by Dave Carter Greetings, sales charts fans! It’s time once again to look at Image Comics’s sales figures. Just a reminder that I’m not doing this as a permanent gig; just filling in until Heidi finds someone to take on the indy month-to-month chart. Please refer to last month’s column for a preamble and explanation […]
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Blog: PW -The Beat (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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With the new Prez series launching next week as part of the New DC You(niverse) members of The Beat were attempting to do everything they could to get an exclusive interview with Prez Rickard, the former DC teenage hero and star of the original Prez title. Reaching out to Rickard was difficult, after all, The Beat isn’t particularly savvy with politics outside of the written page. Fortunately, when the new Prez, Beth Ross was alerted of our campaign, she managed to get us in a room with the former Prez of the DC Universe. When we finally cornered him in the back of a crowded room, he alerted us of his various picks for the week, politics and comics go together like vanilla and tofu. Here’s Rickard’s picks for the week:
Prez Rickard’s Picks:
Prez #1
Writer: Mark Russell Artist: Ben Caldwell
Meet Beth Ross, the first teenaged President of the United States. In a nation where corporations can run for office, the poor are used as human billboards, and tacos are delivered by drone, our only hope is this nineteen-year-old Twitter sensation. But the real question isn’t whether she’s ready for politics – it’s whether politics is ready for her. Don’t miss the start of this new, 12-issue miniseries!
Rickard’s all grown up now, and ready to let someone else take over the role of teenage president (Prez) which is actually why he informed us that he was perfectly cool with the new Prez Beth Ross taking over his position. He’s also eager to read the story-behind-the-story in Prez #1, the start of a twelve issue mini shipping from DC. With political humorist Mark Russell writing the story alongside Wednesday Comics alumni Ben Caldwell on art, Rickard is more than confident in the output of the non-traditional creative team of DC Comics members to deliver something creative on some title.
Thors #1
Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Chris Sprouse
The Thors of every domain, together in one book! As cosmic cops! Whenever there’s trouble on Battleworld, the Thors answer the call. But a string of mysterious murders leaves some of them asking questions that may unravel all of reality! A hard-hitting Marvel Comics police drama. With hammers. Lots and lots of hammers.
Thors #1 is set to be a fun title for a number of reasons, although Mr. Rickard really wishes it would have came out closer to the launch of Secret Wars #1. The art of Chris Sprouse is in rare demand these days — and getting him on a title instrumental to the Marvel Universe with one of the series top writers is going to be a small blessing. Rickard also seeks to dig deeper into whatever Battleworld-flavored mystery Aaron and company have cooked up for the upcoming first installment of Thors. Unfortunately, after briefing me on his picks for the week, Rickard was quickly summoned into a meeting with Ross. Still, we were glad to finally have a meeting with one of the most “normal” visitors to the Stately Beat Manor — someone so “normal” that we actually had to go visit them.
Matt’s Picks:
Southern Bastards #9
Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Jason Latour
NEW STORY ARC The Summer of the Bastards begins with a new arc, as the Runnin’ Rebs are gearing up for the big homecoming game against arch-rival Wetumptka County.
I recommended Weirdworld #1 by Jason Aaron sight unseen last week, so it only stands to reason that I’d spotlight the start of a new arc of a series that has a perfect 8-0 record. The trades for Volumes 1 AND 2 of Southern Bastards are just $9.99, so for less than $25 you can get caught up on a book that Aaron and Jason Latour always score with.
Kyle’s Pick:
Doctor Fate #1
Writer: Paul Levitz Artist: Sonny Liew
You thought global warming was bad? Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of Dead, is preparing the flood to wash the world away. Standing in his way? An overwhelmed Brooklyn med student who’s been handed the helmet of Fate, without an instruction manual.
For those who don’t know, I’m probably the world’s biggest Doctor Fate fan, or darn close to it. So, it is with ravenous excitement that I look forward to tearing into Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew’s reinvention of the character this week. Based on previews, it looks like DC is somewhat aiming for a Ms. Marvel-style take, and what I’ve seen so far has been some of the most inspired Levitz scripting I’ve read in some time. The biggest draw for me though, is Liew, who is easily one of the hottest rising talents in cartooning. I’m all in!
Alex Lu’s Picks:
Low #7 (New Arc!)
