Most comic book stores don't use the system they take numbers from, so the results are maginally relevant as it is. It also doesn't include DCUI, MU, CU, and all the other digital subscription services.
However, ultimately I think that Marvel and DC will have to rethink how they do business. There's been some conversation about them using Kickstarter, where as I think they SHOULD do pre-sales. Let the audience decide what it wants and don't make 47 Bat books, but make what the audience wants. You need X pre-sales to make the book. If the numbers aren't there, we move on. No BS social media "votes" like Round Robin (which is BS - those books were always going to be made), just pure customer base asking for X book.
Example: I may be the only person asking for an omnibus of the 1997 Ka-Zar book, including the last 5 issues which have never been collected. But if I'm not, why can't the say, 50 of us or whatever pre-order it, they make idk 75-100 for collectors or to put on shelves, and everybody moves on happy. They don't have to print 2000 copies of something, and those of us that want a book don't have to wait for a "craze" or a movie to drop of our favorite character or something.
Thanks for the comment, Dalibor! You're right--my understanding is that Bookscan doesn't take into account periodical sales in comic shops. But the LCS is a shrinking market--and for a lot of people now, Barnes and Noble is where they buy their comics, i.e., graphic novels/manga. It's definitely interesting to watch these charts to see where the trends are headed.
Interesting to think about DC and Marvel using Kickstarter. I remember way back when Archie tried to use the platform, and the outrage it unleashed caused them to back off. To me, it said less about a "big, evil corporation" trying to muscle in on the little guys' territory and way more about the state of Archie Comics. After all, if their business model was healthy, presumably they wouldn't have been looking at Kickstarter.
And I like your pre-order idea. I've heard similar suggestions, that they could sell a digital comic, and then if someone wanted to order a physical copy, have it digitally printed and drop-shipped to the customer's house. It would probably cost (a lot) more than a book you'd get in the direct market, but at least people could have what they want, on demand. Presumably there'd have to be a decent amount of automation involved, and the financials would have to make sense, but it's definitely fun to think about the possibilities.
I consider KS/Pre-order to be the same thing for them. For new stories, absolutely - they should be producing digital comics and releasing trades - for the people who don't have Unlimited or Infinite subscriptions, the GN drop would allow them to get caught up. For instance with the X-Men Unlimited they are doing that, except they put out floppies. I think they should have just put out trades. I'm about a dozen issues behind, and if they just dropped whole trades of 2-3 storylines at a time, I'd buy the crap out of those. I did a podcast ep a while back suggesting that they use digital as a testing ground for new concepts and new creative teams with an ongoing What If series, letting people just run wild with it, putting out trades or even manga-style volumes of 3-5 issues per book.
Most comic book stores don't use the system they take numbers from, so the results are maginally relevant as it is. It also doesn't include DCUI, MU, CU, and all the other digital subscription services.
However, ultimately I think that Marvel and DC will have to rethink how they do business. There's been some conversation about them using Kickstarter, where as I think they SHOULD do pre-sales. Let the audience decide what it wants and don't make 47 Bat books, but make what the audience wants. You need X pre-sales to make the book. If the numbers aren't there, we move on. No BS social media "votes" like Round Robin (which is BS - those books were always going to be made), just pure customer base asking for X book.
Example: I may be the only person asking for an omnibus of the 1997 Ka-Zar book, including the last 5 issues which have never been collected. But if I'm not, why can't the say, 50 of us or whatever pre-order it, they make idk 75-100 for collectors or to put on shelves, and everybody moves on happy. They don't have to print 2000 copies of something, and those of us that want a book don't have to wait for a "craze" or a movie to drop of our favorite character or something.
Thanks for the comment, Dalibor! You're right--my understanding is that Bookscan doesn't take into account periodical sales in comic shops. But the LCS is a shrinking market--and for a lot of people now, Barnes and Noble is where they buy their comics, i.e., graphic novels/manga. It's definitely interesting to watch these charts to see where the trends are headed.
Interesting to think about DC and Marvel using Kickstarter. I remember way back when Archie tried to use the platform, and the outrage it unleashed caused them to back off. To me, it said less about a "big, evil corporation" trying to muscle in on the little guys' territory and way more about the state of Archie Comics. After all, if their business model was healthy, presumably they wouldn't have been looking at Kickstarter.
And I like your pre-order idea. I've heard similar suggestions, that they could sell a digital comic, and then if someone wanted to order a physical copy, have it digitally printed and drop-shipped to the customer's house. It would probably cost (a lot) more than a book you'd get in the direct market, but at least people could have what they want, on demand. Presumably there'd have to be a decent amount of automation involved, and the financials would have to make sense, but it's definitely fun to think about the possibilities.
I consider KS/Pre-order to be the same thing for them. For new stories, absolutely - they should be producing digital comics and releasing trades - for the people who don't have Unlimited or Infinite subscriptions, the GN drop would allow them to get caught up. For instance with the X-Men Unlimited they are doing that, except they put out floppies. I think they should have just put out trades. I'm about a dozen issues behind, and if they just dropped whole trades of 2-3 storylines at a time, I'd buy the crap out of those. I did a podcast ep a while back suggesting that they use digital as a testing ground for new concepts and new creative teams with an ongoing What If series, letting people just run wild with it, putting out trades or even manga-style volumes of 3-5 issues per book.