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In regard to Prez – you should read the comments on the Beat’s July DC sales analysis.

To quote myself:
“@Brian (and other guy!) – can i say a point about Prez? two points.

1) the preview to Prez in whatever Convergence book that was, – was very strong. The character was President, it had action, and she had agency. She was making decisions and being awesome.

2) IN the first issue of Prez (which I bought) – she had no agency. Not only was she not President, but she wasn’t taking steps to become president. Her Presidency isn’t a result of actions on her part, but of an accident with a fryer, and things being done TO her (dude uploads to youtube against her wishes, a different dude supports her for no reason) – She was NOT A PROTAGONIST.

Hibbs is right, that’s crap writing and crap editing. That’s why I didn’t come back for Issue 2.

Do you really really like Prez? – Buy 3 copies. It’s the only hope.”

to Quote Brian Hibbs:

“I find it pretty weird you’re using a DC comic to try to make a point about indy sales, BUT…. PREZ #1 featured 20 pages of story where the LEAD CHARACTER DID NOT MEET THE STATED PREMISE OF THE COMIC — she, in fact, doesn’t even come CLOSE to becoming President until issue #2. That, right there, is the sign of a writer (and much much more… an EDITOR!) who doesn’t know what he’s doing, and that’s why in my Indy-friendly store where we stumped hard for the book sales between issue #1 and #2 dropped by 60% or so. That’s like if BATMAN #1 ended with Bruce and his parents looking at the paper and talking about maybe seeing a movie over the weekend!”

Seriously. Prez is not a good book. It’s not a good book specifically because it does not do what it says on the tin. If you’re enjoying it – buy 3 copies.

http://www.comicsbeat.com/dc-comics-month-to-month-sales-july-2015-life-the-universe-and-everything/

To @AwesomeDude – First, thanks for your opinion of the book – I can definitely see how Prez #1 could read like that, and see how folks would be frustrated by the lead character not being president by the end of the first issue. I read the preview and first issue differently, with the preview showing intent, and the person Beth Ross would become. I also like how the first two issues are about her choosing what’s important to her, and shows her resolve in the face of what appears to be crushing and inevitable, which in turn informs her decisions and resolve once the plot moves her into position. In terms of becoming president, she is passive. In terms of being president, she is not.

But that said, that’s my reading. That’s the fun of comics, and entertainment in general. Prez is not a good comic for you. Or I guess for Brian Hibbs. And that’s fine. As a reader, it’s your right to enjoy the books you read and it’s frustrating when you don’t – especially if you wanted to like something. As a retailer, I don’t have that luxury. Given my personal tastes, there’s a few comics I wouldn’t be ordering. As a result, I don’t have those books in my personal collection. But as a retailer, it is my job to sell books to people who will connect with them, regardless of my opinion of them – and that’s what I do.

Currently, Prez is my second best selling DC book, next to Batman – which is saying something, because Batman is a dynamo. I’ve had to place re-orders for every issue at this point, and honestly, I probably lost a customer or two from not having an issue here or there at any given point in time. Obviously, my sales don’t reflect the larger market, or even what Hibbs is experiencing – but to that end, Hibbs’ experience don’t reflect the larger market either. He’d probably be the first to admit that his sales charts don’t look exactly like the top 300.

But anyway. I’m gonna keep selling the hell out of a book that my customers seem to enjoy quite a bit, and I’m going to allow my orders reflect that. And I’m also going to go ahead and not read comments sections (beyond, you know, the two days or so I check back on the articles I write) because fun fact: comment sections and opinions sure as heck do not accurately represent anything beyond singular opinion. So I dunno. Keep doing you, I guess, and I’ll continue to purchase far more than 3 copies of Prez because… well, I have a store to run and 3 isn’t even going to BEGIN covering what I need for files.

Sorry. I should make it clear.

The fact that myself, and Brian didn’t personally like Prez isn’t really the key point. The point is, from a neutral stand point, it’s extremely obvious why the book sold so poorly. The lead character does not have agency and the book does not do what it says on the tin. That’s bad writing and bad editing.

As for the DC-You. You’re right. Bad marketing, bad concept, bad execution. DC is in a much poorer position without Bob Wayne. I’m not sure what they need to differently, as not every book can be Batgirl, but they have to do something, and soon.

Marvel, smart but evil…DC, just plain dumb.

I should probably have led with this but – i liked your article. Great specific take from a retailer perspective on how the poorness of Convergence affected the ordering of the DC-You push.

For what it’s worth I’m glad Prez is selling well in your store. Comics that sell well keep the industry afloat, and I’m very much in support of keeping the industry going. And it’s especially encouraging when a book that’s selling well is not a super-hero book and is potentially bringing in new readers.

@AwesomeDude – I’m glad you liked the article – I think our break down is this – I suppose that books like Prez (and really, the whole current DC You initiative) isn’t selling well because of the marketing, and how retailers are ordering. I base that from the fact that these numbers are usually a reflection of initial orders with very little adjustment – because HOLY WOW, retailers are slow moving and a good chunk do not do FOC for whatever reason. I know the orders for issue one can ONLY be that – and while I agree that the drop might have been steeper due to content, I wouldn’t put that down to editorial or creative team.

We can both surely find examples to support our theories – it’s certainly easy to do and there’s a lot of specifics that can be pulled. But after working in comics retail for… man, nine years now? I can tell you how little customers care about not getting the whole story in the first issue – or at least in any form of actionable way. Regardless, I’m pretty sure we’re just going to end up agreeing to disagree. Thanks for reading and offering your opinion though! It’s appreciated.

How could Prez sell badly because she’s not president in the first issue? Wouldn’t that take people reading the first issue and then telling their retailers they don’t like it? So, the sales for like issue 4 would drop?

Prez looks awesome. It also looks like the only interesting DC You book. Superman in jeans isn’t really a strong sales hook.

There was a Prez preview? I’m a long-time comic fan very interested in DCYou, and I had no idea. They did a horrible job promoting these “free tastes”. Even when I knew there was one I wanted to see — for Starfire, and I found out there was a preview because I was confused by what was going on with the character and then reading a review column, good job, DC — I had a very hard time finding it online.

I share “AwesomeDude”‘s take on Prez. I tried the first issue, wondered where the President part was, and didn’t come back.

@AwesomeDude
PREZ isn’t a bad book because she wasn’t President by the end of issue one; it isn’t a DC book because she wasn’t President by the end of issue one. Which is kind of what Brandon seems to be talking about: DC was courting an audience with PREZ who probably doesn’t even look at the DC shelves in the store. Meanwhile, audiences whose bread-and-butter was typical New 52 DC stuff would almost certainly find the stylistic choices made here off-putting. That’s not bad, because DC wanted to court a new audience. They just courted very poorly.

It’s silly to pretend like you’re a ‘neutral observer’ just because you didn’t like a book. It’s well-crafted as hell, with phenomenal design and world-building and an emphasis on character instead of plot. It’s just not a DC book.

It seemed like it would’ve been a Vertigo title once upon a time–or at least the way I treat Vertigo books is how I went with Prez. I liked the first issue enough I’ll check out the collected edition(s) from the library when the series is completed…if I remember to. Just too many good books and prices are too high–standards get raised. If everything’s working right even good books don’t make the cut.

DC’s moves over the last 3-5 years have damaged the brand with me. I’m so far out of DC at this point it’s easier to just not bother with their output altogether and cherry-pick this era of DC in retrospect…once the verdict is in on what’s decent.