focused their energy on making comics cheaper- quicker flat colors, one cover, lower margins, etc- to try to shift more and sell them away from the direct market to children and teenagers specifically, who will be the lifelong fans of tomorrow. Variants and endless number 1s just feel like components of the death cycle mainstream monthlies are in. Far too many comics are punished each month with the main superheroes too- at least the in continuity core- which could consist of about 8 issues only per month. Other forms of entertainment simply are much more accessible to children and teenagers, such as manga, books, etc etc. I'd love it in concept, but that reality is never going to happen again, sadly. Comics are no longer a volume seller for little kids (some of which grew up and still love them). They are now a small niche collectors market. As such, prices are what the market can bare. No store is going to both stocking a $2 comic that make a few cents profit on.. they aren't going to sell hundreds of thousands of them like back in the day. DC tried (sort of) to emulate manga with the 'Giants' they put in Wal-Mart, and it didn't work. There's just no infrastructure any more for comics to sell like that. I wish it could happen, but its just not realistic. What I see in the future is comics starting as a webtoon or cheap download, then getting printed later.. alot of indy webtoons do that nowadays and that seems the a pretty viable model. In the UK the supermarkets still tend to carry some kids comics, which run for half the price of US comics (or slightly over). I guess they must sell ok as supermarkets have carried them for the last 50+ years. If it can be done in the UK, why not the US? I'm assuming kids would still like comics there too 😊 Even the likes of Spiderman comics are sold this way in the UK, so it's not just the likes of the Beano and 2000AD on the shelves. (I think 2000AD costs a bit more than the younger audience stuff) Of course when no one buys any magazines at all any more I suspect that section of the supermarkets might die off, in the same way the music section has disappeared. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 9, 2024 8:35:58 GMT -5
wow, really? Every now and then I'll see an Archie digest at the check out counter, but its been many years since current monthly comics where sold on a magazine rack of any sort in the US.
Very interesting.
Perhaps part of it is comics are definitely NOT written for kids in any way... the attempts to do so haven't done all that well for Marvel. DC has had a bit more success, but not through grocery stores or even comic shops but more like the manga model selling through scholastic book fairs and the like
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 8:48:33 GMT -5
The comics in supermarkets are aimed at younger children than many mainstream comics were up until Marvel killed their Marvel UK office back in the day. Great for 3-8 age range, but little after that. I picked up a couple of girlie comics for my nieces and looked inside a Spiderman comic, which was an immature piece of work compared to 60s/70s Spiderman.
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 8:53:31 GMT -5
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 9, 2024 9:01:22 GMT -5
I do think it’s unimaginative for Panini to have the same name for a title as the US comic. Prior to this, their comic was called Astonishing Spider-Man:  I liked that the UK reprint had our own adjective, now it’s the same title as the US comics. Mind you, Panini, unlike Marvel UK, are more about product delivery and churning out reprint after reprint rather than the customer-focused nature of Marvel UK (who I miss). Just my view. |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 9, 2024 9:21:31 GMT -5
What do I want from comics? A crossover where the Doctor and the Fantastic Four take on Doctor Doom and the Daleks.
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 9:24:36 GMT -5
Agreed. It was a real pity that Marvel UK vanished the way it did, when it was putting out some really decent original material- it was amazing how much better Transformers UK was over the US Marvel Transformers comic, to the point where they stuck the UK team in charge of the US comic too.
Of course they reprinted plenty of stuff too- I used to collect the Spider-Man weekly comic, which comprised of an issue from Stan Lee's run along with a modern comic. Even though the art felt dated circa 1990, I really enjoyed the dialogue and the silly stories.
