Welcome to Go FOC Yourself, a weekly column at The Beat about comics on Final Order Cut-Off (FOC) and bits of the retail process that don’t merit a full column. This week, I’ve been diving through the back issues in our overstock and I have caught a little space madness. This will turn out quite well.
SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #9
For the course of this book’s entire run, I’ve been typing “Superman Unchined”, which is a thing that I want to seen drawn for reasons. You definitely needed to know that, especially given my propensity for grammatical errors.
This week’s final order cut off has the last issue of Superman Unchained, and now I can set fire my feelings of disappointment and send the whole thing off to sea. While Scott Snyder and Jim Lee put together a phenomenal book, DC could have done so much more with this series. So, so much more.
The series launched in June last year with an eye to become the flagship Superman title as the Man of Steel movie hit the theatres. A new ongoing featuring white hot creator Scott Snyder and artist powerhouse Jim Lee? There was almost no way DC could screw up this marketing opportunity. And yet.
Starting with the baffling Unchained moniker, the entire run of this series runs like “how to not sell a series” seminar. Launching a new Superman book along with the movie? Smart. Doing so without the easy cash in of the unused Man of Steel series title? A little foolish. Then there was the decision to attach a creative team whose time was heavily taxed, resulting in heavy delays. While seeing the names Scott Snyder and Jim Lee on a Superman book definitely moved a few copies, the shipping schedule did more harm than good. Add to that the fact that this was nothing more than a mini-series disguised as an ongoing, and things get a bit dicier.
There are two things a series needs to have going for it in order to sell: it has to be regular, and it has to be ongoing. The characters and creative team involved certainly matter to a great extent, but all is for naught if a series doesn’t ship on time, or if it has a pre-announced end point. Retailers and fans alike will react negatively to books with pre-set end dates and late shipping books.. If a series manages to combine both qualifiers, it’s doubly bad. Do you know where a series by Scott Snyder and Jim Lee should be on the sales charts? Name power alone says it should be destroying Batman, let alone a launch tied in with a movie watched by millions of people. In practice, it moves a little over half the copies that Batman does. Is that where Jim Lee should be on the stands? Most certainly not – but you can’t shrug off the effects of a late shipping book. Late shipping books tell the reader that they are going to have to wait for content – and if the word “wait” is floating around in their heads, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump over to “I might as well wait until this comes out in collection”. Why tease yourself with content once every… three months? Why not wait to get the whole story?
This reaction is always compounded when a series is only set to run a certain amount of issues. DC curtailed a lot of this by leaving the status of this series deliberately vague. History stated that if Jim Lee was attached as an artist, the consecutive run wouldn’t be a long one, owing to his general production pace, and the demands placed on him as one of the higher ups in DC – but the question remained: would the series continue with different creative components? Would Unchained become a strange boutique book for big creators, or would it go the Astonishing X-Men route, tossing on creative team after creative team until the whole thing lost steam and came to a halt? The answer turned out to be “retroactive mini-series” which is the worst of all possible outcomes. While a different creative team is never ideal, it does elongate the span of time a retailer can sell a book – because make no mistake: a book might be popular when it is coming out, but sales (especially back issue sales) take a steep nosedive the moment that a final issue hits the shelves. Why? Well, if the series has ended, and the momentum has stopped, why not wait for a collection? There’s no impetis to go forward, no reason to collect. And so, a book like this bleeds away 75% of its sales over the course of it’s 9 issue run, both a success (because it always sold enough) and a failure (because it could have been so much more). And in the course of it’s run, it also damaged the idea of a Superman series selling in the current market. Have you seen the numbers for the Geoff Johns/John Romita Jr. run? Pitiful, considering the players involved, and I suspect it has a direct correlation to the fact that DC couldn’t properly execute a big launch tied to a movie, with two of the company’s biggest creators and a new number one. Seriously, how do you mess that up?
RELATED
Speaking of the whole “finite series” stigma, have you ever noticed how Marvel generally doesn’t tell people when something has reached the end of it’s run? For the most part, they wait to let people know about the last issue in a series until after a retailer places their final orders for the final issue. In this way, they bypass a bit of the “finite series” stigma, and can squeeze a few extra sales out of a dead series. It’s short term thinking at it’s worst, and probably effects titles like Loki and Hulk when they disappear for a few months without much in the way of explanation. (Yes, I know both series were put on hold while the Original Sin series ran, but you had to be the type who pays attention to the actual comics and the Comics Internet, and a good chunk of reatilers do not do that. So.)
ON ITS AXIS
art by Jim Cheung
This has already passed the point of being on the final order cut-off, but the heft of the event demands a little bit of comment: I breezed through the copy of AXIS #1 that Marvel provided about a week back, and noticed a few interesting things. One: the file was called Days of Future Now, which I would guess was the working title for the storyline. Two: the story does rely heavily on the events that have taken place in Uncanny Avengers, so much so that it could almost function as a continuation of that series. The recap page does take care of the bigger plot points that need to be addressed, but if you’re the type to require more of a complete experience, I would definitely hazard on the side of grabbing the Road to AXIS issues of Uncanny Avengers – and if you’re the really plot sensitive type, I’d get the whole damn series. A note: with the right attitude, you can read AXIS just fine without complication – in fact, the majority of folks predisposed to this kind of story will and love it. That said, there are more than a few delicate flowers out there who will need to start grabbing copies now. If you’re a retailer and know the type, make sure you have back issues at the ready. If you’re a customer, and feel the itch, start looking now before someone else does.