Writer: Rick Remender Artist: Greg Tocchini
The hit aquatic sci-fi series returns, to cast a pale light on the icy spires of the Second City, a frozen dystopia at the bottom of the ocean, where hoping for a better tomorrow is a crime punishable by death.
Low is a criminally underrated series. Imagine the character work and constant peril of Game of Thrones meeting the thirst for familial vengeance present in Taken, then throw it all in an Atlantean blender. Remender has crafted an intricate story about a family struggling to survive in the midst of a world going through its death throes. In the first six issues, he threw the Caine family through the ringer in a way that emotionally affected me in a way that few comics have. It’s great to see him reunited with Tocchini, who lends a beautifully natural and impressionistic touch to the proceedings. His jagged linework emphasizes the chaos of the story, and Rafael Alberquerque’s colors are the glue that holds the story together. Perhaps it’s delirious to be hopeful, but it’s damn hard to not be when you’re faced with a book as good as this one.
Alex and Ada #15 (Series Finale!)
Writer: Jonathan Luna Artist: Sarah Vaughn
Alex + Ada reaches its emboldened conclusion this week. The story of a man whose relationship with an android has dire consequences for their lives and the world around them, Luna and Vaughn have created a genuinely affecting love story that has social implications for our real world. In a world where our relationship with technology is evolving at an increasingly expedient pace, we have to ask ourselves if there are limits to the roles that it plays in our lives. If so, what are those limits?
Matthew’s Pick:
Mad Max: Fury Road – Furiosa #1
Writers: Mark Sexton, Nico Lathouris, George Miller Artist: Tristan Jones
A prelude miniseries to the motion picture Mad Max: Fury Road tells the story of Furiosa and how she became Immortan Joe’s most trusted Imperator — and the unlikely hero to Joe’s enslaved wives
From the first trailers for Fury Road, it was clear Charlize Theron’s Furiosa was the true protagonist of the film. This Vertigo miniseries tells her pre-film story, and with writer/director George Miller credited as co-writer there’s bound to be some wonderful and strange post-apocalypticia involved.
Edie Nugent’s Pick:
Lumberjanes #15
Writer: Noelle Stevenson & Shannon Watters Artist: Brooke A. Allen
All-ages favorite Lumberjanes follows the continuing adventures of a group of friends just trying to enjoy their summer at scout camp amidst a various and wide-ranging selection of supernatural threats.
Something about the imminent arrival of the summer season makes reading Lumberjanes all the more satisfying. Which is pretty ironic, because currently the ‘janes and their entire scout camp has been plunged into a Narnia-like eternal winter. As the series has gone on, it’s gotten more bizarre and even more satisfying. This new story line gives the campers fresh challenges as they’ve been separated from their watchful counselor Jen. And what of Jen and the mysterious and troubling relationship she’s forming with Abigail? Expressive art continues to bring to life this ongoing coming-of-age tale where supernatural mysteries lurk around every corner.
Heidi’s Picks
Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito (Viz)
A new collection of delightfully macabre tales from a master of horror manga. An old wooden mansion that turns on its inhabitants. A dissection class with a most unusual subject. A funeral where the dead are definitely not laid to rest. Ranging from the terrifying to the comedic, from the erotic to the loathsome, these stories showcase Junji Ito’s long-awaited return to the world of horror.
I’m not a big horror fan, but when its as creepy and inventive as Ito’s work, I’m all in. A new collection from the creator of Gyo and Uzumaki.
The Complete Eightball 1-18 by Mr. Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics)
We can laugh at these grotesques if we can laugh at ourselves. I still feel the pain of Tina, the hideously disfigured girl in Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, who just wants love, like everyone else. Where is Dan Pussey now? Just look around you. $119 simoleons is not cheap but it really is for this masterpiece that set the stage for decades worth of comics experimentation.
“Don’t Don’t Don’t Restart”
They Might Be Giants reference? Well played, sir. Well played.
Whoever thought that SEX could be boring? (but it is, in the comic book)…
I wish more people were buying so many of the excellent books by Image (I stopped buying overpriced Marvels nowadays, and fewer DCs).
Astronauts in Trouble, Thief of Thieves, They’re Not Like Us, Birthright, Savior, and Nailbiter are amongst the best adult offerings in comics! If you aren’t trying them, then look at them again PLEASE!