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 9:26:12 GMT -5
I do think it’s unimaginative for Panini to have the same name for a title as the US comic. Prior to this, their comic was called Astonishing Spider-Man: I liked that the UK reprint had our own adjective, now it’s the same title as the US comics. Mind you, Panini, unlike Marvel UK, are more about product delivery and churning out reprint after reprint rather than the customer-focused nature of Marvel UK (who I miss). Just my view. What was that comic doing up at £4.50? Unless it was one of their 'magazine' comics with double the pages and lots of silly bonus content for little kids. |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 9, 2024 9:28:05 GMT -5
Agreed. It was a real pity that Marvel UK vanished the way it did, when it was putting out some really decent original material- it was amazing how much better Transformers UK was over the US Marvel Transformers comic, to the point where they stuck the UK team in charge of the US comic too. Of course they reprinted plenty of stuff too- I used to collect the Spider-Man weekly comic, which comprised of an issue from Stan Lee's run along with a modern comic. Even though the art felt dated circa 1990, I really enjoyed the dialogue and the silly stories. I know it may only be a small thing, but there was a real connection between Marvel UK’s editors and the readers, and there were no shortage of lively letters pages and features. With Panini, it’s very corporate. Much like Titan is, to be honest. At the end of the day, I know getting the stories is the important thing, but what’s wrong with a bit of a connection akin to a fan club? There are also a lot of Panini decisions I disagree with, although that’s probably a topic for another time. Their communication could be better, too (I sent them an e-mail about one of their Doctor Who trades, but I had no reply, so I’ll just get the book from eBay or somewhere). |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 9, 2024 9:30:00 GMT -5
I do think it’s unimaginative for Panini to have the same name for a title as the US comic. Prior to this, their comic was called Astonishing Spider-Man: I liked that the UK reprint had our own adjective, now it’s the same title as the US comics. Mind you, Panini, unlike Marvel UK, are more about product delivery and churning out reprint after reprint rather than the customer-focused nature of Marvel UK (who I miss). Just my view. What was that comic doing up at £4.50? Unless it was one of their 'magazine' comics with double the pages and lots of silly bonus content for little kids. It reprinted 3 US stories per issue (they only reprint 2 now). It had a card cover. Occasionally - very occasionally in fact - there might be features. That may well explain the £4.50 price. They had the DC licence at one point, and did a Batman comic which would reprint 3 US issues per issue, from various eras:  |
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 9:33:25 GMT -5
What was that comic doing up at £4.50? Unless it was one of their 'magazine' comics with double the pages and lots of silly bonus content for little kids. It reprinted 3 US stories per issue (they only reprint 2 now). It had a card cover. Occasionally - very occasionally in fact - there might be features. That may well explain the £4.50 price. They had the DC licence at one point, and did a Batman comic which would reprint 3 US issues per issue, from various eras: £2.40 for that Bat comic was a great deal- 3x the content for under half the price of one US issue ($4.99 equalling £4.99 in some shops sucks), and presumably much larger pages too . 👏🏼 |
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 9:35:35 GMT -5
Agreed. It was a real pity that Marvel UK vanished the way it did, when it was putting out some really decent original material- it was amazing how much better Transformers UK was over the US Marvel Transformers comic, to the point where they stuck the UK team in charge of the US comic too. Of course they reprinted plenty of stuff too- I used to collect the Spider-Man weekly comic, which comprised of an issue from Stan Lee's run along with a modern comic. Even though the art felt dated circa 1990, I really enjoyed the dialogue and the silly stories. I know it may only be a small thing, but there was a real connection between Marvel UK’s editors and the readers, and there were no shortage of lively letters pages and features. With Panini, it’s very corporate. Much like Titan is, to be honest. At the end of the day, I know getting the stories is the important thing, but what’s wrong with a bit of a connection akin to a fan club? There are also a lot of Panini decisions I disagree with, although that’s probably a topic for another time. Their communication could be better, too (I sent them an e-mail about one of their Doctor Who trades, but I had no reply, so I’ll just get the book from eBay or somewhere). 100% agree. The way Marvel UK fostered that fan club mentality, in the same way Stan Lee did back in the day, was awesome as a kid. It made you feel more involved and made you much more loyal to the product. I enjoyed the silly little one page or half page skits included too. A fun bonus. |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 9, 2024 18:12:44 GMT -5
I agree with Driver that it can be a little confusing if you're walking into the shop and just looking at the choices, but that's a pretty rare activity. Most people that walk into a shop know what's up and generally have their pile waiting for them behind the counter. In a way, that’s sad, isn’t it?  I mean, you’re 100% right. Might be extremely rare for, say, a woman to walk into a comic store looking for a comic to buy for her son - and being confused by the Hulk comic that has a Deadpool variant cover because Deadpool has a film out that month. As you say, people generally have their pile waiting for them behind the counter. But it’s hard not to feel a bit sad about it. It’s worth mentioning that here in the UK, newsagents rarely stock *any* periodicals now. The three nearest to me don’t (one guy even stopped selling newspapers, although those instruments of lies and vitriol won’t be missed by me). I don’t blame the shops doing this. The corner shop by me is run by a very friendly guy. He told me that he used to pay £70 a week for a delivery of periodicals: daily newspapers, magazines on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and comics, such as 2000 AD, on a Wednesday. But he told me it wasn’t worth it long-term, with magazines going unsold for months, and papers being unsold pretty much every day. So he now has a Wall’s Ice Cream freezer and an energy drink freezer where the periodicals used to be. That’s a business decision, and I totally get it, I don’t blame him. If Wall’s Ice Cream and Lucozade Sport brings him more money, more power to him. But it’s sad to think that no-one will walk into his shop and spontaneously discover a comic such as 2000 AD or a music magazine. |
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Post by rich on Sept 9, 2024 18:45:22 GMT -5
All the newsagents near where I lived in England carried newspapers and crappy gossip mags at the least... are they even a newsagent any more if they don't sell any newspapers or magazines? 😅 That's just a convenience store.
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