FOC PICK OF THE WEEK // RASPUTIN #1
Russia’s famous love machine.
So many reasons to pick up this series. I started following Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo when they started Proof together, and both have grown considerably in that time. Alex is now a New York Times best selling author, and Riley has gone on to produce some stunning works, from creator owned book like Green Wake, all the way to the trippy drug sequences in the later issues of Daken: Dark Wolverine.
This series digs right into the heart of all the weird Russian history stuff that I loved as a kid – only this is comics, so things get strange pretty fast. Rasputin by way of dark magic and occasional bears. This is something you need.
TO BE CONTINUED…
And that’s where things end for this week. Next time, the first batch of November releases will hit the sheets, and we’ll go through all of that then. And hey, maybe I’ll get around to changing the title of this series. Wouldn’t that be nice? I’m taking suggestions, BTW.
Stay tuned for Monday when my Retailer’s View series resumes with an update on how The Death of Wolverine is selling and the preliminary results of speculators flocking to the series. Until then, you can check out my column on events in general, and stress the hell out.
More free comics are being given away than ever before! Diamond has announced that 4.6 million free comics were ordered for this year’s Free Comic Book Day, to be held Saturday, May 4th. That’s up from 3,500,000 in 2012 and 2,700,000 in 2011.
A record 2000 retailers are participating this year. The timing the day after Iron Man 3′s opening is seen as propitious and the offerings include a range of popular fare from the Walking Dead to the Simpsons.
If you’re looking for where to bag your swag, The FCBD site includes a new comics shop locator to find participating retailers.
It’s worth remembers that FCBD, which practically qualifies as a holiday, was largely spearheaded by retailer Joe Field over a decade ago, when comics were at a low ebb. Although some wonder if it is still necessary, the press storm, social media buzz and personal excitement would sem to indicate that it’s still a valuable marketing tool.
Realizing that getting new stores out there is crucial to growing the comics business. Diamond has announced a couple of new programs to help get new stores up and running by softening the financial blow of assembling opening inventory. New business director Chris Powell announced these at todays Diamond retailer lunch. One program is allows stores to order two month’s worth of books and make returns before being charged. The other is a bigger deeper discount.
Details via pr:
As part of its ongoing efforts to grow the comic book specialty market, Diamond Comic Distributors today announced a new initiative with leading suppliers to encourage existing retailers to open new locations and/or relocate their current stores to larger, higher traffic locations.
BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DC Entertainment, Diamond Select Toys, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Image Comics and Marvel Comics have all signed on to provide incentives to qualifying retailers.
“Promising retail sales for comic book stores in 2011 and 2012 have encouraged a growing number of retailers to expand into larger stores or to open new ones,” said Diamond Executive Director of Business Development Chris Powell. “Together with our leading publishers and suppliers, we’re excited to announce a program that will allow these retailers to expand with confidence and, by doing so, continue to strengthen the entire comic book industry.”
Programs initially offered to qualifying retailers vary by supplier, but will include:
•Increased discounts of up to 69% off orders of backlist products from Diamond and participating publishers and manufacturers;
•Backlist consignment programs, allowing retailers to fully stock their stores with graphic novels, trade paperbacks and other pop-culture merchandise with extended payment terms and the ability to adjust stock levels after 6 months;
•Increased discounts and/or consignment billing on a new store’s initial orders of comics for its first two months of operation, with consignment billing deferred until retailers have the opportunity to return overstocked product after keeping it on sale for a period of 6-12 weeks; and
•Store Starter Kits, offering selections of free trade paperbacks and graphic novels from participating publishers that showcase the vast breadth and depth of comic stories that retailers can use to attract any audience into their stores.
Under the new programs, Diamond will continue to provide professional advice and in-depth instruction on Diamond’s systems from Powell and a team of Diamond personnel.
Expressing views held by many in the industry, DC Entertainment SVP-Sales & Marketing Bob Wayne said: “The weekly experience that the comic book specialty market provides for our fans is extremely important to all of DC Entertainment. We’re excited about this opportunity to work with our retail partners to expand the size of the market, in cooperation with Diamond and our fellow publishers.”
According to Powell, most retailers opening new locations of existing businesses must invest a significant portion of their cash-flow to fleshing out their backlist inventory and preordering monthly comics based on projected sales.
“With this new initiative,” he said, “we will work with retailers to minimize these risks and outlays. This allows the retailer to stock the hottest graphic novels, trade paperbacks and other bestselling merchandise from day one, which lets them make a great first impression on new customers. It also gives them more flexibility in their budgets for marketing their new store so that they can continue attracting customers and generating sales.”