…which reminds me why I don’t read sales number columns: They’re too depressing. Things I’m learning, though:
$9.99 trades don’t always work. Someone posted recently about why his collection wasn’t going to be $10 and why others should consider a more profitable number for their first volume. I can see why now.
Some of my favorite books sell in painfully low numbers. (“Thief of Thieves” is that low? ::sigh:: “Shutter”? “Rumble”?) If I ever launched an Image book I’d name it “Secret Wars: Something or Other” just to stay over the 10,000 number. Marvel’s lawyers won’t notice, right?
And something Robert Kirkman has been preaching for years: A regular schedule is a big help in selling an on-going series. All those misses months and sporadic issues will kill you.
Great column!
I just don’t understand your remark on the no post-collectino bump for the 9.99$ trade. This price of 9.99$ is only for the first trades of almost all the Image titles. after that, the price is normal for all the others trades.
So if, in fact, the first 5-6 issues of the Image titles should sell less (because it’s way les expensive to buy the first arc in trade), there shoul dbe more people switching to the single format after that, because only the first collection is at a lower price. So pricing those first collections at 9.99$ should, on the contrary, help the single sales past the first issue arc.
I know that’s what I’m doing right now: waiting for the first trade and then, if I like it, switching to the singles. It’s especially easy with Image, as there is often a small gap beetween arcs in single issues.
What Image is probably lacking right now is labels. It seems like they are just launching as much series as they can, but it’s difficult to differentiate one from the other.
There should be some lines under the Image imprint. Probably not easy to do, but it would help. I gave their chance to randomly chosen first trade series, and some of them really lower my enthousiasm for the whole Image revival boost. The quality of the series published really goes from one extreme to the other, and there is almost nothing helping the reader to choose which titles are the most likely to please him.
And yes, the Skybound label, even with some glinches here and there (Invincible a little, Thief of Thieves a little more) has gained a standart for quality. I know, personnaly, that I can trust them almost with blind eyes. Thatmakes a difference.
Image needs something else like that, perhaps putting different series under an “editor”, who would only be the man chosing which serie he wants to see published under his small imprint.
Velvet, Fade Out, Lazarus, Saga, Drifter, They’re Not Like Us, Manifest Destiny, Outcast, etc. All amazing books. I mean, has anyone cracked open a copy of Drifter and looked at the art alone? It’s freakin’ gorgeous. Like, European comics gorgeous.
It’s nice to see that the fantasy about european comics being gorgeous is still quite vivid. Trust me, t’s only a fantasy. We have lots and lots of garbage also. :)
Jim Valentino has also a nice label, Shadowline, at Image. But I don’t remember if it’s written on the cover of books.
And I’m also surprised by the 9.99 comment for the same reasons as Xavier. I would like to add that first issues of Image series are most of the time are to find: speculation for one reason, limited printing for another. So when issue 6 is published, it’s very difficult to get issues 1, 2 and 3. Or really overpriced. A 9.99 price enables all readers to get the beginning of a series (without getting digital versions – which at the end is near 10$).
A couple of the post-trade jumps (and some first-issue-to-second-issue drops) you’re seeing are down to a program Image had (and technically still has) with retailers, wherein they would get a bunch of copies on consignment for a period of time.
And no, the $9.99 trade doesn’t always help the singles market – but a HUGE factor in that is retailers not utilizing the sales opportunity. I see a huge difference in attempting to sell a person on a volume one at $9.99 than I do for a book sitting at $14.99 – though a caveat: it’s been quite a while since the $9.99 scheme began, and I firmly believe that Image or whoever could adjust that to $11.99 with little change. Or more to wit, take a look at what places like Scholastic are publishing their serialized all ages books at for price points. They have the resources to have market tested the hell out of their price points, and have threshold-priced those books at a point where parents pick it up and don’t give the price a second thought. That’d be my advice.
Brandon, I can’t think of a returnable Image title that didn’t do the first THREE issues (so not a drop from #1 to #2)
One problem with the $9.99 trade is that there are SO MANY of them, and not all books are served by the “hand sell” equally. And, without that hand-sell, all the $9.99 trade does is reduce EVERYone’s income.
Ales Kot announced that MATERIAL was ending (early), and I would assume that at least some of that was due to the first trade being $9.99…. and only selling 1600 copies in month #1
-B