Realizing that getting new stores out there is crucial to growing the comics business. Diamond has announced a couple of new programs to help get new stores up and running by softening the financial blow of assembling opening inventory. New business director Chris Powell announced these at todays Diamond retailer lunch. One program is allows stores to order two month’s worth of books and make returns before being charged. The other is a bigger deeper discount.
Details via pr:
As part of its ongoing efforts to grow the comic book specialty market, Diamond Comic Distributors today announced a new initiative with leading suppliers to encourage existing retailers to open new locations and/or relocate their current stores to larger, higher traffic locations.
BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, DC Entertainment, Diamond Select Toys, Dynamite Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Image Comics and Marvel Comics have all signed on to provide incentives to qualifying retailers.
“Promising retail sales for comic book stores in 2011 and 2012 have encouraged a growing number of retailers to expand into larger stores or to open new ones,” said Diamond Executive Director of Business Development Chris Powell. “Together with our leading publishers and suppliers, we’re excited to announce a program that will allow these retailers to expand with confidence and, by doing so, continue to strengthen the entire comic book industry.”
Programs initially offered to qualifying retailers vary by supplier, but will include:
•Increased discounts of up to 69% off orders of backlist products from Diamond and participating publishers and manufacturers;
•Backlist consignment programs, allowing retailers to fully stock their stores with graphic novels, trade paperbacks and other pop-culture merchandise with extended payment terms and the ability to adjust stock levels after 6 months;
•Increased discounts and/or consignment billing on a new store’s initial orders of comics for its first two months of operation, with consignment billing deferred until retailers have the opportunity to return overstocked product after keeping it on sale for a period of 6-12 weeks; and
•Store Starter Kits, offering selections of free trade paperbacks and graphic novels from participating publishers that showcase the vast breadth and depth of comic stories that retailers can use to attract any audience into their stores.
Under the new programs, Diamond will continue to provide professional advice and in-depth instruction on Diamond’s systems from Powell and a team of Diamond personnel.
Expressing views held by many in the industry, DC Entertainment SVP-Sales & Marketing Bob Wayne said: “The weekly experience that the comic book specialty market provides for our fans is extremely important to all of DC Entertainment. We’re excited about this opportunity to work with our retail partners to expand the size of the market, in cooperation with Diamond and our fellow publishers.”
According to Powell, most retailers opening new locations of existing businesses must invest a significant portion of their cash-flow to fleshing out their backlist inventory and preordering monthly comics based on projected sales.
“With this new initiative,” he said, “we will work with retailers to minimize these risks and outlays. This allows the retailer to stock the hottest graphic novels, trade paperbacks and other bestselling merchandise from day one, which lets them make a great first impression on new customers. It also gives them more flexibility in their budgets for marketing their new store so that they can continue attracting customers and generating sales.”
“There are two things a series needs to have going for it in order to sell: it has to be regular, and it has to be ongoing.”
Vertigo’s best sellers from the last few months: Sandman Overture and the Wake.
Why is this column not named “FOC-off”?
I definitely agree with the comments about Superman Unchained. Very foolish to act like Jim Lee was ever going to be able to do his arc in a timely manner, much less keep it going indefinitely.
And if DC had thought it through, they wouldn’t have even needed Lee. Snyder is now a bigger name than ever, mostly thanks to his Batman run. A Batman run that kicked off with Greg Capullo, who while certainly a name, isn’t a superstar. If DC had found someone comparable in stature and talent, they could’ve avoided the Lee delays.
@kag – And my argument? Both would have sold even better had they shipped on time. The Wake especially would have benefited from Vertigo playing deliberately vague with the length of the series – not that I would have enjoyed that, but regardless, sales would have been better.
@Marc-Oliver Frisch Much better than anything I could come up with.
@Brandon, reading your column is really making me feel sad for this whole industry. To put it in short:
1. DC would sell more comics if they lied more about them in solicits.
2. DC would have sold more issues of The Wake if they lied about its length.
3. Wouldn’t be surprised if in next column we will find out that DC would sell more comics if it killed their main heroes more often.
Now, I realize that this is not what you are advocating or main points of your posts, but I think you won’t argue that what I said isn’t true.
@Hsssh – I would say that’s fairly accurate. My impression is that the average DC fan has a limited budget, and must make decisions on what they want to buy. Thus the concept of there being “important” stories/series and not. If the series is not ongoing, then nothing important is probably going to happen there. If the series doesn’t come out in a given month, that fan buys something to replace it, and is likely to continue on with the new series rather than come back to the old one when it comes back. I think this is why DC put such a priority on ongoing series and eliminating delays for most of the books when they did the new52.
@Hsssh – Well, therein lies the trick. Marvel plays fast and loose with series endings all the time. Does it sell them more comics in the short term? Yup. Does it inflict damage on retail perception of future series? Absolutely. At the end of the day, all they really need is better marketing and… well, a more diverse product base. The majority of their line has a singular flavour, and it has been doing them very little favours.